The Best Actor Award at this year’s Evening Standard Awards, presented at a ceremony on the 20th November, was jointly awarded to Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller for their alternating performances as Doctor Frankenstein and his Monster in Danny Boyle’s production of Frankenstein at the National Theatre earlier this year.
The National Theatre dominated the winners’ list with four wins including those in the Best Play and Best Director categories. Mike Leigh was awarded the Best Director Award for his production of Grief currently running in the Cottesloe, while playwright Richard Bean was doubly applauded, winning the Best Play prize for his Goldoni-update One Man, Two Guvnors (which transfers to the Adelphi Theatre in the West End this week) and for The Heretic, which was produced at the Royal Court earlier this year.
Sheridan Smith won the Best Actress Award for her achingly touching performance in Trevor Nunn’s production of Rattigan’s Flare Path at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, making hers the only award for a commercial production at this year’s Awards.
The RSC production of Matilda, which only opens at the Cambridge Theatre this week, won the Best Musical Award, beating Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Betty Blue Eyes.
Penelope Skinner was named Most Promising Playwright for The Village Bike at the Royal Court. Her current play, The Sound of Heavy Rain, is at the Sheffield Crucible Studio as part of the Paines Plough Roundabout Season. Kyle Soller picked up the Outstanding Newcomer Award for his collected work in The Glass Menagerie and Government Inspector at the Young Vic and Alexi Kaye Campbell’s The Faith Machine at the Royal Court.
The full listing of the Awards is as follows:
Best Actor (joint) Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller for Frankenstein at the National Theatre
The Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress Sheridan Smith for Flare Path at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
Best Play(s) Richard Bean for The Heretic at the Royal Court and One Man, Two Guvnors at the National
The Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical Matilda at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon and Cambridge Theatre
Best Director Mike Leigh for Grief at National Theatre
Best Design Adam Cork for sound design in Anna Christie and King Lear at Donmar Warehouse
The Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright Penelope Skinner for The Village Bike at Royal Court
The Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer Kyle Soller for his performances in The Glass Menagerie, Government Inspector and The Faith Machine at Young Vic and Royal Court
Editor’s Award Michael Grandage for making the Donmar Warehouse a star
Beyond Theatre Award The Most Incredible Thing by Pet Shop Boys and Javier de Frutos at Sadler’s Wells
The Lebedev Special Award Kristin Scott Thomas for her contribution to theatre
The Moscow Art Theatre’s Golden Seagull Tom Stoppard for his contribution to Russian theatre and the international stage