The winners of this year's 62nd Evening Standard Theatre Awards, announced in a ceremony held at London's Old Vic November 13, include Glenn Close for her performance in the Broadway-bound London revival of Sunset Boulevard, Ralph Fiennes for stage appearances at the Old Vic and Almeida, and John Malkovich for his London directorial debut with Good Canary.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was named Best Play, and the Best Musical Award鈥攁 category decided by public vote via a Radio 2 sponsored promotion鈥攚ent to a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, seen at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park last summer and due to be revived there this summer.
The Broadway-originated revival of Pinter's No Man's Land, first seen at the Cort Theatre in 2013 and now playing at Wydnham's Theatre in the West End, was named Best Revival, and Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin took the award for Best Design for their sound design on The Encounter, currently playing Broadway's John Golden Theatre.
An additional series of special awards were also presented. Prince William Windsor, His Royal Highness, The Duke of Cambridge, presented the Beyond Theatre award to Sir David Attenborough for his outstanding contribution to broadcasting. Sir Kenneth Branagh was recipient of this year鈥檚 Lebedev Award for his Garrick season, and the efforts of Good Chance Theatre in Calais, founded by British playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, were recognized by the Editor鈥檚 Award.
Among guests and presenters for the evening were Mark Rylance, James McAvoy, Dominic Cooper, Elizabeth Debicki, Salma Hayek, Tom Hollander, Orlando Bloom, Sir Michael Gambon, Helen McCrory, Dame Joan Collins, Kristin Scott Thomas, Dame Eileen Atkins, Dame Maggie Smith, and Sir Patrick Stewart. The ceremony was hosted by Evening Standard owner Evgeny Lebedev and Sir Elton John, and presented by Rob Brydon.
The full list of nominees in the thirteen competitive categories are as follows, with winners denoted in bold and an asterisk (*):
Best Actor
Kenneth Branagh, The Entertainer (Garrick)
O-T Fagbenle, Ma Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
* Ralph Fiennes, The Master Builder (Old Vic)/Richard III (Almeida)
James McArdle, Platonov (Chichester Festival Theatre/National Theatre, Olivier)
Ralph Fiennes, No Man's Land (Wyndham's Theatre)
Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress
Noma Dumezweni, Linda (Royal Court, Jerwood Downstairs)
Helen McCrory, The Deep Blue Sea (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
Sophie Melville, Iphigenia in Splott (Sherman Theatre/National Theatre, Temporary Theatre)
* Billie Piper, Yerma (Young Vic)
Best Musical Performance
* Glenn Close, Sunset Boulevard (Coliseum)
Andy Karl, Groundhog Day (Old Vic)
Sheridan Smith, Funny Girl (Menier Chocolate Factor/Savoy Theatre)
Best Play
Father Comes Home from the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 by Suzan-Lori Parks (Royal Court, Jerwood Downstairs)
The Flick by Annie Baker (National Theatre, Dorfman)
*Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, J K Rowling & John Tiffany (Palace Theatre)
Best Musical (voted for by the public as the Radio 2 Audiences Award)
Funny Girl - Menier Chocolate Factory/Savoy
Groundhog Day - Old Vic
Guys and Dolls - Savoy/Phoenix
* Jesus Christ Superstar - Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour - National Theatre, Dorfman
Sunset Boulevard - Coliseum
Milton Shulman Award for Best Director
Dominic Cooke, Ma Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom (National Theatre, Lyttelton)
* John Malkovich, Good Canary (Rose Kingston)
John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace)
Best Revival
Les Blancs, National Theatre, Olivier (directed by Ya毛l Farber)
Ma Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom, National Theatre, Lyttelton (directed by Dominic Cooke)
* No Man鈥檚 Land, Wyndham鈥檚 (directed by Sean Mathias)
Young Chekhov: Platonov, Ivanov & The Seagull, Chichester Festival Theatre/National Theatre, Olivier (directed by Jonathan Kent)
Best Design
Jon Bausor, You For Me For You (Royal Court, Jerwood Upstairs)
* Gareth Fry (sound design), The Encounter (Edinburgh International Festival/Barbican)
Rob Howell, The Master Builder (Old Vic)/Groundhog Day (Old Vic)
Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright
Jon Brittain, Rotterdam (Theatre503/Trafalgar Studios)
David Ireland, Cyprus Avenue (Royal Court, Jerwood Upstairs)
* Charlene James, Cuttin鈥� It (Young Vic/Royal Court/The Yard/Sheffield Theatres)
Emerging Talent Award in Partnership with Burberry
Jaygann Ayeh, The Flick (National Theatre, Dorfman)
Anthony Boyle, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Palace)
Aoife Duffin, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing (Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin & Young Vic)/ The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe)
* Tyrone Huntley, Jesus Christ Superstar (Regent鈥檚 Park Open Air Theatre)
