Bat Out of Hell, 42nd St & Everybody’s Talking About Jamie all won at the 2018 WhatsOnStage Awards – The Ferryman won too, obviously.
The winners of the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards were announced this evening, celebrating the best of UK theatre.
In a move that some people are referring to as a real wake-up call for the industry, oft-ignored award winner Sonia Friedman Productions ‘scooped’ seven ‘gongs’ including Best New Play for The Ferryman (James Graham’s Ink was robbed), Best Direction for Sam Mendes, Best Supporting Actor in a Play went to Fra Fee and Best Play Revival Award went to Robert Icke’s Hamlet. The Harry Potter play: Cursed Child won two awards as well.
Friedman herself walked off with the Equity Award for Services to Theatre Award, which is nice.
Other winners included Lucie Shorthouse who scooped the Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Sunset Boulevard won the Best Regional Production Award and Hair which took the Best Off-West End Production Award.
Sadly, The Band didn’t win Best New Musical – that went to Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. The awards are the only major theatre prizes to be voted for entirely by the audience, which explains everything.
You can see the full list of winners below if you like
BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY SPONSORED BY RADISSON BLU EDWARDIAN • David Tennant, Don Juan in Soho
BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY • Olivia Colman, Mosquitoes
BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY THE UMBRELLA ROOMS • John McCrea, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY 100 WARDOUR ST • Carrie Hope Fletcher, The Addams Family
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY • Fra Fee, The Ferryman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY SPONSORED BY TONIC THEATRE • Juliet Stevenson, Hamlet
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL • Ross Noble, Young Frankenstein
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY NEWMAN DISPLAYS • Lucie Shorthouse, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
BEST NEW PLAY SPONSORED BY JHI MARKETING • The Ferryman
BEST NEW MUSICAL SPONSORED BY SHINE CREATIVE SOLUTIONS • Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
BEST PLAY REVIVAL • Hamlet
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL SPONSORED BY R&H THEATRICALS • 42nd Street
BEST DIRECTION • Sam Mendes, The Ferryman
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY • Randy Skinner, 42nd Street
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN SPONSORED BY WHITE LIGHT
• Patrick Woodroffe, Bat Out of Hell
BEST VIDEO DESIGN SPONSORED BY PRG XL VIDEO • 59 Productions, An American in Paris
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
• Roger Kirk, 42nd Street
BEST OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION SPONSORED BY LES MISERABLES • Hair
BEST REGIONAL PRODUCTION SPONSORED BY MTI EUROPE • Sunset Boulevard
BEST ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING SPONSORED BY ENCORE RADIO • Les Miserables
BEST SHOW POSTER • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
BEST WEST END SHOW SPONSORED BY JOE ALLEN • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child