The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time led the way for British exports at this year’s Tony Awards, walking away with five prizes, the most number of awards given to any play at the 2015 ceremony.
Joining Simon Stephens’ acclaimed adaptation of Mark Haddon’s award-winning novel in flying the flag for British theatre were fellow London hits The Audience, Skylight and Wolf Hall, which took home four awards between them.
Among Curious Incident’s recipients were leading man Alex Sharp, who walked away with the prestigious prize for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his performance as 15-year-old Christopher.
He was joined by playwright Simon Stephens (Best Play), Marianne Elliott (Best Direction of a Play), Bunny Christie and Finn Ross (Best Scenic Design of a Play), and Paule Constable (Best Lighting Design of a Play), who all followed their 2013 Olivier Award wins with one of US theatre’s most coveted prizes.
In a similar turn of events to the Olivier Awards 2013 with MasterCard, the two lead performance accolades went to Curious Incident and The Audience, with Dame Helen Mirren also triumphing in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play category for her critically acclaimed performance as The Queen in The Audience.
On accepting her award, Mirren paid tribute to those involved in bringing the play to the stage, saying: “The foundation upon which I stand is beautifully built on an elegant and fleet play by Peter Morgan, an elegant and theatrical production by Stephen Daldry [and] an elegant and imaginative set by Bob Crowley.”
Mirren’s co-star Richard McCabe, another of the Oliviers’ 2013 recipients, followed his Olivier Award win with the prize for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play, triumphing for his incredible portray of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson in Daldry’s production.
Other British winners came in the form of Wolf Hall’s Christopher Oram, whose win for Best Costume Design at this year’s Olivier Awards ceremony was followed by its New York equivalent, as the designer took home the award for Best Costume Design of a Play, while Stephen Daldry’s revival of David Hare’s Skylight, which missed out on a prize at this year’s Oliviers, came up trumps at the Tony’s, taking home the Best Revival of a Play Award.
Hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming, the 69th annual Tony Awards ceremony took place last night at Radio City Music Hall. For a full list of winners and to relive the star-studded night in pictures and videos, visit the Tony Awards website.
Theatre fans wanting to catch any of this year’s Tony Award winners without having to cross the pond can also buy tickets for the London productions of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time and The Audience through us.