A star-studded list of nominations has been announced for the WhatsOnStage Awards 2018 this afternoon, ahead of the annual ceremony at the Prince Of Wales Theatre.
The 18th iteration of the annual awards, which are voted for entirely by the public, will see the likes of Eve Best, Imelda Staunton, Natalie Dormer, Olivia Colman and Tamsin Greig duke it out for the Best Actress in a Play Award, while Andrew Garfield, Andrew Scott, Bryan Cranston, David Tennant and Martin Freeman will vie for Best Actor in a Play.
The announcement of the nominations marks the opening of the final public voting stage, which closes 31 January, before the winners are revealed on 25 February 2018.
The work of the National Theatre features heavily amongst the nominations list, with the venue securing nineteen nods including seven for both Angels In America and Follies. Stand-out musicals include 42nd Street and Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical, leading the Best Musical Revival and Best New Musical categories respectively, with 8 nominations each. New British musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has also secured 4 nominations.
Breakthrough playwright James Graham features twice in the Best New Play category with two nominations for the critically acclaimed Labour Of Love and Ink, competing against Gloria, Oslo and The Ferryman. The latter is also nominated for Best Direction, where it will face Angels In America, Follies, Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical and the Almeida Theatre production of Hamlet.
The Best Supporting Actor category is also set to be hotly contested, with Nathan Lane and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett going head-to-head for their roles in Angels In America, pitted against Adrian Scarborough (Don Juan In Soho), Peter Polycarpou (Oslo) and Fra Fee (The Ferryman).
Jessica Brown Findlay and Juliet Stevenson will compete for the Best Supporting Actress award for their roles in Hamlet against Denise Gough (Angels In America), Imogen Poots (Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?) and Sheila Atim (Girl from the North Country).
WhatsOnStage’s Chief Operating Officer, Sita McIntosh, said today, “How wonderful to see such a range of shows in this year’s nominations, shows which have inspired and continue to inspire audiences up and down the country.”
A full list of nominations can be found below. Audiences can vote for their winners through the WhatsOnStage website.
Best Actor in a Play
• Andrew Garfield, Angels In America
• Andrew Scott, Hamlet
• Bryan Cranston, Network
• David Tennant, Don Juan In Soho
• Martin Freeman, Labour Of Love
Best Actress in a Play
• Eve Best, Love In Idleness
• Imelda Staunton, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Olivia Colman, Mosquitoes
• Natalie Dormer, Venus In Fur
• Tamsin Greig, Labour Of Love
Best Actor in a Musical
• Andrew Polec, Bat Out of Hell
• Danny Mac, Sunset Boulevard
• Hadley Fraser, Young Frankenstein
• John McCrea, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
• Tom Lister, 42nd Street
Best Actress in a Musical
• Carrie Hope Fletcher, The Addams Family
• Christina Bennington, Bat Out Of Hell – The Musical
• Janie Dee, Follies
• Josie Walker, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
• Ria Jones, Sunset Boulevard
Best Supporting Actor in a Play
• Adrian Scarborough, Don Juan In Soho
• Fra Fee, The Ferryman
• Nathan Lane, Angels In America
• Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Angels In America
• Peter Polycarpou, Oslo
Best Supporting Actress in a Play
• Denise Gough, Angels In America
• Imogen Poots, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
• Jessica Brown Findlay, Hamlet
• Juliet Stevenson, Hamlet
• Sheila Atim, Girl From The North Country
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical
• Chris Howell, 42nd Street
• Dex Lee, Five Guys Named Moe
• George Sampson, Our House
• Rob Fowler, Bat Out of Hell
• Ross Noble, Young Frankenstein
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical
• Clare Halse, 42nd Street
• Danielle Steers, Bat Out of Hell
• Lucie Shorthouse, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
• Tracie Bennett, Follies
• Zoe Rainey, An American In Paris
Best New Play
• Gloria
• Ink
• Labour Of Love
• Oslo
• The Ferryman
Best New Musical
• Bat Out of Hell
• Cilla the Musical
• Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
• The Band
• Young Frankenstein
Best Play Revival
• Angels In America
• Don Juan In Soho
• Hamlet
• Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
• Witness For The Prosecution
Best Musical Revival
• 42nd Street
• Fiddler On The Roof
• Five Guys Named Moe
• Follies
• Hair
Best Direction
• Dominic Cooke, Follies
• Jay Scheib, Bat Out Of Hell
• Marianne Elliott, Angels In America
• Robert Icke, Hamlet
• Sam Mendes, The Ferryman
Best Choreography
• Andrew Wright, Five Guys Named Moe
• Christopher Wheeldon, An American In Paris
• Drew McOnie, On The Town
• Fabian Aloise, Our House
• Randy Skinner, 42nd Street
Best Costume Design
• Bob Crowley, An American In Paris
• Gary McCann, La Cage Aux Folles
• Peter McKintosh, On The Town
• Roger Kirk, 42nd Street
• Vicki Mortimer, Follies
Best Set Design
• Bob Crowley, An American In Paris
• Bunny Christie, Ink
• Douglas W. Schmidt, 42nd Street
• Jon Bausor, Bat Out Of Hell
• Vicki Mortimer, Follies
Best Lighting Design
• Natasha Katz, An American In Paris
• Patrick Woodroffe, Bat Out Of Hell
• Paule Constable, Angels In America
• Paule Constable, Follies
• Peter Mumford, 42nd Street
Best Video Design
• 59 Productions, An American In Paris
• Duncan McLean, Big Fish
• Duncan McLean, Labour Of Love
• Tal Yarden, Hamlet
• Tal Yarden, Network
Best Off-West End Production
• Hair
• La Ronde
• The Wild Party
• Working The Musical
• Yank The Musical
Best Regional Production
• Our House
• Sunset Boulevard
• The Addams Family
• The Band
• The Hypocrite
Best Original Cast Recording
• Dear Evan Hansen
• Dreamgirls
• Girl From The North Country
• Hamilton
• Les Misérables
Best Show Poster
• Cats
• Hamilton
• Harry Potter And The Cursed Child
• The Phantom Of The Opera
• Wicked
Best West End Show
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• Kinky Boots
• Les Misérables
• The Phantom Of The Opera
• Wicked