The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in
London Theatre, and are organised by the ''
Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' newspaper. They are the West End's equivalent to Broadway's
Drama Desk Awards
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
.
Trophies
The trophies take the form of a modelled statuette, a figure representing
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
, designed by
Frank Dobson
Frank Gordon Dobson (15 March 1940 – 11 November 2019) was a British Labour Party politician. As Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St. Pancras from 1979 to 2015, he served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health from 1997 ...
RA, a former Professor of Sculpture at the
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...
.
Categories
Three of the awards are given in the names of former ''
Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after be ...
'' notables:
*Arts editor Sydney Edwards (who conceived the awards, and died suddenly in July 1979) for the Best Director category.
*Editor
Charles Wintour
Charles Vere Wintour (18 May 1917 – 4 November 1999) was a British newspaper editor, the father of ''Vogue'' magazine editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, and of the diplomatic editor of ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Patrick Wintour. After a life in m ...
(who as deputy-editor in 1955, launched the awards after a nod from the proprietor,
Lord Beaverbrook') for Most Promising Playwright.
*Long-serving theatre critic
Milton Shulman
Milton Shulman (1 September 1913 – 24 May 2004) was a Canadian author, film and theatre critic who was based in the United Kingdom from 1943.
Early life
Shulman was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of a successful shopkeeper. His parents wer ...
(for several years a key member of the judging panel) for the Outstanding Newcomer award.
In 2009, the Special Award was given in the name of
Evgeny Lebedev
Evgeny Alexandrovich Lebedev, Baron Lebedev ( rus, Евгений Александрович Лебедев, Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Lebedev, ; born 8 May 1980), is a Russian-British businessman, who owns Lebedev Holdings Ltd, which in turn own ...
, executive director of the ''Evening Standard''.
In 1980, noting the first use of the Special Award category, Shulman observed that "In 1968 the judges felt that Alan Bennett's work ''Forty Years On'' did not fit either the category of a Play or a Musical. But since they liked it so much they gave him the coveted Dobson statuette as a Special Award. In a quarter of a century, only in 1968 had no-one been designated as 'Promising' although it could conceivably be argued that Alan Bennett's Special Award was a reasonable substitute for this category."
The Special Award process came to a climax in 2004 when, in the 50th anniversary year, the category was used to signal peaks of accomplishment by the
National Theatre (an institution),
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...
(a playwright) and Dame
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
(a performer).
The Patricia Rothermere Award, presented biennially from 1999 to 2005, was created to honour the memory of
Patricia Harmsworth, Viscountess Rothermere
Patricia Evelyn Beverley Matthews Harmsworth, Viscountess Rothermere (5 May 1929 – 12 August 1992) was an English socialite and actress. As Beverly Brooks, she appeared in several films, such as ''Reach for the Sky'' (1956).
Early life
Patric ...
, wife of
Viscount Rothermere
Viscount Rothermere, of Hemsted in the county of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for the press lord Harold Harmsworth, 1st Baron Harmsworth. He had already been created a baronet, of Horsey in th ...
, chairman of the
Daily Mail and General Trust
Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) is a British multinational media company, the owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and several other titles. The 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the company. The head office is ...
, which formerly owned the ''Evening Standard''. The two part award recognised those who had given outstanding support to young actors, while also providing a three-year scholarship award for a drama student.
Commencing in 2009, the Best Actress award was renamed in tribute to
Natasha Richardson
Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, Richardson was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaugh ...
, who died after a skiing accident in Quebec in March 2009.
Awards ceremonies
The 2007 Awards lunchtime ceremony took place at the
Savoy Hotel
The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...
in London on 27 November 2007. The judges' assessments of the winners are online.
The 2008 winners were announced in a ceremony at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
, Covent Garden, on 24 November 2008. The judges' assessments are online.
The 2009 winners were announced in a ceremony, again at the Royal Opera House, on Monday, 23 November 2009. The judges' assessments are online.
The 2010 winners were announced at a celebratory evening ceremony on Thursday 28 November 2010 in the newly refurbished
Savoy Hotel
The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...
.
The 2011 winners were announced in a ceremony at the Savoy Hotel on 20 November 2011.
The 2012 winners were announced in a ceremony again at the Savoy Hotel on 25 November 2012.
The 2013 winners were announced in a ceremony again at the Savoy Hotel on 17 November 2013.
The 2014 winners were announced in a ceremony at the London Palladium on 30 November 2014.
The 2015 winners were announced in a ceremony at the Old Vic Theatre on 22 November 2015.
The 2016 winners were announced in a ceremony again at the Old Vic Theatre on 13 November 2016.
The 2017 winners were announced in a ceremony at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 3 December 2017.
The 2018 winners were announced in a ceremony again at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 18 November 2018.
The 2019 winners were announced in a ceremony at the London Coliseum on 24 November 2019.
The 2022 winners were announced in a ceremony at The Ivy on 11 December 2022.
Awards by year
List of existing articles for individual years:
Winners 1955–2019
Best Play
Best Director
Also known as The Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director from 1979. Renamed the Milton Shulman Award for Best Director from 2014.
Best Actor
Best Actress
Also known as ''The Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress from 2009''
Best Musical
Renamed the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical in 2007
Best Musical Performance
Best Designer
Best Comedy
Most Controversial Play
* 1955 – ''
Waiting for Godot'' by
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
(Only award in this category)
Editor's Award (renamed 'for a Shooting Star' in 2010)
Most Promising Playwright
Also known as the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright
Outstanding Newcomer
Also known as the Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer
:''Note: Category ceased but is re-styled as the Emerging Talent Award''
Emerging Talent
Theatrical Achievement
*1998 –
Jonathan Kent and
Ian McDiarmid
Ian McDiarmid (; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen, best known for portraying the Sith Lord Emperor Sheev Palpatine / Darth Sidious in the ''Star Wars'' multimedia franchise. Making his stage debut in '' ...
of the
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...
(Only award in this category)
Lady Rothermere Drama Award
Two part award, originally as the Patricia Rothermere Award
* 1992 - Fionuala Clarence, Scholarship award
*1993 –
Matthew Rhys
Matthew Rhys Evans ( ; born 8 November 1974) is a Welsh actor.
He is known for playing Kevin Walker in '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2011) and Philip Jennings in ''The Americans'' (2013–2018), for which he received two Golden Globe Awar ...
, scholarship award
*1997 –
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
, for outstanding services to the theatre
**1997 – Mark Rice-Oxley, scholarship award
*1999 –
Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View (1985 ...
, for outstanding services to the theatre
**1999 – Martin Rea, scholarship award
*2001 –
Prunella Scales
Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...
, for ...
**2001 – Cassandre Joseph, scholarship award
*2003 –
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisio ...
, for exceptional support for young actors
**2003 – Elif Yesil, scholarship award
*2005 –
Penelope Keith
Dame Penelope Anne Constance Keith, (née Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress and presenter, active in film, radio, stage and television and primarily known for her roles in the British sitcoms '' The Good Life'' and ''To the Man ...
, for ...
**2005 – Hannah Croft, scholarship award
The Special Award (given as The Lebedev Special Award in 2009)
Theatre Icon Award
* 2013 –
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (born 28 December 1934) is an English actress. With an extensive career on screen and stage beginning in the mid-1950s, Smith has appeared in more than sixty films and seventy plays. She is one of the few performer ...
Moscow Art Theatre's Golden Seagull
* 2010 –
Sir Peter Hall
* 2011 –
Sir Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politic ...
* 2012 –
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
Beyond Theatre award
* 2011 –
Pet Shop Boys
The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...
and
Javier de Frutos
Javier De Frutos is a Spanish director, choreographer and designer (born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1963) was named by the Evening Standard as one of 2016 most influential people in London.
He is one of only three artists in the history of the Olivi ...
for ''
The Most Incredible Thing''
* 2012 –
Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...
and his teams for the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics
* 2013 –
BBC Proms 2013
* 2014 – ''
Here Lies Love
''Here Lies Love'' is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas ...
''
Award For Comedy
* 2013 –
David Walliams
David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little B ...
for ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
''
Best Revival of the Year
* 2014 – ''
Skylight
A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes.
History
Open ...
''
See also
*
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...
*
Critics' Circle Theatre Awards
The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, originally called ''Drama'' Theatre Awards up to 1990, are British theatrical awards presented annually for the closing year's theatrical achievements. The winners, from theatre throughout the United Kingdom, ar ...
*
WhatsOnStageAwards
*
The Offies (The Off West End Theatre Awards)
*
UK Theatre Awards
The UK Theatre Awards, established in 1991 and known before 2011 as the TMA Awards, are presented annually by UK Theatre (formerly the Theatrical Management Association) in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in regional theat ...
Sources
*''Celebration: 25 Years of British Theatre''.
W. H. Allen Ltd, 1980. , for Awards 1955–1978
*
Theatre Record
''Theatre Record'' is a periodical that reprints reviews, production photographs, and other information about the British theatre.
Overview
''Theatre Record'' was founded in 1981 by Ian Herbert and has been published fortnightly since January 1 ...
and its annual Indexes, for Awards 1981 to date.
References
{{Navboxes
, title = Categories of Evening Standard Theatre Awards
, list =
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Director
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Designer
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical Performance
{{Evening Standard Theatre Award for Outstanding Newcomer
London awards
Awards established in 1955
British theatre awards
1955 establishments in the United Kingdom
Theatre in London