All My Sons, Into the Woods, Evita, Paddington & more lead this year’s awards nominations

The UK’s Critics’ Circle has announced nominations for its annual Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2026.

In a break with tradition, this year will see the UK theatre critics vote from a long and shortlist of nominations for the awards.

Voters are professional theatre critics who are members of the Critics’ Circle.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the National Theatre on 26 March 2026.

Top nominees for 2026

Out ahead with five nominations each are:

  • Ivo van Hove’s production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons starring Bryan Cranston, Paapa Essiedu and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, which is currently running at the Wyndham’s Theatre.
  • Jordan Fein’s production of Sondheim’s Into the Woods at Bridge Theatre starring Kate Fleetwood.
  • Jamie Lloyd’s production of Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice at The London Palladium starring Rachel Zegler.

Other shows with multiple nominations include Paddington The Musical at the Savoy Theatre, Inter Alia coming to the Wyndham’s Theatre, The Land of the Living starring Juliet Stevenson at the National Theatre, The Weir starring Brendan Gleeson at the Harold Pinter Theatre, and Stereophonic at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

“Our first experiment with longlists and shortlists was intended to increase the range of talent under consideration. I’m confident that has happened with 179 candidates in play across the whole voting process – at venues from huge to minuscule – resulting in excitingly diverse shortlists.” – Mark Lawson, 2026 Chair of the Critics’ Circle Drama Section

The Empty Space… Peter Brook Award

The Empty Space… Peter Brook Award, which was incorporated into the awards four years ago and was founded by the late Blanche Marvin MBE who died last month, recognises a theatre that embodies the spirit of Peter Brook, both in its use of space and in relation to its locality.

Blanche’s daughter, Niki Marvin, an Oscar-nominated director/producer, has taken over the running of the award, sponsored by Nica Burns.

From this year, the award has been renamed The Empty Space…Peter Brook Award (In Memory of Blanche Marvin). Decided by a separate panel of critics chosen by the Marvin family, the 2026 shortlist for this prize will be announced next week.

UPDATE (20 February 2026): The Empty Space… Peter Brook Award nominations have now been announced, and are: Orange Tree Theatre by Fiona Mountford – Chief Theatre Critic, The I Paper; Red Rose Chain, Ipswich by Dominic Cavendish – Chief Theatre Critic, The Telegraph; Royal Court Upstairs by Andrzej Lukowski – Theatre & Dance Editor, Uk, Time Out Media; The Other Palace Studio by Mark Shenton – Editor, Shentonstage Theatre Newsletter; and Wonder Fools by Lyn Gardner – Associate Editor, The Stage.

Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2026 – Full list of nominations

THE MICHAEL BILLINGTON AWARD FOR BEST NEW PLAY

  • David Adjmi – Stereophonic (Duke of York’s Theatre)
  • Alice Birch – Romans A Novel (Almeida Theatre)
  • Jack Holden and Ed Stambollouian – Kenrex (The Other Palace)
  • James Graham – Punch (from a book by Jacob Dunne) (Young Vic / Apollo Theatre)
  • David Ireland – The Fifth Step (@sohoplace)
  • Suzie Miller – Inter Alia (National Theatre)
  • Joe Murphy & Joe Robertson – Kyoto (@sohoplace)

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY OR MUSICAL

  • All My Sons (Wyndham’s Theatre)
  • Brigadoon (Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park)
  • Evita (London Palladium)
  • Intimate Apparel (Donmar Warehouse)
  • Into The Woods (Bridge Theatre)
  • Indian Ink (Hampstead Theatre)
  • The Weir (Harold Pinter Theatre)

THE PETER HEPPLE AWARD FOR BEST NEW MUSICAL

  • Cable Street (Southwark Playhouse)
  • Here We Are (National Theatre)
  • Paddington The Musical (Savoy Theatre)
  • Shucked (Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park)
  • Sing Street (Lyric Hammersmith)
  • Titanique (Criterion Theatre)

THE 5RB AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR

  • Daniel Aukin – Stereophonic (Duke of York’s Theatre)
  • Jordan Fein – Into The Woods (Bridge Theatre)
  • Lynette Linton – Intimate Apparel (Donmar Warehouse)
  • Jamie Lloyd – Evita (London Palladium) and Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre Royal Drury Lane)
  • Luke Sheppard – Paddington The Musical (Savoy Theatre)
  • Ivo van Hove – All My Sons (Wyndham’s Theatre)

BEST ENSEMBLE OR CAST

  • 1536 (Almeida Theatre)
  • Here We Are (National Theatre)
  • Into The Woods (Bridge Theatre)
  • Stereophonic (Duke of York’s Theatre)
  • The Weir (Harold Pinter Theatre)
  • When We Are Married (Donmar Warehouse)

MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT

  • Jamie Armitage – A Ghost in Your Ear (Hampstead Theatre) and An Interrogation (Hampstead Theatre)
  • Sophia Chetin-Leuner – Porn Play (Royal Court)
  • Hannah Doran – The Meat Kings! (Inc) of Brooklyn Heights (Park Theatre)
  • Sophia Griffin – After Sunday (Bush Theatre)
  • Katherine Moar – Ragdoll (Jermyn Street Theatre)
  • Ava Pickett – 1536 (Almeida Theatre)
  • Shaan Sahota – The Estate (National Theatre)

BEST ACTOR

  • Adeel Akhtar – The Estate (National Theatre)
  • Bryan Cranston – All My Sons (Wyndham’s Theatre)
  • Paapa Essiedu – All My Sons (Wyndham’s Theatre)
  • Brendan Gleeson – The Weir (Harold Pinter Theatre)
  • Sean Hayes – Goodnight, Oscar (Barbican Theatre)
  • James Hameed & Arti Shah – Paddington (Savoy Theatre)
  • David Shields – Punch (Young Vic / Apollo Theatre)

THE NLP AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS

  • Kate Fleetwood – Into The Woods (Bridge Theatre)
  • Julie Hesmondhalgh – Punch (Young Vic / Apollo Theatre)
  • Marianne Jean-Baptiste – All My Sons (Wyndham’s Theatre)
  • Rosamund Pike – Inter Alia (National Theatre)
  • Nicola Walker – The Unbelievers (Royal Court)
  • Samira Wiley – Intimate Apparel (Donmar Warehouse)
  • Rachel Zegler – Evita (The London Palladium)

BEST DESIGNER

  • Miriam Buether – Kyoto (@sohoplace) and The Land of the Living (National Theatre)
  • Lizzie Clachan – The Lady From The Sea (The Bridge)
  • Soutra Gilmour – Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and Evita (The London Palladium)
  • Tom Pye – Paddington The Musical (Savoy Theatre)
  • Tom Scutt – Into The Woods (Bridge Theatre)
  • David Zinn – Stereophonic (Duke of York’s) and Here We Are (National Theatre)

THE TREWIN AWARD FOR BEST SHAKESPEAREAN PERFORMANCE

  • Hayley Atwell – Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre Royal Drury Lane)
  • Jonathan Bailey – Richard II (Bridge Theatre)
  • David Harewood – Othello (Theatre Royal Haymarket)
  • Tom Hiddleston – Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre Royal Drury Lane)
  • Francesca Mills – Hamlet (National Theatre)
  • Samuel West – Twelfth Night (Barbican)

THE JACK TINKER AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER (SPONSORED BY FINITO)

  • Isobel Akuwudike – The Lady From The Sea (The Bridge)
  • Ruby Ashbourne-Serkis – Indian Ink (Hampstead Theatre)
  • Asa Butterfield – Second Best (Riverside Studios)
  • Kate Phillips – The Weir (Harold Pinter Theatre)
  • Diego Andres Rodriguez – Evita (The London Palladium)
  • Jasper Talbot – Inter Alia (National Theatre)
  • Artie Wilkinson-Hunt – The Land of the Living (National Theatre)

EMPTY SPACE… PETER BROOK AWARD

  • Orange Tree Theatre by Fiona Mountford – Chief Theatre Critic, The I Paper
  • Red Rose Chain, Ipswich by Dominic Cavendish – Chief Theatre Critic, The Telegraph
  • Royal Court Upstairs by Andrzej Lukowski – Theatre & Dance Editor, Uk, Time Out Media
  • The Other Palace Studio by Mark Shenton – Editor, Shentonstage Theatre Newsletter
  • Wonder Fools by Lyn Gardner – Associate Editor, The Stage

UPDATES: First published 12 February 2026 with nominations; Updated 20 February 2026 with The Empty Space… Peter Brook Award nominations

Sign-up for news and booking alerts about these shows and more:
Main photo: Critics Circle Theatre Awards

Related News

See all

Latest News

See all