London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2010: The long-list unveiled
МартинсписокIn an outstanding year for London theatre, our judging panel have picked out the most remarkable performances and productions. The choices reflect the explosion of young talent emerging alongside theatre grandees who are at the top of their game. The London stage has become the envy of the world. No other city comes near it for vitality, originality, intelligence and glamour. In a time of austerity, we salute the dazzling example of our capital's theatre, never dropping its standards, and never, ever surrendering...
BEST ACTOR
Ascending stars like Bertie Carvel, Benedict Cumberbatch and Rory Kinnear gave Britain's established stage greats including Jonathan Pryce, David Suchet and Simon Russell Beale a run for their money while new works (Red) fizzed alongside contemporary classics (The Caretaker) and Shakespeare this year. And it was nice to see some names — such as Martin Freeman and Adrian Lester — returning from screen to stage.
Roger Allam
Henry IV Parts One and Two (Shakespeare's Globe)
Bertie Carvel
Rope (Almeida)
Benedict Cumberbatch
After the Dance (National's Lyttelton)
Martin Freeman
Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Alex Jennings
The Habit of Art (National's Lyttelton)
Rory Kinnear
Measure for Measure (Almeida)/ Hamlet (National's Olivier)
Adrian Lester
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Novello)
Alfred Molina
Red (Donmar Warehouse)
Jonathan Pryce
The Caretaker (Trafalgar Studios)
Simon Russell Beale
London Assurance (National's Olivier)/ Deathtrap (Noлl Coward)
Adrian Scarborough
After the Dance (National's Lyttelton)
David Suchet
All My Sons (Apollo)
THE NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Judges approvingly noted the continuing appeal of the stage for Hollywood darlings such as Judi Dench and Keira Knightley (not to mention Bond girl Gemma Arterton).They were also delighted by the crop of lesser-known talents making their names in theatre. For once, comedy gave as many opportunities to shine as drama, with Sheridan Smith and Fiona Shaw extracting laughs even as Zoл Wanamaker wrenched audiences' hearts.
Gemma Arterton
The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick)
Nancy Carroll
After the Dance (National's Lyttelton)
Judi Dench
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Rose, Kingston)
Tamsin Greig
The Little Dog Laughed (Garrick)
Jenny Jules
Ruined (Almeida)
Keira Knightley
The Misanthrope (Comedy Theatre)
Amanda Lawrence
Jiggery Pokery (BAC)/ Henry VIII (Shakespeare's Globe)
Rosaleen Linehan
The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Young Vic)
Helen McCrory
The Late Middle Classes (Donmar Warehouse)
Lesley Manville
Six Degrees of Separation (Old Vic)
Anna Maxwell Martin
Measure for Measure (Almeida)
Elena Roger
Passion (Donmar Warehouse)
Fiona Shaw
London Assurance (National's Olivier)
Sheridan Smith
Legally Blonde (Savoy)
Sophie Thompson
Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Zoл Wanamaker
All My Sons (Apollo)
BEST PLAY
You wait a theatrical lifetime for a play on boxing, then two come along at once. Alongside Beautiful Burnout and Sucker Punch, there was everything from black politics, in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Ruined and the America of Clybourne Park, Irish politics (The Big Fellah) and class politics (Posh). Never forgetting for a moment the overwhelming box office and critical appeal of Alan Bennett.
Cock
Mike Bartlett (Royal Court)
The Big Fellah
Richard Bean (Lyric Hammersmith)
The Habit of Art
Alan Bennett (National's Lyttelton)
Beautiful Burnout
Bryony Lavery (York Hall)
Clybourne Park
Bruce Norris (Royal Court)
Ruined
Lynn Nottage (Almeida)
Posh
Laura Wade (Royal Court)
Sucker Punch
Roy Williams (Royal Court)
THE NED SHERRIN AWARD FOR BEST MUSICAL
In a category where judges have sometimes turned to the small-scale in despair at the blockbusters, West End hits are truly in contention this year. Even a war horse such as Les Misйrables knocked the socks off the judges in the new silver jubilee year production, while composer Galt MacDermot has two productions — Hair, hot from Broadway, and The Human Comedy, presented as a community show in London and Watford.
Hair
Gielgud Theatre
The Human Comedy
A Young Vic/The Opera Group production co-produced with Watford Palace Theatre
Legally Blonde
Savoy Theatre
Les Misйrables (2010)
Cameron Mackintosh production at Barbican Theatre
Passion
Donmar Warehouse
Sweet Charity
Menier Chocolate Factory; transferred to Theatre Royal Haymarket
BEST DIRECTOR
A cavalcade of former winners, including Howard Davies, Rupert Goold, Michael Grandage and Nicholas Hytner, are again bidding for glory, though a new name could just as easily end up with the trophy. The challenge of new plays won rave reviews for Jeremy Herrin, Dominic Cooke and James MacDonald, with more applause for figures such as Laurie Sansom and Thea Sharrock.
Dominic Cooke
Clybourne Park (Royal Court)
Howard Davies
The White Guard (National's Lyttelton)/ All My Sons (Apollo)
Rupert Goold
Romeo and Juliet (RSC Stratford)/Earthquakes in London (National's Cottesloe)
Michael Grandage
Red (Donmar Warehouse)/ Danton's Death (National's Olivier)
Jeremy Herrin
Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
Joe Hill-Gibbins
The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Young Vic)
Nicholas Hytner
The Habit of Art (National's Lyttelton/London Assurance (National's Olivier)/Hamlet (National's Olivier)
James MacDonald
Cock (Royal Court)
Roger Michell
Rope (Almeida)
Laurie Sansom
Beyond the Horizon and Spring Storm (National's Cottesloe)
Thea Sharrock
After the Dance (National's Lyttelton)
Lyndsey Turner
Posh (Royal Court)
BEST DESIGN
London theatre boasts many of the best designers in the world and they have been at their most innovative and imaginative this year. They have created epic wars, pastoral and domestic settings and even dismantled auditoriums and infrastructure to create boxing rings or environmental catastrophe.
Lez Brotherston
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Vaudeville)/Measure for Measure (Almeida)/Women Beware Women (National's Olivier)/Design for Living (Old Vic)
Miriam Buether
Sucker Punch (Royal Court)/Earthquakes in London (National's Cottesloe)
Bunny Christie
The White Guard (National's Lyttelton)
Rob Howell
Private Lives (Vaudeville)/Deathtrap (Noлl Coward)
Vicki Mortimer
The Cat in the Hat (National's Cottesloe; transferred to Young Vic)
Christopher Oram
Passion (Donmar Warehouse)/Red (Donmar Warehouse)
Mark Thompson
London Assurance (National's Olivier)
THE CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT
Inexperience has not constrained ambition in this category. The newer dramatists are bold and brave. The best this year tackled the world of advertising, the Afghan conflict, the conflicts of families and flat-sharing and the politics of the hijab with an aplomb beyond their years. The youngest, Anya Reiss, wrote her debut play at the tender age of 17.
James Graham
The Whisky Taster (Bush)/The Man (Finborough)
DC Moore
The Empire (Royal Court)
Nick Payne
If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet (Bush)/Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Anya Reiss
Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
Atiha Sen Gupta
What Fatima Did (Hampstead)
Penelope Skinner
Eigengrau (Bush)
THE MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING NEWCOMER
Whether acting, directing or creating — in the genre-defying production You Me Bum Bum Train — there should be no fears for the future of theatre from the evidence of 2010, with the Royal Court taking the lead in finding new stars. One exception to the comparative unknowns is Melanie Chisholm, who steps into contention for making the transition from Spice Girl Mel C to musical theatre.
You Me Bum Bum Train
created by Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd (LEB Building, E2)
Melanie Chisholm
for her performance in Blood Brothers (Phoenix)
Laura Dos Santos
for her performance in Educating Rita (Menier Chocolate Factory, transferred to Trafalgar Studios)
Simon Godwin
for his direction of Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Daniel Kaluuya
for his performance in Sucker Punch (Royal Court)
Isabella Laughland
for her performance in Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Henry Lloyd-Hughes
for his performances in Rope (Almeida) and Posh (Royal Court)
James Mcardle
for his performance in Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
James Musgrave
for his performance in Wanderlust (Royal Court)
Nikesh Patel
for his performance in Disconnect (Royal Court)
Shannon Tarbet
for her performance in Spur of the Moment (Royal Court)
THE GOLDEN SEAGULL AWARD
Presented on behalf of Moscow Art Theatre.
THE LEBEDEV SPECIAL AWARD
For outstanding contribution to theatre.
THE JUDGES
The judges are Sarah Sands, deputy editor of the Evening Standard, and theatre critics Henry Hitchings of the Standard, Georgina Brown of The Mail on Sunday, Susannah Clapp of The Observer, Charles Spencer of The Daily Telegraph and Matt Wolf of the International Herald Tribune. Evgeny Lebedev, chairman of the Evening Standard, chairs the jury. The shortlists for this year's awards will be published a week before the winners are announced at a ceremony at the Savoy on November 28.