Nominees for 22nd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards announced

The nominees have been revealed for the 22nd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards.

Announced in a stream from The Other Palace by award-winning playwright James Graham and Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical star Gabrielle Brooks, the awards saw the West End transfer of Frozen come out top with 13 nods (matching a record set by & Juliet in 2019), while in the plays categories the Almeida production of The Tragedy of Macbeth scored five nominations. This year, given the volume of eligible productions, the number of nominees per category has been raised to six.

Elsewhere, past winner Carrie Hope Fletcher picked up a nomination for her leading turn in Andrew Lloyd Webber's new musical Cinderella, with the show getting a total of seven nominations – matching that of both Rebecca Frecknall's starry Cabaret revival, led by Eddie Redmayne, Jessie Buckley and Omari Douglas, as well as the sparkling transfer of Moulin Rouge!, which opened last month at the Piccadilly Theatre.

WhatsOnStage's Sarah Coleman said today: "Given the events of the past 21 months, it's truly wonderful to be able to celebrate the return of theatre and the vast array of excellence on our stages across the UK – and we look forward to coming together in February to present the WhatsOnStage Awards back at the Prince of Wales Theatre, with an evening showcasing incredible talent.

"These awards also celebrate the audiences who vote for them, whose support of our industry has been vital to getting us through this time and to reopening our stages. It's truly heartening – and a positive to come out of this period – to see the emergence of productions outside of London featuring across a variety of categories due to the advances in streaming theatre, enabling shows with shorter runs greater impact, and the capacity to reach audiences globally."

Now in their 22nd year, the WhatsOnStage Awards are the only major theatre awards decided by the theatregoers themselves. You can buy tickets below.

Voting will open after the shortlist is revealed, closing on Friday 21 January 2022, with the winners being announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday 27 February 2022.

Taking place at the customary home of the Prince of Wales Theatre, the star-studded evening will see thrilling performances from shows in the West End and beyond, while winners for each category will be revealed in front of a West End audience.

This time around the Awards will be co-produced with Paul Taylor-Mills, artistic director of the Turbine Theatre and The Other Palace, as well as Sita McIntosh, who is returning to work alongside WOS to make sure the evening is delivered in style.

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The nominations in full:

BEST PERFORMER IN A MALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Roger Bart – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre
Olly Dobson – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre
Arinzé Kene – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre
Julian Ovenden – South Pacific, Chichester Festival Theatre
Eddie Redmayne – Cabaret, Playhouse Theatre – Kit Kat Club
Ivano Turco – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre

BEST PERFORMER IN A FEMALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Aimie Atkinson – Pretty Woman, Piccadilly Theatre & Savoy Theatre
Samantha Barks – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Jessie Buckley – Cabaret, Playhouse Theatre – Kit Kat Club
Carrie Hope Fletcher – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre
Beverley Knight – The Drifters Girl, Garrick Theatre
Stephanie McKeon – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A MALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Blake Patrick Anderson – Be More Chill, The Other Palace & Shaftesbury Theatre
Hugh Coles – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre
Robert Lindsay – Anything Goes, Barbican Centre
Cedric Neal – Back to the Future the Musical – Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre
Oliver Ormson – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Obioma Ugoala – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A FEMALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A MUSICAL – Sponsored by Newman Displays
Joanna Ampil – South Pacific, Chichester Festival Theatre
Gabrielle Brooks – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre
Victoria Hamilton-Barritt – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre
Carly Mercedes Dyer – Anything Goes, Barbican Centre
Millie O'Connell – Rent, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Rebecca Trehearn – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre

BEST PERFORMER IN A MALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A PLAY
Richard Armitage – Uncle Vanya, Harold Pinter Theatre
Ben Daniels – The Normal Heart, National Theatre
Omari Douglas – Constellations, Vaudeville Theatre
Hadley Fraser – 2:22 A Ghost Story, Noël Coward Theatre
Henry Lewis – Magic Goes Wrong, Vaudeville Theatre & Apollo Theatre
James McAvoy – Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre

BEST PERFORMER IN A FEMALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A PLAY
Lily Allen – 2:22 A Ghost Story, Noël Coward Theatre
Gemma Arterton – Walden, Harold Pinter Theatre
Sheila Atim – Constellations, Vaudeville Theatre
Emma Corrin – Anna X, Harold Pinter Theatre, The Lowry, Salford
Patsy Ferran – Camp Siegfried, The Old Vic
Saoirse Ronan – The Tragedy of Macbeth, Almeida Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A MALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A PLAY
Stephen K Amos – My Night with Reg, The Turbine Theatre
Dino Fetscher – The Normal Heart, National Theatre
Nathaniel Parker – The Mirror and the Light, Gielgud Theatre
Richard Rankin – The Tragedy of Macbeth, Almeida Theatre
Jonathan Sayer – Magic Goes Wrong, Vaudeville Theatre & Apollo Theatre
Jake Wood – 2:22 A Ghost Story, Noël Coward Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A FEMALE IDENTIFYING ROLE IN A PLAY
Michelle Fox – Shining City, Theatre Royal Stratford East
Akiya Henry – The Tragedy of Macbeth, Almeida Theatre
Penny Layden – The Ocean at the End of the Lane, National Theatre & Duke of York's Theatre
Isobel McArthur – Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), Criterion Theatre
Aimee Lou Wood – Uncle Vanya, Harold Pinter Theatre
Nancy Zamit – Magic Goes Wrong, Vaudeville Theatre & Apollo Theatre

BEST NEW MUSICAL – Sponsored by Travelzoo
Back to the Future the Musical – Adelphi Theatre
Cinderella – Gillian Lynne Theatre
Frozen – Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical – Lyric Theatre
Pretty Woman the Musical – Piccadilly Theatre & Savoy Theatre
Moulin Rouge! – Piccadilly Theatre

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL – Sponsored by Concord Theatricals
Anything Goes – Barbican Centre
Cabaret – Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Carousel – Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Rent – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
South Pacific – Chichester Festival Theatre
West Side Story – Curve, Leicester

BEST NEW PLAY – Sponsored by Ticketmaster
2:22 A Ghost Story – Noël Coward Theatre
J'Ouvert – Harold Pinter Theatre, Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham
Leopoldstadt – Wyndham's Theatre
Magic Goes Wrong – Vaudeville Theatre & Apollo Theatre
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) – Criterion Theatre
The Ocean at the End of the Lane – National Theatre & Duke of York's Theatre

BEST PLAY REVIVAL – Sponsored by AKA
Constellations – Vaudeville Theatre
Cyrano de Bergerac – Playhouse Theatre
My Night with Reg – The Turbine Theatre
The Normal Heart – National Theatre
The Tragedy of Macbeth – Almeida Theatre
Uncle Vanya – Harold Pinter Theatre

BEST OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION – Sponsored by Les Misérables
Anything is Possible if You Think About it Hard Enough – Southwark Playhouse
My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do?) – The Turbine Theatre
Old Bridge – Bush Theatre
Pippin – Charing Cross Theatre
Saving Britney – Old Red Lion Theatre
The Last Five Years – Southwark Playhouse

BEST REGIONAL THEATRE PRODUCTION
Bedknobs and Broomsticks the Musical – UK tour
Bloody Elle – A Gig Musical – Manchester Royal Exchange
Rent – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
South Pacific – Chichester Festival Theatre
West Side Story – Curve, Leicester
What's New Pussycat? – Birmingham Repertory Theatre

BEST WEST END SHOW – Sponsored by Dewynters
Come From Away – Phoenix Theatre
Hamilton – Victoria Palace Theatre
Les Misérables – Sondheim Theatre
Six the Musical – Vaudeville Theatre
The Play That Goes Wrong – Duchess Theatre
Wicked – Apollo Victoria Theatre

BEST DIRECTION – Sponsored by LOVEtheatre
Clint Dyer – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre
Yaël Farber – The Tragedy of Macbeth, Almeida Theatre
Rebecca Frecknall – Cabaret, Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Michael Grandage – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Jamie Lloyd – Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre
Katy Rudd – The Ocean at the End of the Lane, National Theatre & Duke of York's Theatre

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Rob Ashford – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Drew McOnie – Carousel, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Kathleen Marshall – Anything Goes, Barbican Centre
Shelley Maxwell – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre
Sonya Tayeh – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre
Ann Yee – South Pacific, Chichester Festival Theatre

BEST SET DESIGN
Fly Davis and Samuel Wyer (Puppetry) – The Ocean at the End of the Lane, National Theatre & Duke of York's Theatre
Jamie Harrison – Bedknobs and Broomsticks the Musical, UK tour
Tim Hatley – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre
Derek McLane – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre
Christopher Oram – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Tom Scutt – Cabaret, Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Lisa Duncan – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre
Christopher Oram – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Tom Scutt – Cabaret, Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Gabriella Slade – Bedknobs and Broomsticks the Musical, UK tour
Gabriela Tylesova – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre
Catherine Zuber – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN – Sponsored by White Light
Neil Austin – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Charles Balfour – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre
Isabella Byrd – Cabaret, Playhouse Theatre, Kit Kat Club
Tim Lutkin – Back to the Future the Musical, Adelphi Theatre
Bruno Poet – Cinderella, Gillian Lynne Theatre
Justin Townsend – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre

BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION
Leo Munby – The Last Five Years, Vaudeville Theatre
Tom Deering – Carousel, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Sean Green – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre
Justin Levine – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre
Stephen Oremus – Frozen – Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Katy Richardson – Rent, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

BEST SOUND DESIGN – Sponsored by Stage Sound Services
Adam Cork – Leopoldstadt, Wyndham's Theatre
Adam Fisher – The Last Five Years, Southwark Playhouse & Vaudeville Theatre
Paul Groothuis – South Pacific, Chichester Festival Theatre
Peter Hylenski – Moulin Rouge!, Piccadilly Theatre
Gareth Owen – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre
Ben and Max Ringham – Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre

BEST VIDEO DESIGN
Nina Dunn – The Shark is Broken, Ambassadors Theatre
Akhila Krishnan – What's New Pussycat?, Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Mikaela Liakata and Tal Yarden – Anna X, Harold Pinter Theatre & The Lowry, Salford
Finn Ross – Back to the Future the Musical, Manchester Opera House & Adelphi Theatre
Finn Ross – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Tal Yarden – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN – Sponsored by Hexagon Print
Christopher D Clegg – The Wiz, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Feast Creative – Romeo and Juliet, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Feast Creative – Rent, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Bob King Creative – Frozen, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Muse Creative Communications – RE:EMERGE Season, Harold Pinter Theatre
Michael Nash Associates – Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre

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