Nominations have been announced for the annual South Bank Sky Arts Awards, which celebrate their 27th anniversary in 2023.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 2 July 2023, at The Savoy Hotel in London, celebrating achievement in all areas of the arts.
The awards will air on Sky Arts on Wednesday 5 July 2023 at 10pm on Sky Arts.
Nominations for the Theatre category include smash-hit West End – and now Broadway – one-woman play Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer, which recently bagged Comer a Tony Award; Pearl Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky, which ran at the National Theatre; and Rebecca Frecknall’s acclaimed revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre, and then the West End’s Phoenix Theatre, starring Paul Mescal, Anjana Vasan, and Patsy Ferran – who is about to play Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion at The Old Vic.
Melvyn Bragg said in a statement: “For our 27th South Bank Sky Arts Awards, we once more celebrate the artistic excellence that our country has to offer, across the entire spectrum of the arts. As reflected in the nominations, the British Arts are thriving and continue to shape our cultural landscape.”
Director of Sky Arts, Phil Edgar-Jones said: “The South Bank Sky Arts Awards bring together the most incredible range of people across the arts all in one room. It’s a hotbed of creativity and testimony to the health of our vibrant arts sector and a demonstration of the power of the Arts to enrich our lives.”
Last year’s 2022 South Bank Sky Arts Awards theatre winner was James Graham play Best of Enemies. See all 2022 winners.
South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2023 – Nominations
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Hive; Sally Beamish - BBC National Orchestra of Wales with Catrin Finch (harp), BBC Proms
The Oracle – Manchester Collective & Abel Selaocoe
Gavin Higgins’ Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra – The Tredegar Band with BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Proms
COMEDY
Big Boys – Roughcut Television/Channel 4
Derry Girls – Hat Trick Productions/Channel 4
Jordan Gray, Is It A Bird?
DANCE
Light of Passage – The Royal Ballet
Say It Loud – Ballet Black
Coppélia – Scottish Ballet
FILM
Ali & Ava
The Wonder
Aftersun
LITERATURE
The New Life – Tom Crewe
My Name is Yip – Paddy Crewe
The Exhibitionist – Charlotte Mendelson
OPERA
Violet – Britten Pears Arts and Music Theatre Wales for the Aldeburgh Festival
The Rhinegold – English National Opera
The Makropulos Affair – Welsh National Opera
POP
RAYE – My 21st Century Blues
Kojey Radical – Reason To Smile
Arctic Monkeys – The Car
THEATRE
Prima Facie – Harold Pinter Theatre
Blues for an Alabama Sky – National Theatre
A Streetcar Named Desire – Almeida Theatre
TV DRAMA
The English – Drama Republic Limited & Eight Rooks for Amazon & BBC
Happy Valley – Lookout Point/BBC One
Sherwood – House Productions/BBC One
VISUAL ART
Hew Locke: The Procession – Tate Britain
Mohammed Sami: The Point 0 – Camden Art Centre
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Fly In League With The Night – Tate Britain
THE TIMES BREAKTHROUGH AWARD
Comedy - Leo Reich
TV Drama - Leo Woodall
Literature - Louise Kennedy
Opera - Freddie De Tommaso
Classical - Sophie Kauer
Visual Art - Rana Begum
Dance - Musa Motha
Theatre - Rosie Sheehy
Film - Raine Allen-Miller
Pop – Jockstrap
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
To be announced
