Nominations for 2026 UK Theatre Awards revealed

The nominations for the UK Theatre Awards 2026, sponsored by Encore, have been announced, with nominees recognised across productions and organisations from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The awards ceremony will take place on Monday 12 October at 8 Northumberland Avenue in London, hosted by La Voix.

Nottingham Playhouse has received four nominations across the awards, including Best Performance in a Play, Best New Play and Best Play Revival, as well as a previously announced nomination for UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre. Theatr Clwyd has three nominations, including Excellence in Touring, sponsored by Theatre Tokens, and Excellence in Sustainability.

The awards also recognise achievements in dance, opera, arts education, inclusivity, sustainability and workforce culture.

Claire Walker and Hannah Essex, Co-CEOs of the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, said: “This year’s UK Theatre Awards nominations celebrate the extraordinary breadth of talent, creativity and dedication across our industry, and the vital role theatres play at the heart of communities across the UK.

“Audiences continue to flock to their local theatre in huge numbers, but as we look ahead to the Budget, we must ensure that our members have the support they need to continue reaching audiences across the country. This is why we are calling on the Chancellor for an expansion of Theatre Tax Relief to support touring costs and relief on business rates. These simple measures will enable greater access to the fantastic venues and productions that we are celebrating in these awards.

“We look forward to celebrating the very best of UK theatre on Monday 12 October. Congratulations to all the nominees, and thank you to our sponsors and partners for their support.”

The nominees in full:

On Stage Awards

Best Musical Production sponsored by Tysers Live

• Calendar Girls The Musical, a Stephen Joseph Theatre, Theatre by the Lake, New Wolsey Theatre and Octagon Theatre Bolton co-production
• The High Life, a National Theatre of Scotland & Dundee Rep Theatre co-production in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Capital Theatres
• Kiss Of The Spider Woman, a Curve, Bristol Old Vic and Mayflower Southampton co-production
• Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, a Birmingham Rep production

Best New Play sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance

• Black Sheep, a curious directive production at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds and New Wolsey Theatre
• The Last Stand Of Mrs Mary Whitehouse, a Nottingham Playhouse, Eleanor Lloyd Productions & Kate Pakenham co-production
• The Manningtree Witches, a Mercury Original in association with Frantic Assembly, supported by Eleanor Lloyd Productions

Best Play Revival

• Our Town, a Welsh National Theatre and Rose Theatre co-production
• Road, a Royal Exchange Theatre production
• Small Island, a Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse co-production in association with Actors Touring Company

Best Director

• Abigail Graham for Living, a Sheffield Theatres production
• Emma Jordan for The Human Voice, a Prime Cut Productions production at Lyric Theatre Belfast
• Tom Littler for Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing, a Guildford Shakespeare Company and Orange Tree Theatre co-production

Best Performance in a Musical

• Hadley Fraser for My Fair Lady, a Chichester Festival Theatre production
• Annette McLaughlin for Follies, a Northern Ireland Opera production at Grand Opera House, Belfast
• Julianne Pundan for Miss Saigon, a Cameron Mackintosh production in association with Michael Harrison

Best Performance in a Play

• Isis Hainsworth for Measure For Measure, a Royal Shakespeare Company production
• Adrian Lester for Cyrano De Bergerac, a Royal Shakespeare Company production
• Katie Redford & Benedict Salter for Scenes From A Friendship, a Nottingham Playhouse production

Best Supporting Performance (in a Musical or Play)

• Ash Hunter for The Meat Kings! (Inc.) Of Brooklyn Heights, a Papatango Theatre Company and Park Theatre co-production
• Lydia Louise for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a Watermill Theatre production
• Gloria Obianyo for As You Like It, a Theatre Royal Bath Productions production

Best Design

• Jenny Booth (set and costume design), Garry Boyle (sound design), Daniel Hughes (creative captioning) and Emma Jones (lighting design) for The Singer, a Dundee Rep Theatre & Solar Bear co-production in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts
• Ceci Calf (set and costume design) for The Assassination Of Margaret Thatcher, a Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse production
• Terry Parsons (set design) for Jack And Sarah, a Mill at Sonning production

Best Show for Children & Young People

• Beauty And The Beast, a Citizens Theatre production
• No Such Thing As Wolves, a Birmingham Hippodrome production
• Treasure Island, a Bristol Old Vic production

Achievement in Dance

• National Dance Company Wales for Surge | Gwefr
• Scottish Ballet for Mary, Queen of Scots
• Yorke Dance Project for Modern Milestones

Achievement in Opera

• English Touring Opera for the ambition and breadth of their programming in venues across the country
• Jack Furness for his direction of The Flying Dutchman by Welsh National Opera
• Scottish Opera for their commitment to championing new work through their productions of The Galloping Cureand The Great Wave

Off Stage Awards

Excellence in Arts Education

• Buxton Opera House
• Curve
• Polka Theatre

Excellence in Touring sponsored by Theatre Tokens

• East Anglian Touring Consortium
• Northern Ballet
• Theatr Clwyd

Excellence in Inclusivity

• National Youth Theatre
• Northern Stage
• The Theatre Chipping Norton

Excellence in Sustainability

• Mercury Theatre
• The Old Vic
• Theatr Clwyd

Excellence in Workforce Culture

• Blackpool Grand Theatre
• Swindon Theatres
• Wales Millennium Centre

UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre sponsored by Encore

• Nottingham Playhouse
• Theatr Clwyd
• Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds