2008 Theatregoers Choice Awards

I stumbled across the Whatsonstage Awards, announced yesterday, as voted on by the public (25,000 of them)! Obviously this is British but it is interesting to note how many of their respected actors appear in stage productions and films (and of course TV). A versatile group indeed.

The FRANCO’S Best Actress in a Play

Anne-Marie Duff – Saint Joan at the NT Olivier
Janie Dee – Shadowlands at Wyndham’s
Kate Fleetwood – Macbeth at the Gielgud
Kristin Scott Thomas – The Seagull at the Royal Court
Maggie Smith – The Lady from Dubuque at the Theatre Royal Haymarket (winner)

Tamsin Greig – Much Ado About Nothing, RSC at the Novello


Best Actor in a Play

Charles Dance – Shadowlands at Wyndham’s
Ian McKellen – King Lear, RSC at the New London (winner)

John Simm – Elling at the Bush & Trafalgar Studios
Paterson Joseph – The Emperor Jones at the NT Olivier
Patrick Stewart – Macbeth at the Gielgud, The Tempest & Antony & Cleopatra, RSC at the Novello
Robert Lindsay – The Entertainer at the Old Vic


Best Supporting Actress in a Play

Amanda Hale – The Glass Menagerie at the Apollo
Andrea Riseborough – The Pain & the Itch at the Royal Court
Diana Rigg – All About My Mother at the Old Vic (winner)
Frances de la Tour – Boeing-Boeing at the Comedy
Pam Ferris – The Entertainer at the Old Vic
Ruth Wilson – Philistines at the NT Lyttelton


Best Supporting Actor in a Play

David Haig – The Country Wife at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Lee Evans – The Dumb Waiter at Trafalgar Studios (winner)
Mark Gatiss – All About My Mother at the Old Vic
Nigel Lindsay – Awake & Sing at the Almeida
Paul Ritter – The Hothouse at the NT Lyttelton
Rory Kinnear – The Man of Mode at the NT Olivier


Best Actress in a Musical

Denise Van Outen – Rent at the Duke of York’s
Lara Pulver – Parade at the Donmar Warehouse
Leanne Jones – Hairspray at the Shaftesbury (winner)
Sheridan Smith – Little Shop of Horrors at the Duke of York’s & Ambassadors
Summer Strallen – The Drowsy Chaperone at the Novello
Susan McFadden – Grease at the Piccadilly


The SEE TICKETS Best Actor in a Musical

Bertie Carvel – Parade at the Donmar Warehouse
Henry Goodman – Fiddler on the Roof at the Savoy
James Loye – The Lord of the Rings at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Lee Mead – Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Adelphi
Michael Ball – Hairspray at the Shaftesbury (winner)
Paul Keating – Little Shop of Horrors at the Duke of York’s & Ambassadors


Best Supporting Actress in a Musical

Beverley Klein – Fiddler on the Roof at the Savoy
Elaine Paige – The Drowsy Chaperone at the Novello
Laura Michelle Kelly – The Lord of the Rings at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Nicole Faraday – Bad Girls at the Garrick
Preeya Kalidas – Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Adelphi
Tracie Bennett – Hairspray at the Shaftesbury (winner)


Best Supporting Actor in a Musical

Ben James-Ellis – Hairspray at the Shaftesbury (winner)
Dean Collinson – Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Adelphi
Mel Smith – Hairspray at the Shaftesbury
Michael Jibson – Take Flight at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Michael Therriault – The Lord of the Rings at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Shaun Escoffery – Parade at the Donmar Warehouse


Best Solo Performance

Fiona Shaw – Happy Days at the NT Lyttelton (winner)
Lucy Briers – Some Kind of Bliss at Trafalgar Studios
Patrick Kielty – A Night in November at Trafalgar Studios
Ralf Little – Stacy at Trafalgar Studios
Richard Schiff – Underneath the Lintel at the Duchess
Robert Bathurst – Alex at the Arts


Best Ensemble Performance

Betrayal – at the Donmar Warehouse
Dealer’s Choice – at the Menier Chocolate Factory
Glengarry Glen Ross – at the Apollo
Philistines – at the NT Lyttelton
The Taming of the Shrew & Twelfth Night – Propeller at the Old Vic (winner)
War Horse – at the NT Olivier


Best Takeover in a Role

Dianne Pilkington – Wicked at the Apollo Victoria
Kelly Osbourne – Chicago at the Cambridge
Kerry Ellis – Wicked at the Apollo Victoria (winner)
Leila Benn Harris & Robyn North – The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s
Peter Davison – Spamalot at the Palace
Ramin Karimloo – The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s


The NICK HERN BOOKS Best New Play

A Disappearing Number by Complicite – at the Barbican
All About My Mother by Samuel Adamson – at the Old Vic (winner)
Joe Guy by Roy Williams – at Soho Theatre
Landscape with Weapon by Joe Penhall – at the NT Cottesloe
That Face by Polly Stenham – at the Royal Court Upstairs
War Horse by Nick Stafford – at the NT Olivier


Best New Comedy

Elling by Simon Bent – at the Bush & Trafalgar Studios (winner)
Moonlight & Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson – at the Tricycle
Rafta Rafta by Ayub Khan-Din – at the NT Lyttelton
The Pain & the Itch by Bruce Norris – at the Royal Court
Vernon God Little by Tanya Ronder – at the Young Vic
Whipping It Up by Steve Thompson – at the Bush & Ambassadors


The SUPERBREAK Best New Musical

Bad Girls The Musical by Kath Gotts, Maureen Chadwick & Ann McManus – at the Garrick
Hairspray by Marc Shaiman, Scott Whitman, Mark O’Donnell & Thomas Meehan – at the Shaftesbury (winner)
Parade by Jason Robert Brown & Alfred Uhry – at the Donmar Warehouse
Take Flight by Richard Maltby Jr, David Shire & John Weidman – at the Menier Chocolate Factory
The Drowsy Chaperone by Greg Morrison, Lisa Lambert, Don McKellar & Bob Martin – at the Novello
The Lord of the Rings by AR Rahman, Varttina, Christopher Nightingale, Shaun McKenna & Matthew Warchus – at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane


Best Play Revival

Boeing-Boeing – at the Comedy
Equus – at the Gielgud (winner)
Saint Joan – at the NT Olivier
The Country Wife – at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
The Dumb Waiter – at Trafalgar Studios
In Celebration – at the Duke of York’s


The TICKETMASTER Best Musical Revival

Buddy – at the Duchess
Fiddler on the Roof – at the Savoy
Grease – at the Piccadilly
Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – at the Adelphi (winner)
Little Shop of Horrors – at the Duke of York’s & Ambassadors
Rent – at the Duke of York’s


Best Shakespearean Production

Antony & Cleopatra – RSC at the Novello
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – at the Roundhouse
King Lear – RSC at the New London
Macbeth – at the Gielgud (winner)
Much Ado About Nothing – RSC at the Novello
The Merchant of Venice – at Shakespeare’s Globe


Best Director

Jack O’Brien – Hairspray at the Shaftesbury (winner)
Marianne Elliott – Much Ado About Nothing, RSC at the Novello, Saint Joan & War Horse at the NT Olivier
Matthew Warchus – Boeing-Boeing at the Comedy & The Lord of the Rings at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Roger Michell – Landscape with Weapon at the NT Cottesloe & Betrayal at the Donmar Warehouse
Rupert Goold – The Glass Menagerie at the Apollo, The Tempest, RSC at the Novello, Rough Crossings at the Lyric Hammersmith & Macbeth at the Gielgud
Thea Sharrock – Equus at the Gielgud, The Emperor Jones at the NT Olivier & Cloud Nine at the Almeida


Best Set Designer

Anthony Ward – Glengarry Glen Ross at the Apollo, Macbeth at the Gielgud, The Arsonists & Rhinoceros at the Royal Court
Bunny Christie – Philistines & Women of Troy at the NT Lyttelton
David Rockwell – Hairspray at the Shaftesbury
Hildegard Bechtler – All About My Mother at the Old Vic & The Hothouse at the NT Lyttelton
Rae Smith & the Handspring Puppet Company – War Horse at the NT Olivier
Rob Howell – The Lord of the Rings at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane (winner)


Best Choreographer

Bill Deamer – Lady Be Good at the Open Air Theatre
Casey Nicholaw – The Drowsy Chaperone at the Novello
Jerry Mitchell – Hairspray at the Shaftesbury (winner)
Kate Flatt – Fiddler on the Roof at the Savoy
Peter Darling – The Lord of the Rings at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Rob Ashford – Parade at the Donmar Warehouse


The DEWYNTERS London Newcomer of the Year

Arthur Darvill – Terre Haute at Trafalgar Studios & Swimming with Sharks at the Vaudeville
Billie Piper – Treats at the Garrick
Colin Morgan – Vernon God Little at the Young Vic & All About My Mother at the Old Vic
Daniel Radcliffe – Equus at the Gielgud (winner)

Leanne Jones – Hairspray at the Shaftesbury
Orlando Bloom – In Celebration at the Duke of York’s


Best Off-West End Production

A Christmas Carol & The Magic Flute – at the Young Vic (winner)
Dealer’s Choice – at the Menier Chocolate Factory
I Love You Because – at the Landor (winner)
tHe dYsFUnCKshOnalZ! – at the Bush
The Masque of the Red Death – at Battersea Arts Centre
Vernon God Little – at the Young Vic


Best Regional Production

Angels in America – on tour
Henry V – at the Royal Exchange, Manchester
Never Forget – on tour
Pygmalion – at the Theatre Royal Bath & on tour (winner)
Sunshine on Leith – at Dundee Rep
The Big Secret Live: I Am Shakespeare – at Chichester Festival & on tour


The AKA Theatre Event of the Year

Daniel Radcliffe’s steamy publicity shots for Equus (winner)
Launch of the Theatre Royal Haymarket Company & its first season under Jonathan Kent
Nicholas Hytner’s “dead white males” comment about critics
Punchdrunk’s takeover of BAC for The Masque of the Red Death
Reopening of the Royal Festival Hall
Reality TV head-to-head between Any Dream Will Do & Grease Is the Word


Honourable mentions:

The success of the Royal Court’s Young Writers’ Programme
Will Keen’s extraordinary performances in two roles for which he was not originally cast – Kiss of the Spider Woman at the Donmar Warehouse and The Arsonists at the Royal Court
Michael Ball’s transformation as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray