Evening Standard Theatre Awards

This article is about the theatre awards. For the film awards, see Evening Standard British Film Awards. For the pub awards, see Evening Standard Pub of the Year.
Evening Standard Theatre Awards
Awarded for Outstanding achievements in London theatre
Country United Kingdom
Presented by Evening Standard
First awarded 1955

The Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December. They are the equivalent of the Broadway theatre Drama Desk Awards.

Trophies

The trophies take the form of a strongly modelled statuette, a somewhat Grecian figure representing Drama, designed by Frank Dobson RA, a former Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art.

Categories

Three of the awards are given in the names of former Evening Standard notables:

In 2009 The Special Award was given in the name of Evgeny Lebedev, executive director of the Evening Standard.

In 1980, noting the first use of the Special Award category, Shulman observed that "In 1968 the judges felt that Alan Bennett's work Forty Years On did not fit either the category of a Play or a Musical. But since they liked it so much they gave him the coveted Dobson statuette as a Special Award. In a quarter of a century, only in 1968 had no-one been designated as 'Promising' although it could conceivably be argued that Alan Bennett's Special Award was a reasonable substitute for this category."[1]

The Special Awards process came to a climax in 2004 when, in the 50th anniversary year, the category was used to signal peaks of accomplishment by the National Theatre (an institution), Harold Pinter (a playwright) and Dame Judi Dench (a performer).

The Patricia Rothermere Award, presented biennially from 1999 to 2005 recognised those who had given outstanding support to young actors. There was also a three-year scholarship award for a drama student. Lady Rothermere is the wife of Lord Rothermere, chairman of the Daily Mail and General Trust, former owners of the Evening Standard.

Commencing in 2007, the award for Best Musical was renamed The Ned Sherrin Award, in memory of the entertainer and raconteur, for many years the witty compere of the Evening Standard Awards ceremony.

The Best Actress award is now named in tribute to Natasha Richardson, who died after a skiing accident in Quebec in March 2009.[2]

Awards ceremonies

The 2007 Awards lunchtime ceremony took place at the Savoy Hotel in London on 27 November 2007.[3] The judges' assessments of the winners are online.[4]

The 2008 winners were announced in a ceremony at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 24 November 2008.[5] The judges' assessments are onlnie.[6]

The 2009 winners were announced in a ceremony, again at the Royal Opera House, on Monday, 23 November 2009.[7] The judges' assessments are onlnie.[8]

The 2010 award winners were announced at a celebratory evening ceremony on Thursday 28 November 2010 in the newly refurbished Savoy Hotel. The judges' assessments are onlnie.[9]

The 2011 short list is online.[10]

Awards by year

Winners 1955–2014

Best Play

Best Actor

Best Actress

Renamed in 2009 as The Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress

The Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical

Best Designer

Best Comedy

Most Controversial Play

Editor's Award (renamed 'for a Shooting Star' in 2010)

Best Director

The Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright

The Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer

Theatrical Achievement

Patricia Rothermere Award

The Special Award (given as The Lebedev Special Award in 2009)

Theatre Icon Award

Moscow Art Theatre's Golden Seagull

Beyond Theatre award

Emerging Talent

Best Musical Performance

Award For Comedy

Best Revival

See also

Sources

References

  1. Celebration: 25 Years of British Theatre
  2. Louise Jury (2009-11-02). "The Standard Theatre Awards 2009: Longlist revealed – Theatre – Going Out – London Evening Standard". Thisislondon.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  3. "Macbeth and Joan of Arc storm ES awards – News – London Evening Standard". Thisislondon.co.uk. 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  4. "Winning performances on the West End stage – News – London Evening Standard". Thisislondon.co.uk. 2007-11-28. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  5. "Donmar dominates the London stage at ES Theatre Awards – News – London Evening Standard". Thisislondon.co.uk. 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  6. "A winning year for leading lights of the London stage – News – London Evening Standard". Thisislondon.co.uk. 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  7. Louise Jury (2009-11-23). "It’s a Royal flush at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards – News – London Evening Standard". Thisislondon.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  8. "Winners of Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2009 – Theatre – Going Out – London Evening Standard". Thisislondon.co.uk. 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  9. "Evening Standard Theatre Awards celebrate a year of high emotion on stage – Theatre – Going Out – London Evening Standard". Thisislondon.co.uk. 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  10. "The British Theatre Guide: Evening Standard Short List". Britishtheatreguide.info. 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  11. "EVENING STANDARD THEATRE AWARDS – Most Promising Playwright Winners, 1956 to present | London Theatre". Westendtheatre.com. 2011-03-28. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  12. Greenstreet, Rosanna (13 October 2001). "Q & A Matthew Rhys". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  13. "Heavyweights of the stage battle for best actor prize – News – London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  14. "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2007: the longlist – Theatre – Going Out – London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
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