Evening Standard Awards Longlists Announced

Unusually, for Best Actress, two of those on the list are in contention for their performances in musicals – Sheridan Smith for Legally Blonde and Elena Roger for Passion. The Standard Awards have no dedicated categories for musical performances and only one specifically for the genre, Best Musical, which does not distinguish between new work and revivals.

Amongst the other big names on the long lists are Judi Dench, Keira Knightley, David Suchet, Zoe Wanamaker, Adrian Lester, Alfred Molina, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Simon Russsell Beale, Gemma Arterton, Helen McCrory, Tamsin Greig and former Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm.

In addition to the eight regular categories in the Standard awards – Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Play, Best Musical, Best Director, Best Design, Most Promising Playwright and Outstanding Newcomer – there are two special awards, one for outstanding contribution to theatre, and a second with an international theme, initiated last year by the newspaper’s new Russian owner Evgeny Lebedev, the Golden Seagull Award, presented by the Moscow Art Theatre.

The Evening Standard Awards are the first in the annual awards season. They’re followed by our own Whatsonstage.com Awards, the “theatregoers’ choice”, for which shortlists are announced at our launch party on Friday 3 December following theatregoer nominations from 1 November, the Critics’ Circle and the Laurence Olivier Awards.

** FOR INFORMATION ON SPONSORING THE WHATSONSTAGE.COM AWARDS – WITH ACCESS TO ALL AWARDS EVENTS – CLICK HERE! **

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The full longlist of contenders in this year’s 56th annual Evening Standard Theatre Awards, which covers openings up until the end of October 2010, are (in alphabetical order):

BEST ACTOR

• Adrian Lester for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (Novello Theatre)
• Adrian Scarborough for After The Dance (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
• Alex Jennings for The Habit Of Art (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
• Alfred Molina for Red (Donmar Warehouse)
• Benedict Cumberbatch for After The Dance (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
• Bertie Carvel for Rope (Almeida Theatre)
• David Suchet for All My Sons (Apollo Theatre)
• Jonathan Pryce for The Caretaker (Trafalgar Studio 1)
• Martin Freeman for Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
• Roger Allam for Henry IV Parts One and Two (Shakespeare’s Globe)
• Rory Kinnear for Measure For Measure (Almeida theatre) and Hamlet (National Theatre, Olivier)
• Simon Russell Beale for London Assurance (National Theatre, Olivier) and Deathtrap (Noël Coward theatre)

The Natasha Richardson Award for BEST ACTRESS

• Amanda Lawrence for Jiggery Pokery (BAC) and Henry VIII (Shakespeare’s Globe)
• Anna Maxwell Martin for Measure For Measure (Almeida theatre)
• Elena Roger for Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
• Fiona Shaw for London Assurance (National Theatre, Olivier)
• Gemma Arterton for The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick theatre)
• Helen McCrory for The Late Middle Classes (Donmar Warehouse)
• Jenny Jules for Ruined (Almeida theatre)
• Judi Dench for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Rose theatre, Kingston)
• Keira Knightley for The Misanthrope (Comedy theatre)
• Lesley Manville for Six Degrees Of Separation (Old Vic)
• Nancy Carroll for After The Dance (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
• Rosaleen Linehan for The Beauty Queen Of Leenane (Young Vic)
• Sheridan Smith for Legally Blonde The Musical (Savoy theatre)
• Sophie Thompson for Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
• Tamsin Greig for The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick Theatre)
• Zoe Wanamaker for All My Sons (Apollo Theatre)

BEST PLAY

• Beautiful Burnout by Bryony Lavery (York Hall)
• Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris (Royal Court)
• Cock by Mike Bartlett (Royal Court)
• Posh by Laura Wade (Royal Court)
• Ruined by Lynn Nottage (Almeida theatre)
• Sucker Punch by Roy Williams (Royal Court)
• The Big Fellah by Richard Bean (Lyric Hammersmith)
• The Habit Of Art by Alan Bennett (National Theatre, Lyttelton)

The Ned Sherrin Award for BEST MUSICAL

• Hair (Gielgud Theatre)
• Legally Blonde The Musical (Savoy Theatre)
• Les Misérables (2010) (Cameron Mackintosh production at the Barbican Theatre)
• Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
• Sweet Charity (Menier Chocolate Factory; transferred to Theatre Royal Haymarket)
• The Human Comedy (A Young Vic/The Opera Group production co-produced with Watford Palace theatre)

BEST DIRECTOR

• Dominic Cooke for Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
• Howard Davies for The White Guard (National Theatre, Lyttelton) and All My Sons (Apollo theatre)
• James MacDonald for Cock (Royal Court)
• Jeremy Herrin for Spur Of The Moment (Royal Court)
• Joe Hill-Gibbins for The Beauty Queen Of Leenane (Young Vic)
• Laurie Sansom for Beyond The Horizon and Spring Storm (both National Theatre, Cottesloe)
• Lyndsey Turner for Posh (Royal Court)
• Michael Grandage for Red (Donmar Warehouse) and Danton’s Death (National theatre, Olivier)
• Nicholas Hytner for The Habit Of Art (National Theatre, Lyttelton), London Assurance (National Theatre, Olivier) and Hamlet (National Theatre, Olivier)
• Roger Michell for Rope (Almeida theatre)
• Rupert Goold for Romeo And Juliet (RSC Stratford) and Earthquakes In London (National Theatre, Cottesloe)
• Thea Sharrock for After The Dance (National Theatre, Lyttelton)

BEST DESIGN

• Bunny Christie for The White Guard (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
• Christopher Oram for Passion and Red (both Donmar Warehouse)
• Lez Brotherston for The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice (Vaudeville theatre), Measure For Measure (Almeida theatre), Women Beware Women (National Theatre, Olivier) and Design For Living (Old Vic)
• Mark Thompson for London Assurance (National Theatre, Olivier)
• Miriam Buether for Sucker Punch (Royal Court) and Earthquakes In London (National Theatre, Cottesloe)
• Rob Howell for Private Lives (Vaudeville theatre) and Deathtrap (Noël Coward theatre)
• Vicki Mortimer for The Cat In The Hat (National Theatre, Cottesloe; transferred to Young Vic)

The Charles Wintour Award for MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT

• Anya Reiss for Spur Of The Moment (Royal Court)
• Atiha Sen Gupta for What Fatima Did (Hampstead theatre)
• DC Moore for The Empire (Royal Court)
• James Graham for The Whisky Taster (Bush theatre) and The Man (Finborough theatre)
• Nick Payne for If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (Bush theatre) and Wanderlust (Royal Court)
• Penelope Skinner for Eigengrau (Bush theatre)

The Milton Shulman Award for OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER