Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards announces winners including Hayley Atwell, Brendan Gleeson and Rosamund Pike

The winners of this year’s Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards have been revealed.

Voted on by UK-based theatre critics who are members of the Circle, the awards recognise theatre work from across 2025. This year marked the first time in the awards’ 37-year history that the shortlist has been published, with the winners then selected from this list.

The awards have also made the move to honour the late Blanche Marvin with a renaming of the Empty Space…Peter Brook Award, set up to celebrate a UK theatre for its programming and community efforts.

The current chair of the drama section Mark Lawson said today: “In the first year that our members voted from long lists and shortlists – an attempt to extend the range of work considered – around 250 candidates were considered across the process, of which 179 received at least one vote. These came down to the 11 winners honoured today. Some categories were won by a landslide, but others were tight five-or six-way contests eventually decided after a recount, suggesting strong quality among the quantity.

“Overall – and with the winner of the Empty Space…Peter Brook Award, decided by a separate panel – they show an exhilarating range of work across a vast variety of venues and genres – all achieved in challenging economic times. It is particularly pleasing that the array of talents in the Most Promising Playwright and Best Newcomer categories indicate that the current high quality of theatre here is guaranteed to continue.”

The winner for the new Empty Space…Peter Brook Award (In Memory of Blanche Marvin), Sponsored by Nica Burns, was Red Rose Chain the Ipswich. 

Nominees and winners in full:

Best New Play

David Adjmi – Stereophonic at Duke of York’s
Alice Birch – Romans: a novel at Almeida
Jack Holden and Ed Stambollouian – Kenrex at the Other Palace
WINNER: James Graham (from a book by Jacob Dunne) – Punch at Young Vic / Apollo
David Ireland – The Fifth Step at @sohoplace
Suzie Miller – Inter Alia at National Theatre
Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson – Kyoto at @sohoplace

Best Revival Of A Play Or Musical

WINNER: All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre
Brigadoon at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Evita at The London Palladium
Intimate Apparel at Donmar Warehouse
Into The Woods at Bridge Theatre
Indian Ink at Hampstead Theatre
The Weir at Harold Pinter Theatre

Best New Musical

Cable Street at Southwark Playhouse
Here We Are at National Theatre
WINNER: Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre
Shucked at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Sing Street at Lyric Hammersmith
Titanique at Criterion Theatre

Best Director

Daniel Aukin – Stereophonic at Duke of York’s
Jordan Fein – Into The Woods at Bridge Theatre
Lynette Linton – Intimate Apparel at Donmar Warehouse
Jamie Lloyd – Evita at The London Palladium / Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Luke Sheppard – Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre
WINNER: Ivo Van Hove – All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best Ensemble Or Cast

1536 at Almeida Theatre
Here We Are at National Theatre
WINNER: Into The Woods at Bridge Theatre
Stereophonic at Duke of York’s Theatre
The Weir at Harold Pinter Theatre
When We Are Married at Donmar Warehouse

Most Promising Playwright

Jamie Armitage – A Ghost In Your Ear at Hampstead Theatre / An Interrogation at Hampstead Theatre
Sophia Chetin-Leuner – P*rn Play at Royal Court
Hannah Doran – The Meat Kings! (Inc) of Brooklyn Heights at Park Theatre
Sophia Griffin – After Sunday at Bush Theatre
Katherine Moar – Ragdoll at Jermyn Street Theatre
WINNER: Ava Pickett – 1536 at Almeida Theatre
Shaan Sahota – The Estate at National Theatre

Best Actor

Adeel Akhtar – The Estate at National Theatre
Bryan Cranston – All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre
Paapa Essiedu – All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre
WINNER: Brendan Gleeson – The Weir at Harold Pinter Theatre
Sean Hayes – Goodnight, Oscar at Barbican Theatre
James Hameed and Arti Shah – Paddington the Musical at Savoy Theatre
David Shields – Punch at Young Vic / Apollo

Best Actress

Kate Fleetwood – Into The Woods at Bridge Theatre
Julie Hesmondhalgh – Punch at Young Vic / Apollo
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre
WINNER: Rosamund Pike – Inter Alia at National Theatre
Nicola Walker – The Unbelievers at Royal Court
Samira Wiley – Intimate Apparel at Donmar Warehouse
Rachel Zegler – Evita at The London Palladium

Best Designer

Miriam Buether – Kyoto at @sohoplace / The Land Of The Living at National Theatre
Lizzie Clachan – The Lady From The Sea at Bridge Theatre
Soutra Gilmour – Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane / Evita at The London Palladium
Tom Pye – Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre
WINNER: Tom Scutt – Into The Woods at Bridge Theatre
David Zinn – Stereophonic at Duke of York’s / Here We Are at National Theatre

Best Shakespearean Performance

WINNER: Hayley Atwell – Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Jonathan Bailey – Richard II at Bridge Theatre
David Harewood – Othello at Haymarket Theatre
Tom Hiddleston – Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Francesca Mills – Hamlet at National Theatre
Samuel West – Twelfth Night at Barbican

Best Newcomer

Isobel Akuwudike – The Lady From The Sea at Bridge Theatre
WINNER: Ruby Ashbourne-Serkis – Indian Ink at Hampstead Theatre
Asa Butterfield – Second Best at Riverside Studios
Kate Phillips – The Weir at Harold Pinter Theatre
Diego Andres Rodriguez – Evita at The London Palladium
Jasper Talbot – Inter Alia at National Theatre
Artie Wilkinson-Hunt – The Land Of The Living at National Theatre