Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse do the double at UK Theatre Awards

Representatives from theatres around the UK descended on the magnificent medieval Guildhall in the City of London yesterday, for the annual UK Theatre Awards recognising the achievements of regional theatre over the last year.

Following a drinks reception and lunch, Tamzin Outhwaite kicked off the awards-giving by presenting Best Director to Duncan MacMillan and Robert Icke for the Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse and Almeida Theatre production of 1984, and Best Touring Production to English Touring Theatre, Sheffield Theatres and Rose Theatre Kingston for their co-production Translations.

Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse took home two awards. Angela Griffin presenting the venue with the award for Promotion of Diversity before immediately calling them back to the stage to recognise their Achievement in Marketing, awarded for its comprehensive marketing campaign in the opening of the new Everyman venue.

Anita Dobson presented The Renee Stepham Award for Best Presentation of Touring Theatre, which was shared by Sadler's Wells, for projects including Breakin' Convention, and Shakespeare's Globe whose efforts have included Hamlet Globe-to-Globe, Dominic Dromgoole's production that is touring to every country in the world.

Performance awards went to Jenna Augen (Best Supporting Performance) for Theatre Royal Bath's production of Bad Jews, Patrick O'Kane (Best Performance in a Play) for Quietly, an Abbey Theatre production on tour, and Jamie Parker (Best Performance in a Musical) for Guys and Dolls at Chichester Festival Theatre.

The Northern Broadsides and New Vic Theatre production of Deborah McAndrew's An August Bank Holiday Lark won Best New Play, and the National Youth Music Theatre production of Brass directed by Sara Kestelman at City Varieties picked up the award for Best Musical Production, presented to them by an exuberant Brian Conley.

Wales Millennium Centre picked up the My Theatre Matters Award for the UK's Most Welcoming Theatre, the only award voted for by the public.

The event also included the inaugural Clothworkers’ Award, which saw Theatre Royal Plymouth awarded £150,000 as part of the Foundation’s new five year £1.25 million Dramatic Arts initiative. Their bid was for funding to transfer five productions to London over the next three years.

A second special award, the prestigious Gielgud Award for excellence in the dramatic arts, was given posthumously to Sir Donald Sinden and collected on his behalf by his son Marc Sinden.

Closing the event, Paul Kerryson accepted The Stage Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre. Paul was honoured for his work shaping the artistic landscape of Leicester including his current position as artistic director of Leicester Curve, a position which he hands over to Nikolai Foster next year.

Other guest presenting awards included Savannah Stevenson, the new West End Elphaba Jennifer DiNoia and Debbie Kurup. Jodie Prenger provided entertainment performing "Secret Love" from Calamity Jane.

Full list of Awards.

Best New Play
An August Bank Holiday Lark by Deborah McAndrew, a Northern Broadsides production in partnership with New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme on tour

Best Performance in a Play
Patrick O’Kane for Quietly, an Abbey Theatre production on tour

Best Supporting Performance
Jenna Augen for Bad Jews, a Theatre Royal Bath production, in the Ustinov Studio

Best Musical Production
Brass directed by Sara Kestelman, a National Youth Music Theatre production at City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds

Best Performance in a Musical
Jamie Parker for Guys and Dolls, a Chichester Festival Theatre production

Best Show for Children and Young People
Dragon, a National Theatre of Scotland, Vox Motus and Tianjin People’s Art Theatre, China production, at the Citizens Theatre and Traverse Theatre

Best Director
Duncan Macmillan and Robert Icke for 1984, a Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse and Almeida Theatre production, on tour

Best Design
Jon Bausor for ''Mametz, a National Theatre Wales production

Best Touring Production
Translations – English Touring Theatre, Sheffield Theatres and Rose Theatre Kingston.

Achievement in Dance
Birmingham Hippodrome for the bold, extensive programming and presentation of the International Dance Festival Birmingham 2014, in partnership with DanceXchange.

Achievement in Opera
Richard Farnes for his exceptional conducting of Opera North’s Death in Venice, The Girl of the Golden West and Gotterdammerung

The Renee Stepham Award for Best Presentation of Touring Theatre
Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe

Achievement in Marketing
Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse

Theatre Employee/Manager of the Year
Hedda Beeby – Watermill Theatre, Newbury

Promotion of Diversity
Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse

My Theatre Matters! UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre in association with Smooth Radio
Wales Millennium Centre

The Stage Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre
Paul Kerryson

The Clothworkers’ Award
Theatre Royal Plymouth

The Gielgud Award for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts
Sir Donald Sinden