Theatre News

Winners of the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards announced: David Tennant and Olivia Colman win

Find out who won what in this year’s WhatsOnStage Awards

Winners of the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards
Winners of the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage

The winners of the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards have been announced.

Broadchurch co-stars David Tennant and Olivia Colman were both recognised in this year's WhatsOnStage Awards, winning for Best Actor in a Play and Best Actress in a Play respectively. Colman was recognised for her turn in new play Mosquitoes, which ran at the National Theatre, while Tennant won his for Don Juan in Soho, directed and adapted by Patrick Marber.

Tennant wasn't able to attend the ceremony, but he said this of his win: "The WhatsOnStage Awards are a wonderful evening celebrating everything that’s good about London theatre and I’m so chuffed to be winning this for Don Juan in Soho, thank you all so much." It is the third time Tennant has taken home a WhatsOnStage Award, but the first for Colman.

In the Best Actor in a Musical category John McCrea from Everybody's Talking About Jamie won, while Best Actress in a Musical was won by Carrie Hope Fletcher for her turn as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family. McCrea beat the likes of Danny Mac, Hadley Fraser, Tom Lister and Andrew Polec to take home the award, while Fletcher came out ahead of Christina Bennington, Janie Dee, Josie Walker and Ria Jones.

Everybody's Talking About Jamie was also voted to win Best New Musical, while Lucie Shorthouse – who plays Pritti Pasha – won Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.

Best New Play went to Jez Butterworth's The Ferryman, which also won Best Direction for Sam Mendes, while Best Play Revival was won by Robert Icke's production of Hamlet. Juliet Stevenson won Best Supporting Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Gertrude in the same production.

Ross Noble was the winner in the category for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his role as Igor in Young Frankenstein, while the touring production of Sunset Boulevard, starring Ria Jones and Danny Mac, won best Regional Production.

42nd Street was the winner of four awards, the most of any show, picking up gongs in Best Musical Revival, Best Choreography for Randy Skinner, Best Costume Design for Roger Kirk and Best Set Design for Douglas W. Schmidt.

The Equity Award for Services to Theatre was given to producer Sonia Friedman, with Mendes presenting her with the award.

WhatsOnStage's chief operating officer Sita McIntosh said: "2017 was such a strong year for theatre, and it’s wonderful to see such a broad cross section of work recognised in this year’s awards – many of the nominees were running neck and neck during the voting process due to the strength of talent represented."

The night was hosted by Aladdin's Genie Trevor Dion Nicholas and Vikki Stone, who returned following her first year in 2017.

Full list of winners in bold below

BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY SPONSORED BY RADISSON BLU EDWARDIAN
• Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
• Andrew Scott, Hamlet
• Bryan Cranston, Network
David Tennant, Don Juan in Soho
• Martin Freeman, Labour of Love

BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY
• Eve Best, Love in Idleness
• Imelda Staunton, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Olivia Colman, Mosquitoes
• Natalie Dormer, Venus in Fur
• Tamsin Greig, Labour of Love

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY THE UMBRELLA ROOMS
• Andrew Polec, Bat Out of Hell
• Danny Mac, Sunset Boulevard
• Hadley Fraser, Young Frankenstein
John McCrea, Everybody's Talking About Jamie
• Tom Lister, 42nd Street

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY 100 WARDOUR ST
Carrie Hope Fletcher, The Addams Family
• Christina Bennington, Bat Out of Hell
• Janie Dee, Follies
• Josie Walker, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
• Ria Jones, Sunset Boulevard

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
• Adrian Scarborough, Don Juan in Soho
Fra Fee, The Ferryman
• Nathan Lane, Angels in America
• Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Angels in America
• Peter Polycarpou, Oslo

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY SPONSORED BY TONIC THEATRE
• Denise Gough, Angels in America
• Imogen Poots, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Jessica Brown Findlay, Hamlet
Juliet Stevenson, Hamlet
• Sheila Atim, Girl from the North Country

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
• Chris Howell, 42nd Street
• Dex Lee, Five Guys Named Moe
• George Sampson, Our House
• Rob Fowler, Bat Out of Hell
Ross Noble, Young Frankenstein

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY NEWMAN DISPLAYS
• Clare Halse, 42nd Street
• Danielle Steers, Bat Out of Hell
Lucie Shorthouse, Everybody's Talking About Jamie
• Tracie Bennett, Follies
• Zoe Rainey, An American in Paris

BEST NEW PLAY SPONSORED BY JHI MARKETING
Gloria
Ink
Labour of Love
Oslo
The Ferryman

BEST NEW MUSICAL SPONSORED BY SHINE CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
Bat Out of Hell
Cilla the Musical
Everybody's Talking About Jamie
The Band
Young Frankenstein

BEST PLAY REVIVAL
Angels in America
Don Juan in Soho
Hamlet
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Witness for the Prosecution

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL SPONSORED BY R&H THEATRICALS
42nd Street
Fiddler on the Roof
Five Guys Named Moe
Follies
Hair

BEST DIRECTION
• Dominic Cooke, Follies
• Jay Scheib, Bat Out of Hell
• Marianne Elliott, Angels in America
• Robert Icke, Hamlet
Sam Mendes, The Ferryman

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
• Andrew Wright, Five Guys Named Moe
• Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris
• Drew McOnie, On the Town
• Fabian Aloise, Our House
Randy Skinner, 42nd Street

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
• Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
• Gary McCann, La Cage Aux Folles
• Peter McKintosh, On the Town
Roger Kirk, 42nd Street
• Vicki Mortimer, Follies

BEST SET DESIGN
• Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
• Bunny Christie, Ink
Douglas W. Schmidt, 42nd Street
• Jon Bausor, Bat Out of Hell
• Vicki Mortimer, Follies

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN SPONSORED BY WHITE LIGHT
• Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
Patrick Woodroffe, Bat Out of Hell
• Paule Constable, Angels in America
• Paule Constable, Follies
• Peter Mumford, 42nd Street

BEST VIDEO DESIGN SPONSORED BY PRG XL VIDEO
59 Productions, An American in Paris
• Duncan McLean, Big Fish
• Duncan McLean, Labour of Love
• Tal Yarden, Hamlet
• Tal Yarden, Network

BEST OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION SPONSORED BY LES MISÉRABLES
Hair
La Ronde
The Wild Party
Working
Yank!

BEST REGIONAL PRODUCTION SPONSORED BY MTI EUROPE
Our House
Sunset Boulevard
The Addams Family
The Band
The Hypocrite

BEST ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING SPONSORED BY ENCORE RADIO
Dear Evan Hansen
Dreamgirls
Girl from the North Country
Hamilton
Les Misérables

BEST SHOW POSTER
Cats
Hamilton
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
The Phantom of the Opera
Wicked

BEST WEST END SHOW SPONSORED BY JOE ALLEN
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Kinky Boots
Les Misérables
The Phantom of the Opera
Wicked

EQUITY AWARD FOR SERVICES TO THEATRE
Sonia Friedman