Nominations open for 22nd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards

We are very excited to announce that the 22nd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards will take place on Sunday 27 February 2022 at the Prince of Wales Theatre – but before we get there, we need your nominations!

Now in their 22nd year, the WhatsOnStage Awards are the only major theatre awards decided by the theatregoers themselves. On the night, as well as seeing the winners crowned across a range of categories, attendees will also enjoy a host of exclusive live performances from top theatre talent.

Nominations are now open and will close on Friday 26 November 2021 ahead of the shortlist being announced on Thursday 9 December 2021. Voting will then open, closing on Friday 21 January 2022, with the winners being announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday 27 February 2022.

This time around the Awards will be co-produced with Paul Taylor-Mills, artistic director of the Turbine Theatre and The Other Palace, as well as Sita McIntosh, who is returning to work alongside WOS to make sure the evening is delivered in style.

WhatsOnStage's Sarah Coleman said today: "It feels like a lifetime since we last came together at the Prince of Wales Theatre to celebrate that joyous, unbreakable link between performers and audiences in March 2020. Our 21st Annual WhatsOnStage Awards earlier this year were a chance to find light amongst the darkness of lockdown, celebrate the kindness of our theatre community and highlight the remarkable digital innovation that has taken place during the pandemic, but as theatres reopen across the world we are itching to be back in the room where it happens next February for our 22nd round of awards. Who wins is now in your hands!"

Please note, nominations have now closed.

The shortlist for the technical categories (Choreography, Costume Design, Direction, Graphic Design, Lighting Design, Musical Direction, Set Design, Sound Design and Video Design) will be once again decided by an independent panel of industry experts appointed by WhatsOnStage. Their shortlist will then be voted on by our lovely readers.

This year, WhatsOnStage will alter the eligibility for the performance categories. For each of the following:

– Best Performance in a Leading Role in a Musical
– Best Performance in a Leading Role in a Play
– Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical
– Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Play

Readers will be able to nominate two individuals per category. Once nominations have closed, WhatsOnStage will identify the names with the most votes and then compile the shortlist by liaising with those nominees to determine where they would feel most comfortably represented.

Read our article on eligibility before you nominate