Ian Charleson Awards

We might have missed it but the publicity around the winners of this year’s Ian Charleson Awards seemed particularly muted.

Even the Sunday Times, the sponsor of the awards, gave little promotion to the nominations or winners.

This year marks 20 years since actor Ian Charleson died on 6 January 1990 of AIDS-related causes, only eight weeks after playing Hamlet in Richard Eyre’s production at the National Theatre.

He was an extremely accomplished actor, appearing in film (Chariots of Fire), TV (Oxbridge Blues) and numerous stage roles, both plays and musicals, including Guys and Dolls and Fool For Love.

The awards were established to commemorate and celebrate his life, and The Sunday Times and the National Theatre collaborate annually to present awards for outstanding performances anywhere in the UK, by actors under the age of 30 in a classical role.

Maybe the private awards lunch held annually should be webcast by the National, so everyone can celebrate the UK’s most promising actors?

Links:

Read Ian McKellen’s touching tribute to Ian Charleson’s performance in Hamlet at the National Theatre

Read Alan Bates’ 1990 tribute to Ian Charleson

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Actor Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Actor Winners

Best Actor

2010 Mark Rylance for Jerusalem
2009 Derek Jacobi for Twelfth Night
2008 Chiwetel Ejiofor in Othello
2007 Rufus Sewell for Rock ‘N’ Roll
2006 Brian Dennehy for Death Of A Salesman
2005 Richard Griffiths for The History Boys
2004 Matthew Kelly for Of Mice And Men
2003 Simon Russell Beale for Uncle Vanya
2002 Roger Allam for Privates On Parade
2001 Conleth Hill for Stones In His Pockets
2000 Henry Goodman for The Merchant Of Venice
1999 Kevin Spacey for The Iceman Cometh
1998 Ian Holm for King Lear
1997 Antony Sher for Stanley
1996 Alex Jennings for Peer Gynt
1995 David Bamber for My Night With Reg
1994 Mark Rylance for Much Ado About Nothing
1993 Robert Stephens for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2)
1992 Nigel Hawthorne for The Madness Of George III
1991 Ian McKellen for Richard III
1989/90 Oliver Ford Davies for Racing Demon
1987 Michael Gambon for A View From The Bridge
1986 Albert Finney for Orphans
1985 Antony Sher for Richard III and Torch Song Trilogy

Actor of the Year in a New Play

1988 David Haig for Our Country’s Good
1984 Brian Cox for Rat In The Skull
1983 Jack Shepherd for Glengarry Glen Ross
1982 Ian McDiarmid for lnsignificance
1981 Trevor Eve for Children Of A Lesser God
1980 Roger Rees for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 Ian McKellen for Bent
1978 Tom Conti for Whose Life Is It Anyway?
1977 Michael Bryant for State Of Revolution
1976 Paul Copley for King And Country

Actor of the Year in a Revival

1988 Brian Cox for Titus Andronicus
1984 Ian McKellen for Wild Honey
1983 Derek Jacobi for Cyrano De Bergerac
1982 Stephen Moore for A Doll’s House
1981 Daniel Massey for Man And Superman
1980 Jonathan Pryce for Hamlet
1979 Warren Mitchell for Death Of A Salesman
1978 Alan Howard for Coriolanus
1977 Ian McKellen for Pillars Of The Community
1976 Alan Howard for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2) and Henry V

Best Actor in a Musical

2010 Aneurin Barnard for Spring Awakening
2009 Douglas Hodge for La Cage aux Folles
2008 Michael Ball for Hairspray
2007 Daniel Evans for Sunday In The Park With George
2006 James Lomas, George Maguire and Liam Mower for Billy Elliot – The Musical
2005 Nathan Lane for The Producers
2004 David Bedella for Jerry Springer – The Opera
2003 Alex Jennings for My Fair Lady
2002 Philip Quast for South Pacific
2001 Daniel Evans for Merrily We Roll Along
2000 Simon Russell Beale for Candide
1999 The cast of Kat and The Kings
1998 Philip Quast for The Fix
1997 Robert Lindsay for Oliver!
1996 Adrian Lester for Company
1995 John Gordon Sinclair for She Loves Me
1994 Alun Armstrong for Sweeney Todd
1993 Henry Goodman for Assassins
1992 Alan Bennett for Talking Heads
1991 Philip Quast for Sunday In The Park With George
1989/90 Jonathan Pryce for Miss Saigon
1988 Con O’Neill for Blood Brothers
1987 John Bardon and Emil Wolk for Kiss Me Kate
1986 Michael Crawford for The Phantom Of The Opera
1985 Robert Lindsay for Me And My Girl
1984 Paul Clarkson for The Hired Man
1983 Denis Lawson for Mr. Cinders
1982 Roy Hudd for Underneath The Arches
1981 Michael Crawford for Barnum
1980 Denis Quilley for Sweeney Todd
1979 Anton Rodgers for Songbook

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Supporting Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Supporting Winners

Best Performance in a Supporting Role

2009 Patrick Stewart for Hamlet
2008 Rory Kinnear for The Man Of Mode
2007 Jim Norton for The Seafarer
2006 Noma Dumezweni for A Raisin In The Sun, Young Vic
2005 Amanda Harris for Othello
2004 Warren Mitchell for The Price

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

2010 Ruth Wilson for A Streetcar Named Desire
2002 Marcia Warren for Humble Boy
2001 Pauline Flanagan for Dolly West’s Kitchen
2000 Patricia Hodge for Money
1997 Deborah Findlay for Stanley
1995 Dora Bryan for The Birthday Party
1994 Helen Burns for The Last Yankee
1993 Barbara Leigh-Hunt for An Inspector Calls
1992 Frances de la Tour for When She Danced
1991 Sara Crowe for Private Lives
1984 Marcia Warren for Stepping Out
1983 Abigail McKern for As You Like It
1982 Anna Massey for The Importance Of Being Earnest
1981 Gwen Watford for Present Laughter
1980 Suzanne Bertish for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 Doreen Mantle for Death Of A Salesman
1978 Elizabeth Spriggs for Love Letters On Blue Paper
1977 Mona Washbourne for Stevie

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

2010 Eddie Redmayne for Red
2002 Toby Jones for The Play What I Wrote
2001 Ben Daniels for All My Sons
2000 Roger Allam for Money
1997 Trevor Eve for Uncle Vanya
1995 Ken Stott for Broken Glass
1994 Joseph Mydell for Perestroika
1993 Julian Glover for Henry IV (Parts 1 and 2)
1992 Oleg Menshikov for When She Danced
1991 David Bradley for King Lear
1984 Edward Petherbridge for Strange Interlude
1983 Alan Devlin for A Moon For The Misbegotten
1982 David Healy for Guys And Dolls
1981 Joe Melia for Good
1980 David Threlfall for Nicholas Nickleby
1979 Patrick Stewart for Antony And Cleopatra
1978 Robert Eddison for Twelfth Night
1977 Nigel Hawthorne for Privates On Parade

Best Supporting Performance

2003 Essie Davis for A Streetcar Named Desire
1999 Brendan Coyle for The Weir
1998 Sarah Woodward for Tom & Clem
1996 Simon Russell Beale for Volpone
1989/90 Michael Bryant for Hamlet, The Voysey Inheritance and Racing Demon
1988 Eileen Atkins for Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale and Mountain Language
1987 Michael Bryant for King Lear and Antony And Cleopatra
1986 Paul Jesson for The Normal Heart
1985 Imelda Staunton for A Chorus Of Disapproval and The Corn Is Green
1976 Margaret Courtenay for Separate Tables

Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical

2010 Iwan Rheon for Spring Awakening
2009 Lesli Margherita for Zorro
2008 Tracie Bennett for Hairspray
2007 Sheila Hancock for Cabaret
2006 Celia Imrie for Acorn Antiques – The Musical!
2005 Conleth Hill for The Producers
2004 The Chorus of Jerry Springer – The Opera
2003 Paul Baker for Taboo
2002 Martyn Jacques for Shockheaded Peter
2001 Miles Western for Pageant
2000 Jenny Galloway for Mamma Mia!
1999 Shuler Hensley for Oklahoma!
1998 James Dreyfus for Lady In The Dark
1997 Clive Rowe for Guys And Dolls
1996 Sheila Gish for Company
1995 Tracie Bennett for She Loves Me
1994 Sara Kestelman for Cabaret
1993 Janie Dee for Carousel
1992 Jenny Galloway for The Boys From Syracuse
1991 Karla Burns for Show Boat

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Play Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Play Winners

Best New Play

2010 The Mountaintop
2009 Black Watch by Gregory Burke
2008 A Disappearing Number
2007 Blackbird by David Harrower
2006 On The Shore Of The Wide World by Simon Stephens
2005 The History Boys by Alan Bennett
2004 The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

The BBC Award for Best New Play

2003 Vincent In Brixton by Nicholas Wright
2002 Jitney by August Wilson
2001 Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall
2000 Goodnight Children Everywhere by Richard Nelson
1999 The Weir by Conor McPherson
1998 Closer by Patrick Marber
1997 Stanley by Pam Gems
1996 Skylight by David Hare
1995 Broken Glass by Arthur Miller
1994 Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
1993 Six Degrees Of Separation by John Guare
1992 Death And The Maiden by Ariel Dorfman
1991 Dancing At Lughnasa by Brian Friel
1989/90 Racing Demon by David Hare
1988 Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker
1987 Serious Money by Caryl Churchill
1986 Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton
1985 Red Noses by Peter Barnes
1984 Benefactors by Michael Frayn
1983 Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet
1982 Another Country by Julian Mitchell
1981 Children Of A Lesser God by Mark Medoff
1980 The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, adapted by David Edgar
1979 Betrayal by Harold Pinter
1978 Whose Life Is It Anyway? by Brian Clark
1977 The Fire That Consumes by Henry de Montherlant, English version by Vivian Cox with Bernard Miles
1976 Dear Daddy by Denis Cannan

Best Revival

2010 Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
2009 The Histories
2007 The Crucible by Arthur Miller
2006 Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen in a new version by Richard Eyre
2005 Hamlet by William Shakespeare
2004 Mourning Becomes Electra by Eugene O’Neill
2003 Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare and Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov
1995 As You Like It by William Shakespeare
1994 Machinal by Sophie Treadwell
1993 An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
1992 Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen
1991 Pericles by William Shakespeare

Tony Awards tonight

The annual Tony Awards will be announced tonight, Sunday 13 June 2010, at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

The star-studded event will be hosted by Sean Hayes, best known as Jack from Will & Grace and currently starring in Promises, Promises on Broadway.

The awards, the most important in the US arts calendar, will feature performances from current Broadway shows including American Idiot, Fela!, Memphis, Million Dollar Quartet, La Cage aux Folles, A Little Night Music and Ragtime. Star presenters will include Katie Holmes, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, Angela Lansbury, Mark Sanchez, Daniel Radcliffe, Barbara Cook, Stanley Tucci, Idina Menzel and Laura Bell Bundy!

Other appearances and performances will include Glee’s Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison, Paula Abdul, Antonio Banderas, Cate Blanchett, Kristin Chenoweth, Michael Douglas, Scarlett Johansson, Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, Chris Noth, Bernadette Peters, Raquel Welch and David Hyde Pierce, who will receive a special Tony Award and is slated to appear in London next month in La Bete at the Comedy Theatre.

Shows up for awards this year include a revival of August Wilson’s Fences starring Denzel Washington (10nominations); Broadway musical Fela! (11 nominations) – and which makes its UK premiere at the National Theatre in November; and nods for a number of high-profile Hollywood stars including Christopher Walken (Behanding in Spokane), Liev Schreiber (A View From The Bridge), and Scarlett Johansson (A View from the Bridge).

Recent Broadway musical The Addams Family starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, failed to find favour with the Tony awards committee, scoring only two nominations – best original score and best supporting actor in a musical for Kevin Chamberlin.

UK creatives or shows have garned 28 nominations this year. The Menier Chocolate Factory in South London will be awaiting news on two of its successful productions that have transferred to Broadway and received 15 Tony nominations:  La Cage Aux Folles opened at the Longacre Theatrein April to enormous critical acclaim. The show features original London star Douglas Hodge and US actor Kelsey Grammer, both of whom have been nominated in the best actor in a musical category. In total the show has picked up 11 nominations, including best revival of a musical, scenic design (Tim Shortall), costume design  (Matthew Wright),  lighting design (Nick Richings), sound design (Jonathan Deans), direction (Terry Johnson), choreography (Lynne Page), orchestrations (Jason Carr) and best supporting actor (Robin De Jesus).

Also A Little Night Music, which started life at the Menier in 2008 before transferring to the Garrick theatre in the West End, opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr theatre in December 2009. It has picked up 4 nominations, including competing against La Cage in the best musical revival category, and nods for Catherine Zeta-Jones (best actress in a musical), Angela Lansbury (best supporting actress in a musical), and sound design (Dan Moses Schreier and Gareth Owen).

Other nominated UK shows include the Donmar Warehouse’s transfer of Red which enjoys 7 nominations including best play, best actor for Alfred Molina, best supporting actor for Eddie Redmayne, and best scenic design (Christopher Oram), lighting design (Neil Austin), sound design (Adam Cork) and direction (Michael Grandage). The Donmar production of Hamlet sees a nod for Jude Law and best lighting design of a play for Neil Austin. And the Royal Court’s production of Enron, which failed on Broadway but continues to sell well in London is nominated for best original score (music by Adam Cork and lyrics by Lucy Prebble), best supporting actor for Stephen Kunken, best sound design (Adam Cork) and best lighting design (Mark Henderson). Also veteran UK actress Rosemary Harris also received a best supporting nod for The Royal Family and one of the UK’s greatest living playwrights, Alan Ayckbourn, will receive a lifetime achievement award.

US viewers can watch the awards on CBS from 8pm ET. Selected countries are also airing the awards over the next week, although not in the UK. TonyAwards.com will only be featuring live footage of the red carpet arrivals and Creative Arts Awards from 6pm until 8pm ET.

See a list of Tony Award 2010 nominations here

www.tonyawards.com

La Cage dominates Tony nominations

The UK’s Menier Chocolate Factory has scored another hit with its production of La Cage Aux Folles – this time on Broadway.

The small South London arts venue has dominated this year’s Tony Awards nominations – with a total of 15 nods. Its musical productions of Jerry Herman’s La Cage Aux Folles and Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music have both garnered multiple nominations for their Broadway transfers.

La Cage Aux Folles premiered at the Chocolate Factory in 2008 before transferring the Playhouse Theatre in London, and opened at the Longacre Theatre on Broadway last month to enormous critical acclaim.

The show features original London star Douglas Hodge and US actor Kelsey Grammer, both of whom have been nominated in the best actor in a musical category. In total the show has picked up 11 nominations, including best revival of a musical, scenic design (Tim Shortall), costume design  (Matthew Wright),  lighting design (Nick Richings), sound design (Jonathan Deans), direction (Terry Johnson), choreography (Lynne Page), orchestrations (Jason Carr) and best supporting actor (Robin De Jesus).

A Little Night Music, which started life at the Menier in 2008 before transferring to the Garrick theatre in the West End, opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr theatre in December 2009. It has picked up 4 nominations, including competing against La Cage in the best musical revival category, and nods for Catherine Zeta-Jones (best actress in a musical), Angela Lansbury (best supporting actress in a musical), and sound design (Dan Moses Schreier and Gareth Owen).

Overall, it has been a successful year for the UK on Broadway, with a total of 28 nominations going to UK creatives. Other celebrated UK shows include the Donmar Warehouse’s transfer of Red which enjoys 7 nominations including best play, best actor for Alfred Molina, best supporting actor for Eddie Redmayne, and best scenic design (Christopher Oram), lighting design (Neil Austin), sound design (Adam Cork) and direction (Michael Grandage).

The Donmar also saw its production of Hamlet garner a best actor nod for Jude Law and best lighting design of a play for Neil Austin.

The Royal Court’s production of Enron, which transferred to Broadway but was not well received and has closed early at the Broadhurst Theatre, was nominated for best original score (music by Adam Cork and lyrics by Lucy Prebble), best supporting actor for Stephen Kunken, best sound design (Adam Cork) and best lighting design (Mark Henderson). Enron is currently playing to strong audiences in London at the Noel Coward Theatre.

Veteran UK actress Rosemary Harris also received a best supporting nod for The Royal Family and one of the UK’s greatest living playwrights, Alan Ayckbourn, will receive a lifetime achievement award.

Other big hitters nominated this year include a revival of August Wilson’s Fences starring Denzel Washington (10 nominations); Broadway musical Fela! (11 nominations) – and which makes its UK premiere at the National Theatre in November; and nods for a number of high-profile Hollywood stars including Christopher Walken (Behanding in Spokane), Liev Schreiber (A View From The Bridge), and Scarlett Johansson (A View from the Bridge).

Recent Broadway musical The Addams Family starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, failed to find favour with the Tony awards committee, scoring only two nominations – best original score and best supporting actor in a musical for Kevin Chamberlin.

The 64^th awards will be presented on 13 July in New York.

See a list of Tony Award 2010 nominations here

Is televising theatre a good thing?

With the announcement that David Tennant’s Hamlet is to be televised for BBC2 we ponder the question: is televising theatre a good thing?

Tennant enjoyed enormous critical and audience acclaim for his performance of the Danish Prince for the RSC, both in Stratford and, briefly, in the West End until a serious back problem caused him to pull out.

Gregory Doran, who directed the RSC version, wants to reunite the cast and create a film version of the production.

This comes alongside the National Theatre’s NT Live programme, which sees live theatre broadcast to cinemas in the UK and around the world. It kicks off with a biggie – Phedre starring Helen Mirren, broadcast to over 50 cinemas on 25 June.

Given that few people actually had an opportunity to see David Tennant in Hamlet, and that Phedre completely sold out in a few days, the idea of taking live performance outside the confines of a theatre has the opportunity to vastly widen its audience. Theatre is intrinsically elitist – it costs a lot to attend and is very location specific. By turning to cinema and TV, you reduce the expense and vastly expand potential audiences.

But is something lost? The magic of seeing live theatre cannot be recreated on screen. And it’s a vastly different medium. Some of the most boring TV and cinema happens when you simply take a static theatre piece and point some cameras at it. Far from inspiring new generations of theatregoers it could actually confirm their worst suspicions – that theatre is slow and uneventful and nothing compared to the breadth and scope of the best movies and tele.

Bringing TV and film stars such as Tennant and Mirren into theatre has to be a good thing for everyone. But doing a neat back-flip and putting the TV star in a play on TV could backfire. Here’s a wild, off-the-wall idea: maybe these stars could tour their plays to other places than Stratford and London? For centuries stage stars spent the majority of their time performing in front of audiences across the UK – feeling a strong sense of loyalty to the millions of people who wanted to see them perform live. What happened to that?

London theatre – summer preview

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London theatre is pulling out all of the stops this summer to ensure that the capital’s theatre scene remains a chief attraction for millions of UK and overseas visitors.

A host of big hitting stars and large scale musicals are lined up to showcase a range of new productions, including performances by Jude Law, Helen Mirren, Ethan Hawke, Gillian Anderson and Ian McKellen.

The death of drama in the West End has been greatly exaggerated given the wide ranging slate of classic and contemporary plays premiering this summer. One of the most high profile will be Jude Law, taking to the stage in Shakespeare’s most famous play, Hamlet, directed by Michael Grandage as part of his Donmar in the West End season. A strong supporting cast includes Penelope Wilton as Gertrude and Kevin McNally as Claudius, from 29 May at the Wyndham’s Theatre.

From Danes to Dames and Helen Mirren returns to London and the National Theatre from 4 June in Racine’s tragic play Phedre. The play concerns a woman (Mirren) consumed by passion for her stepson, which is highly plausible given that the stepson is played by hot young thing and Mamma Mia! The Movie star Dominic Cooper.

Helen Mirren starred in successful British movie Calendar Girls – which is now coming to the stage in a brand new production starring Patricia Hodge and Sian Phillips. Written by Tim Firth, the story of a group of middle-aged Women’s Institute members who pose for a calendar with a difference is playing at the Noel Coward Theatre.

Stage legends Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart are reuniting after their onscreen antics in the X-Men movies to give us Waiting for Godot at the Haymarket Theatre from 20 April, in what promises to be a standout production of Samuel Beckett’s classic.

Talents from New York and London will converge at The Old Vic from 23 May for The Bridge Project – a three year partnership between The Old Vic, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Neal Street Productions. Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes will direct a new version of The Cherry Orchard plus Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, in a cast that features Ethan Hawke, Simon Russell Beale, Sinead Cusack and recent star of Woody Allen’s Vicky Christina Barcelona, Rebecca Hall.

The Cherry Orchard is a new translation by Tom Stoppard, who will also see his 1993 play Arcadia revived in a new production at the Duke of York’s Theatre starring his son Ed Stoppard and Samantha Bond and Dan Stevens. In its first run at the National Theatre the play won a slew of awards including Critics’ Circle, Evening Standard and Olivier Awards.

Other notable players making their way into town include Prunella Scales (Fawlty Towers) in Carrie’s War at the Apollo Theatre, and Gillian Anderson, who will star in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at the Donmar Warehouse, joining a stellar cast that includes Christopher Eccleston, Toby Stephens, Tara Fitzgerald and Anton Lesser.

Musical theatre is firmly “based on a film” this year as a blockbuster stage production of Sister Act joins a West End brimming with adaptations of movies, including recent addition Priscilla Queen of the Desert starring Jason Donovan and long-runners Hairspray with Michael Ball, Dirty Dancing, The Lion King, Billy Elliot, Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Sunset Boulevard – and Grease, which will star Dancing on Ice winner Ray Quinn as Danny from 11 May.

Sister Act, which runs from 7 May at the London Palladium, is produced by the film’s original star Whoopi Goldberg and features Sheila Hancock and rising star Patina Miller, with music courtesy of Alan Menken (Disney’s Beauty & The Beast).

Other movie-to-stage shows on the horizon include the Broadway production of Legally Blond opening at the Savoy Theatre at the end of the year and a stage adaptation of Oscar winning film Ghost, directed by Matthew Warchus, set for 2010.

Chief amongst the new musicals opening in London in the later part of 2009 will be Andrew Lloyd Webber’s world premiere of The Phantom of the Opera sequel Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre in early November. The show is set to star current London Phantom Ramin Karimloo and will follow its London opening with productions in Toronto, Shanghai and then Broadway.

A number of shows that have run successfully in other venues are also making their way into the West End including Juliet Stevenson (Truly Madly Deeply) and Henry Goodman in Duet For One at the Vaudeville Theatre; the acclaimed production of Steven Sondheim’s A Little Night Music starring Maureen Lipman at the Garrick Theatre; the National Theatre’s War Horse, a family drama set during World War I about a boy’s adventures to find his beloved horse, at the New London theatre; and following its smash-hit run on Broadway – a new UK production of uber hip musical Spring Awakening at the Novello Theatre.

Other long running musicals that continue to extend their runs and pack them in include Avenue Q – now at the Gielgud Theatre, Blood Brothers, We Will Rock You, Chicago, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Stomp, Oliver!, Mamma Mia!, Les Miserables, Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Joseph, Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Carousel, Thriller Live featuring the songs of Michael Jackson and an award-winning production of La Cage Aux Folles.

Long-running plays in London include scary thriller The Woman in Black, hilarious comedy The 39 Steps based on Alfred Hitchcock’s film and Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap.

Finally, the V&A Museum in London has opened its new Theatre and Performance galleries following the closure of the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden in 2007. The new galleries will celebrate the UK’s heritage in culture and performance with hundreds of exhibits including costumes, set models, stage props, original posters and playbills, theatrical prints, paintings and photographs from some of London’s most famous theatrical productions.

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WOS Theatregoers Choice Awards – the results

It was a good night for Shakespeare yesterday at the Whatsonstage Theatregoers Choice awards, held at the Prince of Wales theatre in London.

There were a number of awards for the Donmar’s Othello, including Best Shakespearan production, best director for Michael Grandage and best supporting actor for Tom Hiddleston. Also the RSC’s Hamlet received gongs for best regional production and theatre event of the year – to celebrate David Tennant’s performance and return to the stage.

As is often the case with awards chosen by the public, the spread of shows and talent was very wide, ranging from awards for musicals La Cage Aux Folles, West Side Story and Jersey Boys, to plays Under the Blue Sky, Fat Pig and The Female of the Species.

Kenneth Branagh must also be particularly delighted to have received best actor for Ivanov after being passed over by the Olivier Awards panel.

Othello – Donmar West End. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

The winners

Best Actress in a Play – Katy Stephens – The Histories, RSC at the Roundhouse

Best Actor in a Play – Kenneth Branagh – Ivanov, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s

Best Supporting Actress in a Play – Sophie Thompson – The Female of the Speciesat the Vaudeville

Best Supporting Actor in a Play – Tom Hiddleston – Othello at the Donmar Warehouse & Ivanov, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s

Best Actress in a Musical – Sofia Escobar – West Side Story at Sadler’s Wells

Best Actor in a Musical – Ryan Molloy – Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical – Tracie Bennett – La Cage aux Folles at the Playhouse

Best Supporting Actor in a Musical – Stephen Ashfield – Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward

Best Solo Performance – Eddie Izzard – Stripped at the Lyric

Best Ensemble Performance – Into the Hoods – at the Novello

Best Takeover in a Role – Daniel Boys – Avenue Q at the Noël Coward

Best New Play – Under the Blue Sky by David Eldridge – at the Duke of York’s

Best New Comedy – Fat Pig by Neil LaBute – at Trafalgar Studios & the Comedy

Best New Musical – Jersey Boys by Bob Gaudio, Bob Crewe, Rick Elice & Marshall Brickman – at the Prince Edward

Best Play Revival – Ivanov, Donmar West End – at Wyndham’s

Best Musical Revival – West Side Story – at Sadler’s Wells

The Best Shakespearean Production – Othello – at the Donmar Warehouse

Best Director – Michael Grandage – Othello & The Chalk Garden at the Donmar Warehouse & Ivanov, Donmar West End at Wyndham’s

Best Set Designer – Klara Zieglerova – Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward

Best Lighting Designer – Malcolm Rippeth – Brief Encounter at The Cinema, Haymarket & Six Characters in Search of an Author at the Gielgud

Best Choreographer – Lynne Page – La Cage aux Folles at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Playhouse

London Newcomer of the Year – Josh Hartnett – Rain Man at the Apollo

Best Off-West End Production – Come Dancing – at Theatre Royal Stratford East

Best Regional Production – Hamlet – RSC at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Theatre Event of the Year – David Tennant returning to the stage in Hamlet for the RSC

London Theatre – 2009 Preview

If theatre mirrors life then you would expect 2009 to be a bad year for the performing arts in London: economic downturns and credit crunches sound like gloomy news for our discretionary entertainment spending. But West End theatre box office figures have kept on going up in recent years, and the huge number of new productions sailing into town during 2009 could mean that Theatreland manages to buck the trend.

THE GREAT REVIVAL

The RSC, National Theatre, Donmar and Old Vic dominated straight drama in the West End in 2008, and they haven’t finished yet. Big hitters coming to town include Judi Dench and Rosamund Pike in the Donmar in the West End’s Madame de Sade at the Wyndhams; Jude Law offering us his, hopefully fighting fit, Hamlet; Gillian Anderson in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Rachel Weisz in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse; Helen Mirren making her return to the London stage in Phaedra at the National Theatre; and a number of crowd-pleasing revivals at the Old Vic, no more so than Dancing at Lughnasa, Brian Friel’s hugely successful play starring Andrea Corr, and Sam Mendes directing Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard and Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale, both featuring Ethan Hawke, Simon Russell Beale and Sinead Cusack.

STAR POWER

Other stars shimmying into town include Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot at the Haymarket, Ken Stott and Hayley Atwell in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge at the Duke of York’s, heavy-hitter Pete Postlethwaite as King Lear at the Young Vic, and Antony Sher giving us his Prospero in the RSC’s The Tempest. The Gavin and Stacey phenomenon continues to roll on, as we see Joe Orton’s delicious romp Entertaining Mr Sloane at the Trafalgar Studios starring Gavin himself, Matthew Horne, alongside Imelda Staunton; whilst Gavin’s onscreen Mum Alison Steadman plays a barking Leeds housewife in Alan Bennett’s Enjoy at the Gielgud Theatre.

NEW PLAYS

The sharp eyed amongst you will notice that all of these plays are revivals rather than new work, keeping audiences firmly in their comfort zones. That said, new plays may be thin on the ground but not absent all together, with the National offering up Richard Bean’s England People Very Nice, following two lovers across four centuries, and Samuel Adamson’s Mrs Affleck set in the 1950s. Jez Butterworth has two new plays in pre-production, with comedy Parlour Song at the Almeida and Jerusalem at the Royal Court. Also at the Royal Court, Mark Ravenhill will bring his new play Over There. Plus Hollywood man of the moment James McAvoy is to star in Richard Greenberg’s acclaimed play Three Days of Rain at the Apollo, and at The Old Vic Richard Dreyfuss headlines the world premiere of American playwright Joe Sutton’s new play Complicit, directed by Kevin Spacey.

“BASED ON A FILM”

In musical theatre, 2009 promises to be a year of great big fabulous and familiar shows, surely enough to see us through the dark times? And it’s no coincidence that many of them are based on hugely successful films.

Oliver! will be well and truly steaming ahead through 2009 at the Drury Lane Theatre Royal with Rowan Atkinson and Jodie Prenger; La Cage Aux Folles will continue camping it up at the Playhouse but with Graham Norton taking over from Douglas Hodge; and at the Adelphi Theatre Lee Mead will bow out of Joseph to be replaced by Gareth Gates.

Jason Donovan will be donning the wigs and lip gloss to take us on an Australian power-mince in Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre. And Sister Act at the London Palladium will be doing its best to recreate the fun of the film, helped along by Whoopi Goldberg as co-producer. And not quite a musical but as good as, Calendar Girls the stage play will up the naked flesh quotient in the West End, starring Patricia Hodge and Lynda Bellingham at the Noel Coward Theatre.

Also in musicals-land the power of reality TV continues to wield its power, with Gareth Gates going into Joseph at the Adelphi Theatre, the X-factor’s Niki Evans continuing in Blood Brothers at the Phoenix, Jodie Prenger in Oliver at the Drury Lane, and Ray Quinn and Danny Bayne in Grease – joined for a limited time by the legendary Jimmy Osmond.

KIDS RULE

Kids should also see a good year in 2009 with an enormous live theatrical production of Walking with Dinosaurs coming to a stadium near you, and War Horse transfers from its successful run at the National Theatre to the New London Theatre.

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