Nominees for 2025 Ian Charleson Award revealed

The nominees for the 2025 Ian Charleson Award have been announced.

The annual prize, named in memory of the acclaimed actor who died in 1990, recognises outstanding performances by actors under the age of 30 in classical stage roles (written before 1918).

This year’s judges are the actor Fisayo Akinade, Alastair Coomer (head of casting at the National Theatre), Robert Hastie, the deputy artistic director at the National Theatre, and casting director Hannah Miller.

This year’s shortlist is composed of:

Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, 26 – Romeo and Juliet, Duke of York’s

Melanie-Joyce Bermudez, 24 – Love’s Labour’s Lost, RSC

Ralph Davis, 28 – Othello, Shakespeare’s Globe

Tom Glenister, 28 – A Doll’s House, The Crucible, Sheffield

Madeleine Gray, 29 – Uncle Vanya, Orange Tree Theatre

Éanna Hardwicke, 27 – The Cherry Orchard, Donmar Warehouse

Oli Higginson, 29 – Othello, Shakespeare’s Globe

Nadeem Islam, 27 – Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare’s Globe

Siena Kelly, 28 – A Doll’s House, The Crucible, Sheffield

Francesca Mills, 27 – The Duchess of Malfi, Shakespeare’s Globe

Daniel Quinn-Toye, 21 – Romeo and Juliet, Duke of York’s

Andrew Richardson, 28 – Uncle Vanya, Orange Tree Theatre / A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Barbican

Rumi Sutton, 24 – The Importance of Being Earnest, Royal Exchange

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London later this spring.