Theatre News

Nominees announced for Black British Theatre Awards, which will be broadcast on Sky Arts in October

The annual awards return and recognise Black British talent across UK stages

Arun Blair-Mangat
Arun Blair-Mangat
© Johan Persson

The nominees for this year's Black British Theatre Awards have been announced.

First presented last year, the awards are produced by Kwame Kwei-Armah, and directors Charlie Di Placido and Kojey Radical. The event will be broadcast next month on the new free Sky Arts TV channel.

BBTA Directors Solange Urdang and Omar F Okai say "This is an important year with UK Theatre coming to a standstill and The Black Lives Matter movement protests. We feel it is important now more than ever to highlight the wonderful Black British talent we have in abundance and hope to bring positivity to such a difficult time".

The awards will be hosted at the Young Vic next month.

The full list of nominees is below:

BEST DIRECTOR AWARD FOR A PLAY OR MUSICAL
Clint Dyer, Death of England, National Theatre
Nadia Latif, Fairview, Young Vic Theatre
Ola Ince, Appropriate, Donmar Warehouse
Roy Alexander Weise, Master Harold &… and the boys, National Theatre

BEST PRODUCER AWARD
Adrian Grant, Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre
Nicole Raquel Dennis and Ryan Carter, Turn Up, Cadogan Hall
Tobi Kyeremateng, My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid), Royal Court
Theatre

BEST CHOREOGRAPHER AWARD
Kenrick ‘H2O' Sandy MBE, REDD, Barbican Theatre
Lanre Malaolu, Pass Over, Kiln Theatre
Shelley Maxwell, Master Harold &… and the boys, National Theatre

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE IN A DANCE PRODUCTION ​AWARD
Kenrick ‘H2O' Sandy MBE, REDD, Barbican Theatre
Marcelino Sambé, The Cellist, Royal Opera House

BEST DANCE PRODUCTION AWARD
Ingoma, Ballet Black, Barbican Theatre
REDD – Boy Blue, Barbican Theatre
Some Like It Hip Hop – ZooNation, Peacock Theatre

BEST USE OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Nicole Raquel Dennis and Ryan Carter, Turn Up, Cadogan Hall

LIGHT AND SOUND RECOGNITION AWARD
Carmen Wright
Simeon Miller
Tony Gayle

COSTUME DESIGN RECOGNITION AWARD
Jodie Simone Howe
Maybelle Laye
Natalie Pryce

BOOK AND LYRICS RECOGNITION AWARD
Arinzé Kene
Roy Williams
Shirley Thompson OBE

MUSICAL DIRECTOR RECOGNITION AWARD
Ian Oakley
Sean Green
Shiloh Coke

CASTING DIRECTOR RECOGNITION AWARD
Isabella Odoffin

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Lucian Msamati, Master Harold … and the boys, National Theatre
Paapa Essiedu, Pass Over, Kiln Theatre
Valentine Olukoga, The Fishermen, Trafalgar Studios

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Rakie Ayola, On Bear Ridge, Royal Court Theatre
Ronke Adekoluejo, Three Sisters, National Theatre
Sharon D Clarke, Death of a Salesman, Piccadilly Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Arinzé Kene, Death of a Salesman, Young Vic Theatre
Nari Blair-Mangat, Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre
Reice Weathers, The Upstart Crow, Gielgud Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Cherrelle Skeete, The High Table, Bush Theatre
Michele Austin, Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre
Rosalind Eleazar, Uncle Vanya, Harold Pinter Theatre

BEST PRODUCTION PLAY
Death of a Salesman, Piccadilly Theatre
Fairview, Young Vic Theatre
Three Sisters, National Theatre

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Jason Brock, Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre
Jonathan Andrew Hume, Come from Away, Phoenix Theatre
Noah Thomas, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Aisha Jawando, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, Aldwych Theatre
Maiya Quansah-Breed, Six the Musical, Arts Theatre
Miriam-Teak Lee, & Juliet, The Shaftesbury Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Arun Blair-Mangat, & Juliet, The Shaftesbury Theatre
Nicholas McLean, Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre
Tarinn Callender, Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Melanie La Barrie, & Juliet, The Shaftesbury Theatre
Nicole Raquel Dennis, Dear Evan Hansen, Noël Coward Theatre
Shanay Holmes, The Bridges of Madison County, Menier Chocolate Factory

BEST MUSICAL PRODUCTION AWARD
Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre
Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre
TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, Aldwych Theatre

LGBTQ+ CHAMPION AWARD
Arun Blair-Mangat
Layton Williams
Rikki Beadle-Blair

DISABILITY CHAMPION AWARD
Chris Fonseca
Rachel Nwokoro

BEST TEACHER OF PERFORMING ARTS AS A SUBJECT AWARD
David Blake, WAC Arts
Dollie Henry, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
Kamara Gray, Urdang Academy/Artistry Youth Dance

BEST RECENT GRADUATE AWARD
Danielle Fiamanya, Guildford School of Acting
Stacy Abalogun, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Tonye Scott-Obene, Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Shirley Thompson