Staunton, Scales, West & Go-Between triumph at Theatre Awards UK
The winners have been announced of this year’s Theatre Awards UK
(formerly the TMAs), the only awards which specifically address
theatre throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as opposed to focusing on London and the
West End.
The prizes were handed out during an invitation-only lunchtime ceremony held today (28 October 2012) at the historic Guildhall.
This year the Awards were the latest to follow Whatsonstage.com’s lead
by including a first public vote, for the Best Touring Production
category. The vote, which was hosted by media partner The Stage, was won by English Touring Theatre’s presentation of the Shakespeare’s Globe production of Anne Boleyn, by Howard Brenton.
Elsewhere, Imelda Staunton beat off competition from her Sweeney Todd co-star Michael Ball to win Best Performance
in a Musical. However, Jonathan Kent‘s Chichester Festival Theatre
production lost out to The Go-Between in the Best Musical category.
As
previously reported, this year’s lifetime achievement award went to
husband-and-wife actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales, who were
presented with the award by their son Samuel West.
And
Graham Sutherland, head of lighting and sound at Glasgow Citizens,
and Northern Stage artistic director Erica Whyman – who leaves next
year to join the RSC as a full-time associate – shared the prize for
Theatre Employee of the Year. In an emotional speech, Whyman highlighted
the difficulties facing regional theatre in the wake of the cuts.
The full list of winners (in bold):
Best New Play
Best Performance in a Play
Best Supporting Performance
Boxer for WRITTEN ON THE HEART by David Edgar a Royal Shakespeare
Company production at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Best Musical Production
GO-BETWEEN directed by Roger Haines a West Yorkshire Playhouse, Royal
& Derngate, Northampton and Derby LIVE! production at West Yorkshire
Playhouse
Best Performance in a Musical
Best Show for Children and Young People
Best Touring Production (voted by the public)
AND AMAZONS – The Children’s Touring Partnership in
association with the National Theatre presenting Bristol Old
Vic’s production
Best Director
Best Design
McCann for THE LITTLE PRINCE by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry,
music and lyrics by Nicholas Lloyd Webber and James D. Reid, Lyric
Theatre Belfast in association with Lamplighter Drama at the Lyric,
Belfast
Achievement in Opera
Alden’s production of NORMA for Opera North, a co-production
with Theater Chemnitz, with Annemarie Kremer in the title role
Achievement in Dance
Hulls for his brilliant contribution to lighting for dance: in
particular for this year’s DESH, TORSION and THE RODIN PROJECT
Theatre Employee/Manager of the Year
Achievement in Marketing
Most Welcoming Theatre
Promotion of Diversity
The Renee Stepham Award for Best Presentation of Touring Theatre
Outstanding Contribution to Theatre
Timothy West and Prunella Scales
View all the twitter coverage from the Theatre Awards UK 2012 in the box below…