27th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards – eligibility explained

As a fan-voted experience, every year we try as hard as possible to clarify who is/isn’t eligible for the WhatsOnStage Awards.

With thousands of eligible shows every year, it would be nigh-on impossible to provide a go-to list of all the productions you can choose from – and would no doubt cause some grumbles! With that in mind, please read our eligibility criteria before submitting your nominations.

Nominations will open on 5 November 2026 at 12pm, and close on 24 November 2026 at 12pm.

If you have any queries about eligibility, please email [email protected]. As an organisation, we have already been liaising directly with producers and venues about which shows are/are not eligible where requested. Want to campaign for your favourites? There’s an asset pack.

Award Categories

Individual Categories

• Best Performer in a Musical
• Best Supporting Performer in a Musical
• The SINE Digital Best Performer in a Play
• Best Supporting Performer in a Play
• Best Takeover Performance
• Best Professional Debut Performance

Production Categories

• The Travelzoo Best New Musical
• Best Musical Revival
• Best New Play
• The Londoner Best Play Revival
• Dewynters Best West End Show
• Best Concert Event
• Best Regional Production
• The Theatrical Rights Worldwide Best Studio Production

Note: Technical category shortlists (Best Casting, Best Choreography, Costume, Direction, MAC Cosmetics Best Wigs, Hair & Make-Up, White Light Best Lighting, Musical Direction, Preevue Best Set Design, Sound, and Video Design) are decided by an independent industry panel appointed by WhatsOnStage. Readers then vote on the final shortlist.

General Eligibility Window

To be eligible, live professional UK productions (and performers in said shows) must meet both of the following dates:

1. Performances must have started after 7 November 2025.
2. Run featuring a press night must have commenced before 5 November 2026.

Try-out runs that did not invite national critics for review (like One Day the Musical or Something Rotten!) are ineligible this year, but may qualify in future years. Decisions made by WhatsOnStage are final.

Key Eligibility Rules & Exceptions

1. Repeat Eligibility & Transfers

• Standard Rule: Productions eligible in previous years are not eligible again, even if they have transferred to a new venue or embarked on a tour.
• Adaptations and re-developments: Productions that have been substantially rewritten, re-choreographed, re-designed or reworked with new creative teams and/or producers may be considered eligible upon review by WhatsOnStage.
• Exceptions: The repeat eligibility rule does not apply to Best West End Show, or eligible performers in Best Takeover Performance, or Best Professional Debut Performance as these have their own eligibility.

2. Category-Specific Guidelines