Poldark star Aidan Turner claimed the Joe Allen Best West End Debut Award at The Stage Debut Awards last night (Sunday 23 September).
Claiming the prize for his performance in The Lieutenant Of Inishmore at the Noël Coward Theatre this year, Aidan beat off competition from the likes of Adrienne Warren (in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Diversity’s Ashley Banjo (in the Palladium panto Dick Whittington) and Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston (in Network).
Upon winning the Best West End Debut award, Aidan offered “a special thank you to Michael Grandage, our director, you made it one of the most incredible jobs I’ve ever worked on… to have you at the helm of the ship was a pretty incredible experience.”
Other winners on the night included Amara Okereke, awarded Best Actress In A Musical for her iconic performance in Les Misérables, for which she made history as the first actress of colour to play the role of Cosette; Gemma Dobson as Best Actress in a Play for Rita, Sue And Bob Too at the Octagon Theatre, which played at the Royal Court; and Akshay Sharan (Best Actor In A Play) and Louis Gaunt (Best Actor In A Musical) for The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Oklahoma! respectively.
Elsewhere, Katy Rudd won Best Director for The Almighty Sometimes at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre, and Khadija Raza won Best Designer for, amongst other work, Hijabi Monologues at the Bush Theatre.
For a full list of winners, please visit The Stage.