Mel Atkey

Louis Melville Atkey (born June 16, 1958, in Vancouver, British Columbia - December 16, 2022 ) was a Canadian-born, English-emigrated musical theatre composer and lyricist. He began to write musicals while still in high school. After college he became a theatre critic in Canada, and continued to write musicals and songs while serving as director of Cabaret and Musical Theater Alliance until he moved to London in 1991. He is a member of the Writers’ Union of Canada and Mercury Musical Developments. He was a finalist for the Musical of the Year competition in Aarhus, Denmark, and his work has been short-listed for the Vivian Ellis Prize, the Quest for New Musicals, the Ken Hill Prize and Musical Stairs. Life and career Atkey was born to Ken (1927-2014) and Marion (1928-2022) Atkey (née Holmes),a commercial artist and a teacher respectively, in Vancouver, British Columbia, and grew up in neighbouring Ladner where he attended Delta Secondary School. During his high school years, Atkey began writing musicals, and continued to do so while attending Langara College in Vancouver. He gained his MA in Musical Theatre at Goldsmiths, University of London. In 1977, Atkey co-produced a jazz conc