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Evening StandardTheatre Awards

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Evening StandardTheatre Awards
Awarded forOutstanding achievements in London theatre
LocationLondon
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented byEvening Standard
First awarded1955;69 years ago(1955)
Last awarded2022[a]
Websitestandard.co.uk/london-evening-standard-theatre-awards

TheEvening StandardTheatre Awards,established in 1955,[1]are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements inLondon Theatre,and are organised by theEvening Standardnewspaper. They are the West End's equivalent to Broadway'sDrama Desk Awards.[2][3]

Trophies[edit]

The trophies take the form of a modelled statuette, a figure representingDrama,designed byFrank DobsonRA,a former Professor of Sculpture at theRoyal College of Art.

Categories[edit]

Three of the awards are given in the names of formerEvening Standardnotables:

  • Arts editor Sydney Edwards (who conceived the awards, and died suddenly in July 1979) for the Best Director category.
  • EditorCharles Wintour(who as deputy-editor in 1955, launched the awards after a nod from the proprietor,Lord Beaverbrook') for Most Promising Playwright.
  • Long-serving theatre criticMilton Shulman(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 ofEvgeny Lebedev,executive director of theEvening Standard.

In 1980, noting the first use of the Special Award category, Shulman observed that "In 1968 the judges felt that Alan Bennett's workForty Years Ondid 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. "[4]

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 theNational Theatre(an institution),Harold Pinter(a playwright) and DameJudi Dench(a performer).

The Patricia Rothermere Award, presented biennially from 1999 to 2005, was created to honour the memory ofPatricia Harmsworth, Viscountess Rothermere,wife ofViscount Rothermere,chairman of theDaily Mail and General Trust,which formerly owned theEvening 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 toNatasha Richardson,who died after a skiing accident in Quebec in March 2009.[5]

Awards ceremonies[edit]

The 2007 Awards lunchtime ceremony took place at theSavoy Hotelin London on 27 November 2007.[6]The judges' assessments of the winners are online.[7]

The 2008 winners were announced in a ceremony at theRoyal Opera House,Covent Garden, on 24 November 2008.[8]The judges' assessments are online.[9]

The 2009 winners were announced in a ceremony, again at the Royal Opera House, on Monday, 23 November 2009.[10]The judges' assessments are online.[11]

The 2010 winners were announced at a celebratory evening ceremony on Thursday 28 November 2010 in the newly refurbishedSavoy Hotel.[12]

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[edit]

List of existing articles for individual years:

  1. ^abAfter the 65th Awards, presented in November 2019, the complete shutdown of UK theatres in 2020/2021, as a result oflockdownscaused by theCOVID-19 pandemic,delayed the 66th awards to December 2022.[13]

Winners 1955–2022[edit]

Best Play[edit]

Best Director[edit]

Also known as The Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director from 1979. Renamed the Milton Shulman Award for Best Director from 2014.

Best Actor[edit]

Best Actress[edit]

Also known asThe Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress from 2009


Best Musical[edit]

Renamed the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical in 2007

Best Musical Performance[edit]

Best Designer[edit]

Best Comedy[edit]

Most Controversial Play[edit]

Editor's Award (renamed 'for a Shooting Star' in 2010)[edit]

Most Promising Playwright[edit]

Also known as the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright

Outstanding Newcomer[edit]

Also known as the Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer

Note: Category ceased but is re-styled as the Emerging Talent Award

Emerging Talent[edit]

Theatrical Achievement[edit]

Lady Rothermere Drama Award[edit]

Two part award, originally as the Patricia Rothermere Award

  • 1992 - Fionuala Clarence, Scholarship award
  • 1993 –Matthew Rhys,scholarship award[18][contradictory]
  • 1997 –Judi Dench,for outstanding services to the theatre
    • 1997 – Mark Rice-Oxley, scholarship award
  • 1999 –Simon Callow,for outstanding services to the theatre
    • 1999 – Martin Rea, scholarship award
  • 2001 –Prunella Scales,for...
    • 2001 – Cassandre Joseph, scholarship award
  • 2003 –Richard Attenborough,for exceptional support for young actors
    • 2003 – Elif Yesil, scholarship award
  • 2005 –Penelope Keith,for...
    • 2005 – Hannah Croft, scholarship award

The Special Award (given as The Lebedev Special Award in 2009)[edit]

Theatre Icon Award[edit]

Moscow Art Theatre's Golden Seagull[edit]

Beyond Theatre award[edit]

Award For Comedy[edit]

Best Revival of the Year[edit]

See also[edit]

Sources[edit]

  • Celebration: 25 Years of British Theatre.W. H. Allen Ltd,1980.ISBN0-491-02770-2,for Awards 1955–1978
  • Theatre Recordand its annual Indexes, for Awards 1981 to date.[20][21]

References[edit]

  1. ^Bowie-Sell, Daisy (25 November 2012)."Olympics Opening Ceremony honoured at Evening Standard Theatre Awards".Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 31 August 2023.Retrieved27 November2017.
  2. ^"Press Release:Glenn Close wins the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Sunset Boulevard"(PDF).gateplc.com.Gate Ventures PLC. 14 November 2016. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 11 January 2019.Retrieved11 January2019.
  3. ^BWW News Desk (22 November 2015)."Imelda Staunton, Nicole Kidman, and More Lead Evening Standard Theatre Award Winners- Full List!".BroadwayWorld.com.Archivedfrom the original on 31 August 2023.Retrieved11 January2019.
  4. ^Celebration: 25 Years of British Theatre
  5. ^Jury, Louise (2009-11-02)."The Standard Theatre Awards 2009: Longlist revealed – Theatre – Going Out – London Evening Standard".Thisislondon.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-06-06.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  6. ^"Macbeth and Joan of Arc storm ES awards – News – London Evening Standard".Thisislondon.co.uk. 2007-11-27. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-09-04.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  7. ^"Winning performances on the West End stage – News – London Evening Standard".Thisislondon.co.uk. 2007-11-28. Archived fromthe originalon 2007-12-30.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  8. ^"Donmar dominates the London stage at ES Theatre Awards – News – London Evening Standard".Thisislondon.co.uk. 2008-11-24. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-02-28.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  9. ^"A winning year for leading lights of the London stage – News – London Evening Standard".Thisislondon.co.uk. 2008-11-25. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-12-05.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  10. ^Jury, Louise (2009-11-23)."It's a Royal flush at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards – News – London Evening Standard".Thisislondon.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-01-01.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  11. ^"Winners of Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2009 – Theatre – Going Out – London Evening Standard".Thisislondon.co.uk. 2009-11-24. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-01-04.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  12. ^"Evening Standard Theatre Awards celebrate a year of high emotion on stage – Theatre – Going Out – London Evening Standard".Thisislondon.co.uk. 2010-11-29. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-01-01.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  13. ^"Honouring the city's best theatre".www.eveningstandardcommercial.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-08-31.Retrieved2022-05-11.The 66th Evening Standard Theatre Awards will be hosted on Sunday 20 November 2022 at the London Coliseum.
  14. ^"Evening Standard Theatre Awards: Who won and why".Evening Standard.23 November 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 31 August 2023.Retrieved6 September2018.
  15. ^"Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2016: Who won and why".Evening Standard.14 November 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 28 May 2019.Retrieved6 September2018.
  16. ^"Evening Standard Theatre Award judges on how they chose the winners".Evening Standard.4 December 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 31 August 2023.Retrieved6 September2018.
  17. ^"EVENING STANDARD THEATRE AWARDS – Most Promising Playwright Winners, 1956 to present | London Theatre".Westendtheatre.com. 2011-03-28.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-08-31.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  18. ^Greenstreet, Rosanna (13 October 2001)."Q & A Matthew Rhys".The Guardian.UK.Archivedfrom the original on 8 March 2014.Retrieved7 March2014.
  19. ^"Award winning actress Maggie Smith hopes to return to the stage".Playbill.Retrieved6 July2017.[permanent dead link]
  20. ^"Heavyweights of the stage battle for best actor prize – News – London Evening Standard".Standard.co.uk. 2008-11-04.Archivedfrom the original on 2014-03-04.Retrieved2013-11-16.
  21. ^"Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2007: the longlist – Theatre – Going Out – London Evening Standard".Standard.co.uk. 2007-10-31.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-08-31.Retrieved2013-11-16.