Theatre News

Whatsonstage.com Awards Nominees Announced

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff

| London | London's West End | Off-West End |

3 December 2010

The nominations in the 2011 Whatsonstage.com Awards, the “theatregoers’ choice”, were announced today (3 December 2010) at the West End’s Cafe de Paris. The Whatsonstage.com Awards are the only major UK theatre prize-giving event decided by the public, who vote online here at awards.whatsonstage.com.
The shortlists across 26 different award categories have been drawn up based on nominations submitted by theatregoers over the past month. More than 7,000 people took part in the initial phase of the judging campaign this year, marking another new record in the 11 years of the Awards.

This year, Kim Cattrall, Zoë Wanamaker, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tamzin Outhwaite, David Suchet, Rory Kinnear, Matthew Macfadyen, Sheridan Smith and husband and wife Lee Mead and Denise Van Outen will be among those battling it out for acting gongs.

In the battle of the big musicals, Legally Blonde, starring Sheridan Smith, leads the way with seven nominations (including a nod for Smith as Best Actress in a Musical). Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies and Sweet Charity, which transferred to the West End earlier this year, each receive six nominations with Love Never Dies and Sweet Charity leads, Sierra Boggess and Tamzin Outhwaite, pitted against Smith for Best Actress in a Musical. Waving the flag for plays is All My Sons, also with six nominations, including Best Actress and Actor in a Play for Zoe Wanamaker and David Suchet.

Suchet will face tough competition in the Best Actor in a Play category as Rory Kinnear will hope to follow his success at this year’s Evening Standard Awards for his portrayal of Hamlet. Also nominated are current Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch (After the Dance), Matthew Macfadyen (Private Lives), Simon Russell Beale (Deathtrap and London Assurance) and Toby Stephens (The Real Thing). In the Best Actress in a Play prize group, alongside Zoë Wanamaker, Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall is nominated for her portrayal of Amanda in Noel Coward’s Private Lives. Also nominated are Helen McCrory (The Late Middle Classes), Jenny Jules (Ruined), Nancy Carroll (After the Dance) and Tracie Bennett (End of the Rainbow).

Stage stars and husband and wife Lee Mead and Denise Van Outen will go head to head to be win Best Takeover in a Role, for Wicked and Legally Blonde respectively. Van Outen will also be challenged by Rachel Tucker, also currently in Wicked, who took part in the BBC’s I’d Do Anything on which Denise was a panellist. Best Supporting Actress in a Musical is another family affair with sisters Scarlett and Summer Strallen battling it out with Hannah Waddingham, Jill Halfpenny, Josefina Gabrielle and Rosalie Craig for theatregoers’ votes.

Strictly dance partners Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna will contest the Award for London Newcomer of the Year for their debut in hit dance show Burn the Floor, along with 18 year-old playwright Anya Reiss (Spur of the Moment), former Skins’ actor Daniel Kaluuya (Sucker Punch), Jacob Casselden (Tribes), Glee’s Jonathan Groff (Deathtrap) and Robyn Addison (The Rivals).

In its 25th anniversary year Les Misérables shows that its longevity is no accident, receiving 5 nominations, including Theatre Event of the Year for the O2 concert and Best West End Show, a category for longer running productions launched last year for the 10th birthday of the awards.

Voting continues until the end of January. Results are announced and awards presented in front of a live audience of theatregoer voters at our Winners’ Concert on Sunday 20 February 2011 at the West End’s Prince of Wales Theatre.

VOTING OPENS TODAY
AT AWARDS.WHATSONSTAGE.COM –
CLICK HERE TO VOTE NOW!!


THE FULL LIST OF 2010/11 NOMINATIONS
The SPOTLIGHT Best Actress in a Play

  • Helen McCrory – The Late Middle Classes at the Donmar Warehouse
  • Jenny Jules – Ruined at the Almeida
  • Kim Cattrall – Private Lives at the Vaudeville
  • Nancy Carroll – After the Dance at the National, Lyttelton
  • Tracie Bennett – End of the Rainbow at Trafalgar Studios
  • Zoë Wanamaker – All My Sons at the Apollo

    The SPOTLIGHT Best Actor in a Play

  • Benedict Cumberbatch – After the Dance at the National, Lyttelton
  • David Suchet – All My Sons at the Apollo
  • Matthew Macfadyen – Private Lives at the Vaudeville
  • Rory Kinnear – Hamlet at the National, Olivier & Measure for Measure at the Almeida
  • Simon Russell Beale – Deathtrap at the Noel Coward & London Assurance at the National, Olivier
  • Toby Stephens – The Real Thing at the Old Vic

    Best Supporting Actress in a Play

  • Clare Higgins – Hamlet at the National, Olivier
  • Emma Cunniffe – The Crucible at the Open Air Theatre
  • Fiona Shaw – London Assurance at the National, Olivier
  • Harriet Walter – Women Beware Women at the National, Olivier
  • Jemima Rooper – All My Sons at the Apollo
  • Tamsin Greig – The Little Dog Laughed at the Garrick

    Best Supporting Actor in a Play

  • Adam James – Blood & Gifts at the National, Lyttelton
  • Adrian Scarborough – After the Dance at the National, Lyttelton
  • Eddie Redmayne – Red at the Donmar Warehouse
  • Lee Ross – Birdsong at the Comedy
  • Nigel Lindsay – Broken Glass at the Tricycle
  • Stephen Campbell Moore – All My Sons at the Apollo

    The BABY GRAND Best Actress in a Musical

  • Anna-Jane Casey – Bells Are Ringing at the Union
  • Elena Roger – Passion at the Donmar Warehouse
  • Sheridan Smith – Legally Blonde at the Savoy
  • Sierra Boggess – Love Never Dies at the Adelphi
  • Tamzin Outhwaite – Sweet Charity at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Haymarket
  • Victoria Hamilton-Barritt – Flashdance at the Shaftesbury

    The EMG Best Actor in a Musical

  • Alex Gaumond – Legally Blonde at the Savoy
  • John Owen-Jones – Les Misérables 25th anniversary production at the Barbican
  • Mark Umbers – Sweet Charity at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Haymarket
  • Michael Arden – Aspects of Love at the Menier Chocolate Factory
  • Ramin Karimloo – Love Never Dies at the Adelphi
  • Sahr Ngaujah – Fela! at the National, Olivier

    The NURSING STANDARD Best Supporting Actress in a Musical

  • Hannah Waddingham – Into the Woods at the Open Air
  • Jill Halfpenny – Legally Blonde at the Savoy
  • Josefina Gabrielle – Sweet Charity at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Haymarket
  • Rosalie Craig – Aspects of Love at the Menier Chocolate Factory
  • Scarlett Strallen – Passion at the Donmar Warehouse
  • Summer Strallen – Love Never Dies at the Adelphi

    Best Supporting Actor in a Musical

  • Chris Ellis-Stanton – Legally Blonde at the Savoy
  • Dave Willetts – Aspects of Love at the Menier Chocolate Factory
  • Joseph Millson – Love Never Dies at the Adelphi
  • Michael Xavier – Into the Woods at the Open Air
  • Paul J Medford – Sweet Charity at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Haymarket
  • Tim Newman – All the Fun of the Fair at the Garrick

    Best Ensemble Performance

  • Hair – at the Gielgud
  • Les Misérables 25th anniversary concert – the company of companies – at The O2
  • Men Should Weep – at the National, Lyttelton
  • Posh – at the Royal Court Downstairs
  • When We Are Married – at the Garrick
  • Women, Power & Politics – at the Tricycle

    The CAPITAL BREAKS Best Solo Performance

  • Bob Golding – Morecambe at the Duchess
  • Caroline O’Connor – The Showgirl Within at the Garrick
  • Hugh Hughes – The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes at the Barbican Pit
  • Meera Syal – Shirley Valentine at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Trafalgar Studios 1
  • Michael Gambon – Krapp’s Last Tape at the Duchess
  • Simon Callow – Shakespeare – The Man from Stratford, Dr Marigold & Mr Chops at Riverside Studios

    The TAKE ONE MEDIA Best Takeover in a Role

  • Ben Richards – Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Palace
  • Denise Van Outen – Legally Blonde at the Savoy
  • Griff Rhys-Jones – Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
  • Kerry Ellis – Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
  • Lee Mead – Wicked at the Apollo Victoria
  • Rachel Tucker – Wicked at the Apollo Victoria

    The OBERON BOOKS Best New Play

  • Anne Boleyn by Howard Brenton – at Shakespeare’s Globe
  • Blood & Gifts by JT Rogers – at the National, Lyttelton
  • Posh by Laura Wade – at the Royal Court Downstairs
  • Red by John Logan – at the Donmar Warehouse
  • Ruined by Lynn Nottage – at the Almeida
  • Tribes by Nina Raine – at the Royal Court Downstairs

    Best New Comedy

  • Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris – at the Royal Court Downstairs
  • Midsummer by David Greig – at Soho
  • Morecambe by Tim Whitnall – at the Duchess
  • Really Old, Like Forty-Five by Tamsin Oglesby – at the National, Cottesloe
  • The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane – at the Garrick
  • Yes, Prime Minister by Antony Jay & Jonathan Lynn – at the Gielgud

    The SEE TICKETS Best New Musical

  • All the Fun of the Fair by David Essex & Jon Conway – at the Garrick
  • Departure Lounge by Dougal Irvine – at Waterloo East
  • Fela! by Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Bill T Jones & Jim Lewis – at the National, Olivier
  • Flashdance by Robbie Roth, Robert Cary & Tom Hadley – at the Shaftesbury
  • Legally Blonde by Nell Benjamin, Laurence O’Keefe & Heather Hach – at the Savoy
  • Love Never Dies by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Glenn Slater & Ben Elton – at the Adelphi

    The RADISSON EDWARDIAN Best Play Revival

  • After the Dance – at the National, Lyttelton
  • All My Sons – at the Apollo
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – at the Novello
  • Deathtrap – at the Noel Coward
  • Design for Living – at the Old Vic
  • The Real Thing – at the Old Vic

    The AMBASSADOR THEATRE GROUP Best Musical Revival

  • Bells Are Ringing – at the Union
  • Hair – at the Gielgud
  • Into the Woods – at the Open Air
  • Les Misérables 25th anniversary production – at the Barbican
  • Passion – at the Donmar Warehouse
  • Sweet Charity – at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Theatre Royal Haymarket

    The SHAKESPEARE 4 KIDZ Best Shakespearean Production

  • As You Like It – at the Old Vic
  • Hamlet – at the National, Olivier
  • Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2 – at Shakespeare’s Globe
  • Macbeth – at Shakespeare’s Globe
  • Measure for Measure – at the Almeida
  • The Comedy of Errors – at the Open Air

    The LAST SECOND TICKETS Best Director

  • Howard Davies – All My Sons at the Apollo, The White Guard & Blood & Gifts at the National, Lyttelton
  • Nicholas Hytner – Hamlet & London Assurance at the National, Olivier
  • Roger Michell – Rope at the Almeida & Tribes at the Royal Court Downstairs
  • Rupert Goold – Earthquakes in London at the National, Cottesloe
  • Thea Sharrock – After the Dance at the National, Lyttelton
  • Timothy Sheader – Into the Woods & The Crucible at the Open Air

    Best Set Designer

  • Bunny Christie – Men Should Weep at the National, Lyttelton
  • Joanna Scotcher – The Railway Children at Waterloo Station
  • Miriam Buether – Sucker Punch at the Royal Court Downstairs & Earthquakes in London at the National, Cottesloe
  • Morgan Large – Flashdance at the Shaftesbury
  • Soutra Gilmour – Into the Woods at the Open Air
  • Stephen Brimson-Lewis – An Ideal Husband at the Vaudeville

    The WHITE LIGHT Best Lighting Designer

  • James Farncombe – Ghost Stories at the Lyric Hammersmith & Duke of York’s
  • Neil Austin – The Prince of Homburg at the Donmar Warehouse & Women Beware Women at the National, Olivier
  • Paul Keogan – Novecento, Donmar at Trafalgar Studios 2
  • Paule Constable – Blasted at the Lyric Hammersmith, Posh at the Royal Court Downstairs & Love Never Dies at the Adelphi
  • Peter Mumford – Sucker Punch at the Royal Court Downstairs
  • Rick Fisher – Tribes at the Royal Court Downstairs

    Best Choreographer

  • Arlene Phillips – Flashdance at the Shaftesbury
  • Bill T Jones – Fela! at the National, Olivier
  • Jason Gilkison – Burn the Floor at the Shaftesbury
  • Jerry Mitchell – Legally Blonde at the Savoy
  • Karole Armitage – Hair at the Gielgud
  • Stephen Mear – Shoes at Sadler’s Wells & Sweet Charity at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Theatre Royal Haymarket

    The DEWYNTERS London Newcomer of the Year

  • Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna – Burn the Floor at the Shaftesbury
  • Anya Reiss (playwright) – Spur of the Moment at the Royal Court Upstairs
  • Daniel Kaluuya – Sucker Punch at the Royal Court Downstairs
  • Jacob Casselden – Tribes at the Royal Court Downstairs
  • Jonathan Groff – Deathtrap at the Noel Coward
  • Robyn Addison – The Rivals at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

    The LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE Best Off-West End Production

  • A Number – at the Menier Chocolate Factory
  • Bells Are Ringing – at the Union
  • La Bohème – at the Cock Tavern, Kilburn & Soho
  • The Beauty Queen of Leenane – at the Young Vic
  • The Drowsy Chaperone – at Upstairs at the Gatehouse
  • The Wages of Thin – at the Old Red Lion

    Best Regional Production

  • Hamlet – at Sheffield Crucible
  • Chess – on tour
  • Antony & Cleopatra – at the Liverpool Playhouse
  • 42nd Street – at the Chichester Festival Theatre
  • Lend Me a Tenor – at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth
  • A Raisin in the Sun – at the Royal Exchange, Manchester

    The EQUITY Best West End Show

  • Jersey Boys – at the Prince Edward
  • Les Misérables – at the Queen’s
  • Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – at the Palace
  • The Phantom of the Opera – at Her Majesty’s
  • War Horse – at the New London
  • Wicked – at the Apollo Victoria

    The AKA Theatre Event of the Year

  • Jellyfish, the UK’s first recycled theatre, built on a playground in Southwark
  • Judi Dench returning to the role of Titania after 40 years for Sir Peter Hall in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rose, Kingston
  • Les Misérables’ 25th anniversary concert at The 02 & screened to cinemas worldwide
  • The Donmar Warehouse’s “Sondheim at 80” concerts
  • The relaunch of the King’s Head as London’s first new opera house in 40 years
  • The transformation of the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo for The Railway Children

    Special mentions

  • The launch of the Young Vic’s 40th anniversary season
  • You Me Bum Bum Train at the Barbican

    THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

  • Latest Reviews

    See all

    Theatre news & discounts

    Get the best deals and latest updates on theatre and shows by signing up for WhatsOnStage newsletter today!