NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE
25TH ANNUAL WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS
STARLIGHT EXPRESS LEADS WITH 9 NOMINATIONS
WITH MACBETH LEADING THE PLAY CATEGORIES
In a streamed event, My Fair Lady stars Molly Lynch, David Seadon-Young and Minal Patel today announced the nominations for the 25th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards in association with AudienceView, the only major theatre prize giving decided by the theatregoers themselves. The announcement of the nominations marks the opening of the final stage of voting (until 9 January 2025), with winners to be revealed at the annual Awards ceremony held on 9 February 2025 at The London Palladium.
WhatsOnStage’s Darius Thompson and Alex Wood said today: “We were blown away by the sheer volume of nominations that came in for this year’s WhatsOnStage Awards for our silver anniversary. What has emerged is a shortlist that reflects the vibrancy and excitement of the UK theatre ecosystem. Locations like Plymouth, Nottingham, Chichester, Sheffield and Manchester have all been recognised on this shortlist, and it’s been heartening watching organisations across the nation campaigning and championing local, established and emerging talents. In a time when venues and companies are facing increased costs and cuts to local funding, the WhatsOnStage Awards are a vital reminder of theatre’s power to bring communities together in a shared, enriching space.”
The hit revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express leads nominations this year with nine nods including Best Musical Revival, Best Supporting Performer in a Musical for Jaydon Vijn, Best Professional Debut for Jeevan Braich, Best Set Design (Tim Hatley), Best Lighting Design (Howard Hudson), Best Sound Design (Gareth Owen), Best Video Design (Andrzej Goulding), Best Costume Design (Gabriella Slade) and a nomination for Jackie Saundercock and Campbell Young Associates in the new category for Best Wigs Hair and Make-up Design. Also featuring strongly in the Musical Theatre categories are The Artist at Theatre Royal Plymouth with six nominations and Oliver! at Chichester Festival Theatre with five nominations.
Leading the straight play categories with six nominations is the Donmar Warehouse’s production of Macbeth starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo, currently running at the Harold Pinter Theatre, with both lead actors nominated for Best Performer in a Play alongside nominations for Best Play Revival, Best Sound Design (Gareth Fry), Best Musical Direction/ Supervision (Alasdair Macrae) and Best Casting (Anna Cooper). In terms of straight plays Spirited Away closely follows with five nominations.
Completing the gender-free performance categories, in the Best Performer in a Play category – facing David Tennant and Cush Jumbo – are Emma D’Arcy for The Other Place, Tom Holland for Romeo & Juliet, Anne Odeke for Princess Essex and Michael Sheen for Nye. Best Supporting Performer in a Play nominees are Freema Agyeman for Romeo & Juliet, Romola Garai for Giant, Julie Hesmondhalgh for Punch, Teddy Hinde for The History Boys, Atsuki Mashiko for Spirited Away and Sharon Small for Nye.
The Best Performer in a Musical category sees a double nomination for Why Am I So Single? with Jo Foster and Leesa Tulley both recognised. They will face Georgina Castle for Mean Girls, Myles Frost for MJ the Musical, Imelda Staunton for Hello, Dolly! and Vanessa Williams for The Devil Wears Prada; and in the Best Supporting Performer in a Musical category, Jaydon Vijin’s fellow nominees are Siobhan Athwal for Bhangra Nation, Amy Di Bartolomeo for The Devil Wears Prada, Melanie La Barrie for Hadestown, Grace Mouat for Mean Girls, and Tom Xander also for Mean Girls.
Best Takeover Performance sees a double nomination for Cabaret for both Cara Delevingne and Layton Willams. They are joined by Zoe Birkett for TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, Craig Ryder for Moulin Rouge!, Alex Sawyer for Hamilton and Tobias Turley for Mamma Mia!. Joining Jeevan Braich in the Best Professional Debut Performance category are Esme Bowdler for Heathers the Musical, Stevie Doc for Mamma Mia!, Vasco Emauz for Back to the Future the Musical, Mia Kobayashi for Your Lie in April and Gerardine Sacdalan for & Juliet.
Best New Musical is closely contested with Babies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Devil Wears Prada, MJ the Musical, Mean Girlsand Why Am I So Single?in the running. Starlight Expressis joined in the Best Musical Revival category by Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown, Hello, Dolly!, Kiss Me, Kate and Oliver!.
Best New Play sees nominations for Giant, Kyoto, Princess Essex, Punch, Slave Play and Spirited Away, while Macbethgoes up against A Raisin in the Sun, The Crucible, Oedipus, Romeo & Julietand Waiting for Godotfor Best Play Revival.
Last year’s winner for Best New Musical Operation Mincemeatjoins Cabaret, Hamilton, Les Misérables, Mamma Mia! and SIXto battle it out for Best West End Show. Nominations for Best Regional Production are 42 Balloons, The Artist, Becoming Nancy, Brassed Off, Dear Evan Hansen and Oliver!. This year’s awards will see the inclusion of the Best Studio Production for the first time, BRACE BRACEat Royal Court Theatre, Dear Young Monster at Bristol Old Vic Weston Studio, Diary of a Gay Disaster at Underbelly Cowgate and Arcola Theatre, KENREX Tanyaat Moiseiwitsch Playhouse Sheffield, Mulatto Boy at Omnibus Theatre and Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em at Barn Theatre are all up for the inaugural award.
Gypsy the Musical in Concert, I Am Harvey Milk, Pippin – 50th Anniversary Concert, Something Rotten! – In Concert, Sondheim on Sondheim and Spring Awakening: 15th Anniversary Concertmake up the competitive field forBest Concert Event.
The Best Direction category is dominated by plays with Eline Arbo for The Years, Robert Icke for Oedipus, Anthony Lau for The Crucible, James Macdonald for Waiting for Godot and Wise Children’s Emma Rice for The Buddha of Suburbia, with Drew McOnie being the only musical nominee for The Artist. McOnie also receives a nomination for Best Choreography, facing tough competition from Matthew Bourne for Oliver!, Julia Cheng for Fiddler on the Roof, Rujuta Vaidya for Bhangra Nation, Anthony Van Laast for Kiss Me, Kate, and Christopher Wheeldon for MJ the Musical.
For Set Design, up against Tim Hatley for Starlight Express are Jon Bausor and Toby Olié for Spirited Away, Miriam Buether for Kyoto, Es Devlin for Coriolanus, Kenneth MacLeod for Maggie and Me, and Tom Scutt for Fiddler on the Roof; and Costume Design, Gabriella Slade’s fellow nominees are Sachiko Nakahara for Spirited Away, Lez Brotherston for Oliver!, Marg Horwell for The Picture of Dorian Gray, Rae Smith for Hello, Dolly!, and Tom Scutt, again for Fiddler on the Roof.
Joining Starlight Express’ Howard Hudson in the Best Lighting Design category are Paule Constable for Oliver!, Jessica Hung Han Yun for Minority Report, Tim Lutkin for Coriolanus, Bruno Poet for Waiting for Godot, and Zoe Spurr for The Artist; and against Macbeth’s Gareth Owen for Best Sound Design are Paul Arditti for BRACE BRACE, Susan Bear for Maggie and Me, Nicola T Chang for Minority Report, and double nominations for Gareth Fry for Viola’s Room, as well as Macbeth. Best Video Design sees Starlight Express’ Andrzej Goulding face David Bergman for The Picture of Dorian Gray, Grant Gee and Ellie Thompson for Bluets, Tal Rosner for Minority Report, and another double nomination for Ash J Woodward for The Artist and FANGIRLS.
In another first for this year’s ceremony, an award will be given for Best Wigs, Hair and Make-Up Design for which the nominees are Campbell Young Associates for The Devil Wears Prada, Marg Horwell for The Picture of Dorian Gray, Betty Marini for The Cabinet Minister, Hiroaki Miyauchi for Spirited Away, Georgia Nosal for The Artist, and Starlight Express’ Jackie Saundercock and Campbell Young Associates.
For Best Musical Direction/Supervision, Macbeth’s Alasdair Macrae is in competition with Mark Aspinall and Dan Turek for Fiddler on the Roof, Niraj Chag and Simon Baker for The Buddha of Suburbia, Darren Clark and Mark Aspinall for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Matthew Malone for Brassed Off, and Liam Robinson and Tarek Merchant for Hadestown; and completing the categories is Best Casting Direction with Macbeth’s Anna Cooper up against Amy Ball for The Years, Harry Blumenau and Sarah-Jane Price for Why Am I So Single?, Stuart Burt for Fiddler on the Roof, Alistair Coomer and Chloe Blake for Till the Stars Come Down, and Lottie Hines for A Raisin in the Sun.
In addition to seeing winners crowned across a range of categories, theatregoers will also enjoy a host of exclusive live performances from top stage talent, accompanied by a 24-piece orchestra in a one-night-only showcase co-produced with creative directors Alex Parker and Damian Sandys.
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WhatsOnStage would like to take this opportunity to thank the 2025 awards ceremony sponsors: 5RB, Above Title Finance, AKA Promotions Ltd, AudienceView, Avalon, Boulevard Events, Concord, Dewynters, Disney’s Hercules, Edwardian Hotels, Hexagon Print, Go Live Theatre Projects, LOVEtheatre, Music Theatre International, Newman Displays, Outernet Venues, Preevue, PRG, Re:Water, RSVP-ify, SINE Digital, Steeldeck Rentals, Tandem Marketing, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Ticketmaster, TikTok, Travelzoo and White Light.
NOMINATIONS IN FULL:
BEST PERFORMER IN A PLAY SPONSORED BY SINE DIGITAL
Emma D’Arcy, The Other Place, National Theatre
Tom Holland, Romeo & Juliet, Duke of York’s Theatre
Cush Jumbo, Macbeth, Donmar Warehouse and Harold Pinter Theatre
Anne Odeke, Princess Essex, Shakespeare’s Globe
Michael Sheen, Nye, National Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre
David Tennant, Macbeth, Donmar Warehouse and Harold Pinter Theatre
BEST PERFORMER IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY TICKETMASTER
Georgina Castle, Mean Girls, Savoy Theatre
Jo Foster, Why Am I So Single?, Garrick Theatre
Myles Frost, MJ the Musical, Prince Edward Theatre
Imelda Staunton, Hello, Dolly!, The London Palladium
Leesa Tulley, Why Am I So Single?, Garrick Theatre
Vanessa Williams, The Devil Wears Prada, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Dominion Theatre
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A PLAY
Freema Agyeman, Romeo & Juliet, Duke of York’s Theatre
Romola Garai, Giant, Royal Court Theatre
Julie Hesmondhalgh, Punch, Nottingham Playhouse
Teddy Hinde, The History Boys, UK tour
Atsuki Mashiko, Spirited Away, The London Coliseum
Sharon Small, Nye, National Theatre
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A MUSICAL SPONSORED BY NEWMAN DISPLAYS
Siobhan Athwal, Bhangra Nation, Birmingham Rep
Amy Di Bartolomeo, The Devil Wears Prada, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Dominion Theatre
Melanie La Barrie, Hadestown, Lyric Theatre
Grace Mouat, Mean Girls, Savoy Theatre
Jaydon Vijn, Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
Tom Xander, Mean Girls, Savoy Theatre
BEST TAKEOVER PERFORMANCE
Zoe Birkett, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, Aldwych Theatre
Cara Delevingne, Cabaret, Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Craig Ryder, Moulin Rouge! the Musical, Piccadilly Theatre
Alex Sawyer, Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre
Tobias Turley, Mamma Mia!, Novello Theatre
Layton Williams, Cabaret, Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
BEST PROFESSIONAL DEBUT PERFORMANCE SPONSORED BY AKA
Esme Bowdler, Heathers the Musical, @sohoplace and UK tour
Jeevan Braich, Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
Stevie Doc, Mamma Mia!, Novello Theatre
Vasco Emauz, Back to the Future the Musical, Adelphi Theatre
Mia Kobayashi, Your Lie in April, Harold Pinter Theatre
Gerardine Sacdalan, & Juliet, UK tour
BEST NEW MUSICAL SPONSORED BY TRAVELZOO
Babies, Music and lyrics by Jack Godfrey and book by Martha Geelan, The Other Palace
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Music and lyrics by Darren Clark and book and lyrics by Jethro Compton, Ambassadors Theatre
The Devil Wears Prada, Music by Elton John, lyrics by Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick and book by Kate Wetherhead, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Dominion Theatre
MJ the Musical, Music and lyrics by Michael Jackson and book by Lynn Nottage, Prince Edward Theatre
Mean Girls, Music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin and book by Tina Fey, Savoy Theatre
Why Am I So Single?, Music, lyrics and book by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Garrick Theatre
BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL SPONSORED BY CONCORD THEATRICALS
Dear Evan Hansen, Nottingham Playhouse and UK tour
Hadestown, Lyric Theatre
Hello, Dolly!, The London Palladium
Kiss Me, Kate, Barbican Theatre
Oliver!, Chichester Festival Theatre
Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
BEST NEW PLAY SPONSORED BY GO LIVE THEATRE
Giant, Mark Rosenblatt, Royal Court Theatre
Kyoto, Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, RSC’s Swan Theatre
Princess Essex, Anne Odeke, Shakespeare’s Globe
Punch, James Graham, Nottingham Playhouse
Slave Play, Jeremy O’Harris, Noël Coward Theatre
Spirited Away, Adapted by John Caird and co-adapted by Maoko Imai, The London Coliseum
BEST PLAY REVIVAL SPONSORED BY EDWARDIAN HOTELS – OFFICAL HOTEL PARTNER
A Raisin in the Sun, Leeds Playhouse, Oxford Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse
The Crucible, Sheffield Crucible
Macbeth, Donmar Warehouse and Harold Pinter Theatre
Oedipus, Wyndham’s Theatre
Romeo & Juliet, Duke of York’s Theatre
Waiting for Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket
BEST WEST END SHOW SPONSORED BY DEWYNTERS
Cabaret , Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre
Les Misérables, Sondheim Theatre
Mamma Mia!, Novello Theatre
Operation Mincemeat, Fortune Theatre
SIX, Vaudeville Theatre
BEST REGIONAL PRODUCTION SPONSORED BY MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL
42 Balloons, The Lowry, Salford
The Artist, Theatre Royal Plymouth
Becoming Nancy, Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Brassed Off, Theatre by the Lake, Stephen Joseph Theatre and Octagon Theatre Bolton
Dear Evan Hansen, Nottingham Playhouse and UK tour
Oliver!, Chichester Festival Theatre
BEST STUDIO PRODUCTION SPONSORED BY THEATRICAL RIGHTS WORLDWIDE
BRACE BRACE, Royal Court Theatre
Dear Young Monster, Bristol Old Vic Weston Studio
Diary of a Gay Disaster, Underbelly Cowgate and Arcola Theatre
KENREX, Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Sheffield
Mulatto Boy, Omnibus Theatre
Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Barn Theatre
BEST CONCERT EVENT
Gypsy the Musical in Concert, Hope Mill Theatre at Opera House, Manchester
I Am Harvey Milk, Cadogan Hall
Pippin – 50th Anniversary Concert, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Something Rotten! – In Concert, Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Sondheim on Sondheim, Alexandra Palace Theatre
Spring Awakening: 15th Anniversary Concert, Victoria Palace Theatre
BEST DIRECTION SPONSORED BY LOVETHEATRE
Eline Arbo, The Years, Almeida Theatre
Robert Icke, Oedipus, Wyndham’s Theatre
Anthony Lau, The Crucible, Sheffield Crucible
James Macdonald, Waiting for Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Drew McOnie, The Artist, Theatre Royal Plymouth
Emma Rice, The Buddha of Suburbia, RSC’s Swan Theatre and Barbican Theatre
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY SPONSORED BY LADUCA SHOES
Matthew Bourne, Oliver!, Chichester Festival Theatre
Julia Cheng, Fiddler on the Roof, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Drew McOnie, The Artist, Theatre Royal Plymouth
Rujuta Vaidya, Bhangra Nation, Birmingham Rep
Anthony Van Laast, Kiss Me, Kate, Barbican Theatre
Christopher Wheeldon, MJ the Musical, Prince Edward Theatre
BEST SET DESIGN SPONSORED BY PREEVUE
Jon Bausor and Toby Olié, Spirited Away, The London Coliseum
Miriam Buether, Kyoto, RSC’s Swan Theatre
Es Devlin, Coriolanus, National Theatre
Tim Hatley, Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
Kenneth MacLeod, Maggie and Me, UK tour
Tom Scutt, Fiddler on the Roof, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Sachiko Nakahara, Spirited Away, The London Coliseum
Lez Brotherston, Oliver!, Chichester Festival Theatre
Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Tom Scutt, Fiddler on the Roof, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Gabriella Slade, Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
Rae Smith, Hello, Dolly!, The London Palladium
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN SPONSORED BY WHITE LIGHT
Paule Constable, Oliver!, Chichester Festival Theatre
Howard Hudson, Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
Jessica Hung Han Yun, Minority Report, Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
Tim Lutkin, Coriolanus, National Theatre
Bruno Poet, Waiting for Godot, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Zoe Spurr, The Artist, Theatre Royal Plymouth
BEST SOUND DESIGN SPONSORED BY HERE @ OUTERNET
Paul Arditti, BRACE BRACE, Royal Court Theatre
Susan Bear, Maggie and Me, UK tour
Nicola T Chang, Minority Report, Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
Gareth Fry, Macbeth, Donmar Warehouse and Harold Pinter Theatre
Gareth Fry, Viola’s Room, Woolwich Works
Gareth Owen, Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
BEST VIDEO DESIGN SPONSORED BY TIKTOK
David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Grant Gee and Ellie Thompson, Bluets, Royal Court Theatre
Andrzej Goulding, Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
Tal Rosner, Minority Report, Nottingham Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
Ash J Woodward, The Artist, Theatre Royal Plymouth
Ash J Woodward, FANGIRLS, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION/SUPERVISION SPONSORED BY DISNEY’S HERCULES
Mark Aspinall and Dan Turek, Fiddler on the Roof, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Niraj Chag and Simon Baker, The Buddha of Suburbia, RSC’s Swan Theatre and Barbican Theatre
Darren Clark and Mark Aspinall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ambassadors Theatre
Alasdair Macrae, Macbeth, Donmar Warehouse and Harold Pinter Theatre
Matthew Malone, Brassed Off, Theatre by the Lake, Stephen Joseph Theatre and Octagon Theatre Bolton
Liam Robinson and Tarek Merchant, Hadestown, Lyric Theatre
BEST CASTING DIRECTION
Amy Ball, The Years, Almeida Theatre
Harry Blumenau and Sarah-Jane Price, Why Am I So Single?, Garrick Theatre
Stuart Burt, Fiddler on the Roof, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Alastair Coomer and Chloe Blake, Till the Stars Come Down, National Theatre
Anna Cooper, Macbeth, Donmar Warehouse and Harold Pinter Theatre
Lotte Hines, A Raisin in the Sun, Leeds Playhouse, Oxford Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse
BEST WIGS, HAIR AND MAKE-UP DESIGN
Campbell Young Associates, The Devil Wears Prada, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Dominion Theatre
Jackie Saundercock and Campbell Young Associates, Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Theatre Royal Haymarket
Betty Marini, The Cabinet Minister, Menier Chocolate Factory
Hiroaki Miyauchi, Spirited Away, The London Coliseum
Georgia Nosal, The Artist, Theatre Royal Plymouth