Clybourne Park scoops awards

Bruce Norris’s new play Clybourne Park, produced by the Royal Court last year and transferring to the Wyndham’s Theatre from 28 January, has scooped two major best new play awards.

In ceremonies held today in central London, the South Bank Sky Arts Awards and the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards both presented Clybourne Park with Best New Play gongs.

The Royal Court also picked up two more awards from the Critics’ Circle, both mirroring their wins at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards last year: the Most Promising Playwright Award for Anya Reiss’s Spur of the Moment and Daniel Kaluuya for most promising newcomer for Sucker Punch.

The National, RSC and Donmar Warehouse also did well from the Critics’ Circle awards with Michael Grandage and Thea Sharrock  jointly awarded best director for King Lear at the Donmar and After the Dance at the National respectively.

Other winners included theatre veterans David Suchet receiving a best actor award for All My Sons at the Apollo and Derek Jacobi a best Shakespearean performance award for King Lear at the Donmar. Best musical went to the RSC’s Matilda The Musical based on Roald Dahl’s popular children’s book and best actress was awarded to Jenny Jules for her performance in Ruined at the Almeida.

The South Bank Sky Arts Awards led by Melvyn Bragg, the first to be presented by the Sky Arts channel following ITV’s axing of Bragg’s South Bank Show last year, saw Dame Judi Dench awarded the Outstanding Achievement award. Alongside Clybourne Park’s win, best opera production was awarded to Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg from Welsh National Opera and best dance was Akram Khan’s Gnosis at Sadler’s Wells.

LINKS

Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2010 – full list of winners

South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2011 – full list of winners

BOOK

Book tickets to Clybourne Park at the Wyndham’s Theatre in London

Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards – Winners 2010

Awards announced: 25 January 2011, Prince of Wales Theatre London

Best New Play:
Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris
Presented by Kate Bassett

The Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical (new or revival):
Matilda, A Musical
Presented by Matt Wolf

Best Actor:
David Suchet in All My Sons
Presented by Charles Spencer

Best Actress:
Jenny Jules in Ruined
Presented by Jane Edwardes

The John and Wendy Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance:
Derek Jacobi in King Lear
Presented by Michael Billington

Best Director:
Awarded jointly to: Michael Grandage for King Lear
Presented by Georgina Brown
&
Thea Sharrock for After the Dance
Presented by Claire Allfree

Best Designer: Bunny Christie for The White Guard
Presented by Paul Taylor

Most Promising Playwright:
Anya Reiss for Spur of the Moment
Presented by Ian Shuttleworth

The Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer (other than a playwright):
Daniel Kaluuya for Sucker Punch
Presented by Henry Hitchings

Evening Standard Awards – winners

Royal Court and National Theatre sweep up at annual Evening Standard Theatre Awards; Royal Court wins best play; National’s Nancy Carroll and Rory Kinnear win best actress and actor

At a glittering ceremony yesterday, 28 November, at the newly reopened Savoy Hotel in London, the annual Evening Standard Theatre Awards were announced.

Hosted by Stephen Fry, the 56th awards saw a host of stars from stage and screen come together to celebrate the best of the year’s theatre scene.

This year saw a notable number of rising young stars acknowledged in the awards, including teenage playwright Anya Reiss, who was presented with the Charles Wintour award for most promising playwright by Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch for her play Spur of the Moment at the Royal Court.

Also another young Royal Court winner was rewarded, with Skins actor Daniel Kaluuya winning the “Editor’s award for a shooting star” for Sucker Punch. The venue also picked up best play for Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park, which is to transfer to the Wyndham’s Theatre next year, and best design for Miriam Buether for Sucker Punch at the Royal Court and Earthquakes in London at the National Theatre.

The National were also major beneficiaries of this year’s awards, with Nancy Carroll beating Passion’s Elena Roger, Legally Blonde’s Sheridan Smith and Clybourne Park’s Sophie Thompson to win the best actress award for After the Dance at the National. Also at the venue, Rory Kinnear won best actor for his title role in Hamlet, along with Measure for Measure at the Almeida, and Howard Davies won best director for The White Guard and his production of All My Sons at the Apollo.

Best musical went to Passion, the Donmar Warehouse’s revival of Stephen Sondheim’s show starring Elena Roger, and the Milton Shulman award for Outstanding newcomer was given to You Me Bum Bum Train created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd at the LEB Building, E2.

Two special awards for achievement in theatre were also given: Sir Michael Gambon received a special award  for his contribution to theatre, and Sir Peter Hall, who enjoyed this 80th birthday this month, was awarded the Moscow Art Theatre’s Golden Seagull award.

The National Theatre’s production of Hamlet, starring Evening Standard best actor award winner Rory Kinnear, will be filmed as part of the National’s NT Live season and screened in cinemas across the UK and around the world on 9 December 2010. See more information here.

Watch a video of the Evening Standard Theatre Awards

See the full list of Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010 winners here

Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Winners 2010

Awards announced: Sunday 28 November 2010, Savoy Hotel London

BEST ACTOR
Rory Kinnear- Measure for Measure (Almeida)/Hamlet (National’s Olivier)

THE NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Nancy Carroll – After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)

BEST PLAY
Bruce Norris – Clybourne Park (Royal Court)

THE NED SHERRIN AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL
Passion – Donmar Warehouse

BEST DIRECTOR
Howard Davies – The White Guard (National’s Lyttelton)/All My Sons (Apollo)

BEST DESIGN
Miriam Buether – Sucker Punch (Royal Court)/Earthquakes in London (National’s Cottesloe)

THE CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT
Anya Reiss – Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)

THE MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER
You Me Bum Bum Train created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd (LEB Building, E2)

EDITOR’S AWARD FOR A SHOOTING STAR
Daniel Kaluuya for his performance in Sucker Punch (Royal Court)

THE LEBEDEV SPECIAL AWARD
Sir Michael Gambon for his contribution to theatre

THE MOSCOW ART THEATRE’S GOLDEN SEAGULL
Sir Peter Hall

Evening Standard Awards – shortlist

Sheridan Smith and Elena Roger head-to-head for Evening Standard Theatre Awards

The Evening Standard has published their Theatre Awards shortlist ahead of a glitzy ceremony at the newly reopened Savoy Hotel this Sunday, 28 November.

Hosted by Stephen Fry, the 56th annual awards will see stars of stage and screen join an impressive list of nominees for this year’s event.

In the Best Actress category, in honour of Natasha Richardson, two musicals stars are pitted against each other: Sheridan Smith, in Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre, and Elena Roger, star of Passion at the Donmar Warehouse and soon to be Ricky Martin co-star on Broadway in Evita. They are shortlisted against Nancy Carroll for the National’s After the Dance and Sophie Thompson for the Royal Court’s Clybourne Park – a part which she will revive in the New Year for the West End transfer of the show at the Wyndham’s Theatre.

The National Theatre and the Royal Court are the producing houses to benefit most from this year’s shortlist, with 10 and 11 nods respectively. The National Theatre is celebrated for a range of productions, with Thea Sharrock (After the Dance), Nicholas Hytner (The Habit Of Art, London Assurance, Hamlet), Howard Davies for The White Guard (plus All My Sons at the Apollo) and Laurie Sansom for Beyond The Horizon and Spring Storm all vying for the Best Director award.

The Royal Court’s reputation for writing has won out again over its competitors this year, earning the venue complete dominance over both Best Play category, with nominations for Cock, Clybourne Park and Sucker Punch, and Most Promising Playwright category, with DC Moore for The Empire, Nick Payne for Wanderlust (plus If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet at the Bush) and Anya Reiss for Spur Of The Moment.

Performances of Shakespeare is the theme of this year’s Best Actor category, with Roger Allam singled out for his performance in Henry IV Parts One and Two at Shakespeare’s Globe and Rory Kinnear for two Shakespeare roles, the National Theatre’s Hamlet and the Almeida’s Measure For Measure. David Suchet also gets nod for All My Sons at the Apollo Theatre.

Best Musicals, in honour of Ned Sherrin, cover all tastes, with Legally Blonde at the Savoy, Stephen Sondheim’s Passion at the Donmar Warehouse and – despite Trevor Nunn and John Caird’s sniping over Cameron Mackintosh’s new touring production – the 2010 reinvention of Les Miserables at the Barbican Theatre.

Finally Outstanding Newcomers include a well-deserved nod to Spice Girl Mel C for Blood Brothers.

See the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010 shortlist here

Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Shortlist 2010

Awards announced: Sunday 28 November 2010, Savoy Hotel London

BEST ACTOR
Roger Allam Henry IV Parts One and Two (Shakespeare’s Globe)
Rory Kinnear Hamlet (National’s Olivier)/Measure For Measure (Almeida)
David Suchet All My Sons (Apollo)

THE NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Nancy Carroll After The Dance (National Lyttelton)
Elena Roger Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
Sheridan Smith Legally Blonde (Savoy)
Sophie Thompson Clybourne Park (Royal Court)

BEST PLAY
Mike Bartlett Cock (Royal Court)
Bruce Norris Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Roy Williams Sucker Punch (Royal Court)

THE NED SHERRIN AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL
Legally Blonde Savoy Theatre
Les Misérables Cameron Mackintosh 2010 production at Barbican Theatre
Passion Donmar Warehouse

BEST DIRECTOR
Howard Davies The White Guard (National Lyttelton)/All My Sons (Apollo)
Nicholas Hytner The Habit Of Art (National Lyttelton)/London Assurance (National Olivier)/Hamlet (National Olivier)
Laurie Sansom Beyond The Horizon and Spring Storm (National Cottesloe)
Thea Sharrock After The Dance (National Lyttelton)

BEST DESIGN
Miriam Buether Sucker Punch (Royal Court)/Earthquakes In London (National Cottesloe)
Bunny Christie The White Guard (National Lyttelton)
Christopher Oram Passion (Donmar Warehouse)/Red (Donmar Warehouse)

CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT
DC Moore The Empire (Royal Court)
Nick Payne If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (Bush)/Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Anya Reiss Spur Of The Moment (Royal Court)

THE MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER
Melanie Chisholm for her performance in Blood Brothers (Phoenix)
Daniel Kaluuya for his performance in Sucker Punch (Royal Court)
Isabella Laughland for her performance in Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Shannon Tarbet for her performance in Spur Of The Moment (Royal Court)
You Me Bum Bum Train created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd (LEB Building, E2)

THE GOLDEN SEAGULL AWARD
Presented on behalf of Moscow Art Theatre.

THE LEBEDEV SPECIAL AWARD
For outstanding contribution to theatre.

Evening Standard nominees announced

This year’s London Evening Standard Theatre Awards long-list of nominees has been announced.

The nominees cover some of the most high-profile of this year’s West End shows with a starry list of performers, directors and playwrights alongside some serious new talent. The Royal Court scores particularly highly with a range of acting and creative nods – including four nominations for Clybourne Park.

See the full list of London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010 nominees here

The shortlist of nominees will be announced a week prior to the awards ceremony, which will be held this year on 28 November at the newly reopened Savoy Hotel. The judging panel for the awards includes theatre critics Henry Hitchings of the Standard, Charles Spencer of the Telegraph, Susannah Clapp of the Observer, Georgina Brown of the Mail on Sunday and Matt Wolf of the Herald Tribune. Chair will be Evgeny Lebedev, who is chairman of the Standard and also the son of the proprietor Alexander Lebedev.

In terms of musicals it’s a good list for Sir Cameron Mackintosh who sees his 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables tapped, plus his West End transfer of Broadway hit of Hair – which closed after a relatively short run at the Gielgud Theatre. Also listed is the Menier’s Sweet Charity at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, which is about to close on 6 November, alongside long-runner Legally Blonde at the Savoy and current critical success Passion at the Donmar Warehouse.

In the Best Actor category up-and-coming stars such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Rory Kinnear are matched alongside established heavy-weights, from Roger Allam and Jonathan Pryce to David Suchet and Simon Russell Beale, the later for his turns in the National’s London Assurance and current West End hit Deathtrap. Alfred Molina also gets a nod for the Donmar’s Red after losing out at the Tony’s to co-star Eddie Redmayne.

Best Actress nominees feature a range of talent from high-profile crowd-pleasers that will guarantee plenty of red carpet coverage (Keira Knightley, Gemma Arterton, Sheridan Smith) to hard-hitters Judi Dench, Zoe Wannamaker and Fiona Shaw.

Best Plays feature both boxing shows to have played in London this year – Beautiful Burnout by Bryony Lavery at the York Hall and Sucker Punch by Roy Williams at the Royal Court. It’s a big awards for the Court who also get nods for Cock by Mike Bartlett, Clybourne Park by Mike Bartlett and Posh by Laura Wade.

Director nods feature a who’s who of current hitmakers, ticking pretty much every director box including Howard Davies, Rupert Goold, Michael Grandage, Nicholas Hytner, and director of the moment Thea Sharrock. Also Dominic Cooke gets a well-deserved nod for Clybourne Park, which transfers from the Royal Court to the West End in January.

Lez Brotherston is a notable inclusion in the Designer category with four of his productions credited: The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the Vaudeville, Measure for Measure at the Almeida, Women Beware Women at the National and Design for Living at the Old Vic.

Most Promising Playwright nominees pay tribute to the Royal Court’s progressive programme of nurturing new writing talent, with 3 playwrights nominated: DC Moore for The Empire, Anya Reiss for Spur of the Moment and Nick Payne for Wanderlust. Equally impressive is the Bush, which is once again proving to punch well above its weight, with James Graham for The Whisky Taster, Nick Payne (again) for If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet and Penelope Skinner for Eigengrau all nominated.

The Outstanding Newcomer category is dominated by onstage talent, with a surprise nod to the Spice Girls’ Melanie Chrisholm for her much-praised stint in Blood Brothers, alongside upstarts including Laura Dos Santos for Educating Rita, Henry Lloyd-Hughes for Rope and Posh, and Simon Godwin for his direction, and Isabella Laughland and James Musgrave for their performances, in the Royal Court’s Wanderlust.

See the full list of London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010 nominees here

Evening Standard Theatre Awards – Nominees 2010

Awards announced: 28 November 2010

BEST ACTOR

Roger Allam: Henry IV Parts One and Two (Shakespeare’s Globe)
Bertie Carvel: Rope (Almeida)
Benedict Cumberbatch: After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)
Martin Freeman: Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Alex Jennings: The Habit of Art (National’s Lyttelton)
Rory Kinnear: Measure for Measure (Almeida)/ Hamlet (National’s Olivier)
Adrian Lester: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Novello)
Alfred Molina: Red (Donmar Warehouse)
Jonathan Pryce: The Caretaker (Trafalgar Studios)
Simon Russell Beale: London Assurance (National’s Olivier)/ Deathtrap (Noël Coward)
Adrian Scarborough: After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)
David Suchet: All My Sons (Apollo)

THE NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS

Gemma Arterton: The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick)
Nancy Carroll: After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)
Judi Dench: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Rose, Kingston)
Tamsin Greig: The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick)
Jenny Jules: Ruined (Almeida)
Keira Knightley: The Misanthrope (Comedy Theatre)
Amanda Lawrence: Jiggery Pokery (BAC)/ Henry VIII (Shakespeare’s Globe)
Rosaleen Linehan: The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Young Vic)
Helen McCrory: The Late Middle Classes (Donmar Warehouse)
Lesley Manville: Six Degrees of Separation (Old Vic)
Anna Maxwell Martin: Measure for Measure (Almeida)
Elena Roger: Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
Fiona Shaw: London Assurance (National’s Olivier)
Sheridan Smith: Legally Blonde (Savoy)
Sophie Thompson: Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Zoë Wanamaker: All My Sons (Apollo)

BEST PLAY

Cock by Mike Bartlett (Royal Court)
The Big Fellah by Richard Bean (Lyric Hammersmith)
The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett (National’s Lyttelton)
Beautiful Burnout by Bryony Lavery (York Hall)
Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris (Royal Court)
Ruined by Lynn Nottage (Almeida)
Posh by Laura Wade (Royal Court)
Sucker Punch by Roy Williams (Royal Court)

THE NED SHERRIN AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL

Hair – Gielgud Theatre
The Human Comedy - A Young Vic/The Opera Group production co-produced with Watford Palace Theatre
Legally Blonde - Savoy Theatre
Les Misérables (2010) - Cameron Mackintosh production at Barbican Theatre
Passion - Donmar Warehouse
Sweet Charity - Menier Chocolate Factory; transferred to Theatre Royal Haymarket

BEST DIRECTOR

Dominic Cooke: Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Howard Davies: The White Guard (National’s Lyttelton)/ All My Sons (Apollo)
Rupert Goold: Romeo and Juliet (RSC Stratford)/Earthquakes in London (National’s Cottesloe)
Michael Grandage: Red (Donmar Warehouse)/ Danton’s Death (National’s Olivier)
Jeremy Herrin: Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
Joe Hill-Gibbins: The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Young Vic)
Nicholas Hytner: The Habit of Art (National’s Lyttelton/London Assurance (National’s Olivier)/Hamlet (National’s Olivier)
James MacDonald: Cock (Royal Court)
Roger Michell: Rope (Almeida)
Laurie Sansom: Beyond the Horizon and Spring Storm (National’s Cottesloe)
Thea Sharrock: After the Dance (National’s Lyttelton)
Lyndsey Turner: Posh (Royal Court)

BEST DESIGN

Lez Brotherston: The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Vaudeville)/Measure for Measure (Almeida)/Women Beware Women (National’s Olivier)/Design for Living (Old Vic)
Miriam Buether: Sucker Punch (Royal Court)/Earthquakes in London (National’s Cottesloe)
Bunny Christie: The White Guard (National’s Lyttelton)
Rob Howell: Private Lives (Vaudeville)/Deathtrap (Noël Coward)
Vicki Mortimer: The Cat in the Hat (National’s Cottesloe; transferred to Young Vic)
Christopher Oram: Passion (Donmar Warehouse)/Red (Donmar Warehouse)
Mark Thompson: London Assurance (National’s Olivier)

THE CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT

James Graham: The Whisky Taster (Bush)/The Man (Finborough)
DC Moore: The Empire (Royal Court)
Nick Payne: If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet (Bush)/Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Anya Reiss: Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
Atiha Sen Gupta: What Fatima Did (Hampstead)
Penelope Skinner: Eigengrau (Bush)

THE MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER

You Me Bum Bum Train created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd (LEB Building, E2)
Melanie Chisholm for her performance in Blood Brothers (Phoenix)
Laura Dos Santos for her performance in Educating Rita (Menier Chocolate Factory, transferred to Trafalgar Studios)
Simon Godwin for his direction of Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Daniel Kaluuya for his performance in Sucker Punch (Royal Court)
Isabella Laughland for her performance in Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Henry Lloyd-Hughes for his performances in Rope (Almeida) and Posh (Royal Court)
James Mcardle for his performance in Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
James Musgrave for his performance in Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Nikesh Patel for his performance in Disconnect (Royal Court)
Shannon Tarbet for her performance in Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)

THE GOLDEN SEAGULL AWARD
Presented on behalf of Moscow Art Theatre.

THE LEBEDEV SPECIAL AWARD
For outstanding contribution to theatre.

Brace yourself: Ben Brantley’s Back

The most powerful theatre critic on Broadway, Ben Brantley of the New York Times, is back in London. For weeks.

Not that we don’t love visits from the “Sultan of Superlatives”, as coined by the NYTPicker as a much more positive strap line than infamous NYT critic Frank Rich’s “the Butcher of Broadway”!

But we shouldn’t be lulled in to a false sense of security. He did, after all, pretty much close Enron on Broadway with his less than glowing review of Lucy Prebble’s play: “flashy but labored economics lesson… this British-born exploration of smoke-and-mirror financial practices isn’t much more than smoke and mirrors itself.”

But we don’t bare grudges (much). His first posting from London reveals that he is straight in there reviewing, despite a touch of jet lag. Productions that he has already covered include The Late Middle Classes at the Donmar (“dramatically formulaic but meticulously acted”), All My Sons at the Apollo (“there’s no denying the effectiveness of Mr. Davies’s less subtle All My Sons”), Sucker Punch at the Royal Court (“vivid, gritty melodrama”) and The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Vaudeville (“for me the uneasiness and despair that often lurk beneath Mr. Simon’s one-liners had never seemed more palpable”).

Scarily harping back to Enron, Brantley senses that London is gripped with economic austerity. Perhaps he should see Enron again to remind himself why.

SIDEBAR:

There’s no denying Mr Brantley, 55, and his credentials as a critic. He started work at the New York Times in 1993 as the second-string theatre critic and finally became chief theatre critic in 1996. His recent London review is beautifully written, considered, intelligent and thought-provoking. We love Libby Purves, chief critic of the London Times, but she seems to be in another job altogether.

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Choreographer Winners

OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Choreographer Winners

Best Theatre Choreographer

2011 Leon Baugh for Sucker Punch
2010 Stephen Mear for Hello Dolly!
2009 Steven Hoggett for Black Watch
2008 Toby Sedgewick for War Horse
2007 Javier De Frutos for Cabaret
2006 Peter Darling for Billy Elliot – The Musical
2005 Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear for Mary Poppins
2004 Karen Bruce for Pacific Overtures
2003 Matthew Bourne and Company for Play Without Words
2002 Matthew Bourne for My Fair Lady
2001 Bob Fosse and Ann Reinking for Fosse
2000 Garth Fagan for The Lion King
1999 Susan Stroman for Oklahoma!
1998 Simon McBurney for The Caucasian Chalk Circle
1997 Bob Avian for Martin Guerre
1996 Dein Perry for Tap Dogs
1995 David Atkins and Dein Perry for Hot Shoe Shuffle
1994 Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas for Stomp
1993 Susan Stroman for Crazy For You
1992 Rafael Aguilar for Matador
1991 Charles Augins for Five Guys Named Moe