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Who won the Whatsonstage Awards and where to see them
All the info on where to see award-winning theatre this year
London’s theatre community descended on the London Palladium over the weekend for the 24th annual Whatsonstage Awards, honouring all the most memorable moments this past year in the West End and beyond. As expected, Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard took home its fair share of accolades, but plenty of other worthy productions also got their flowers, with classic musicals like Cabaret and Guys And Dolls doing particularly well. Here’s your rundown of the winning shows, including where you can see them for yourself.
Cabaret
Almost two years after it collected seven statuettes at the 2022 Olivier Awards, Cabaret continues to accumulate trophies. Rebecca Frecknall’s much-praised production took home the Whatsonstage Award for Best West End Show, and Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood was recognised for Best Takeover Performance.
You can still see Cabaret in its immersive home at the Playhouse Theatre’s Kit Kat Club. The show currently stars Rebecca Lucy Taylor (AKA Self Esteem) as Sally Bowles and Jake Shears as The Emcee.
Sunset Boulevard
In no surprise to anyone, Jamie Lloyd’s triumphant revival of the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical took home seven awards at the 2024 ceremony, including Best Musical Direction and Best Direction. Nicole Scherzinger earned her trophy for Best Performer In A Musical, and newcomer Grace Hodgett Young also picked up an award for Best Professional Debut Performance.
Sadly, Sunset Boulevard has now left the Savoy Theatre, heading to Broadway for 2024. However, you can see Hodgett Young starring as Eurydice in Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre.
Guys And Dolls
Nicholas Hytner’s starry revival at the Bridge Theatre took home awards for graphic design and set design, as well as the coveted Best Musical Revival. The immersive production is currently booking until the end of August, so make sure to get in and experience it for yourself before summer’s out.
A Little Life
The incredibly moving – and incredibly bleak – stage adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s bestseller was widely praised for its performances when it played at the Harold Pinter Theatre last summer. For his portrayal of abused lawyer Jude St Francis, James Norton took home the award for Best Performer in a Play, whilst Luke Thompson scooped up Best Supporting Performer in a Play.
Newsies
The much-loved Disney musical delighted audiences at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre throughout the first half of 2023, with particular praise showered on Matt Cole’s choreography – which won Cole the Best Choreography trophy this weekend.
The Little Big Things
Assembling the remarkable ensemble for @sohoplace’s biggest triumph to date won Jill Green the award for Best Casting Direction. You can still see the cast in action at the West End’s newest theatre, but you’ll need to grab tickets quickly – The Little Big Things is moving on in early March.
VANYA
Andrew Scott’s one-man Chekov took home Best Play Revival, following its sold-out West End run. If you missed it, there’s still a couple of chances to catch the National Theatre production in Cumbria this February and March.
Next To Normal
Jack Wolfe took home Best Supporting Performer In A Musical for his role as Gabe in the UK premier of Next To Normal. After a successful run at the Donmar Warehouse, the Pulitzer-winning production will arrive at Wyndam’s Theatre this June.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow
The new story from the world of the popular Netflix show took home the award for Best New Play. Stranger Things: The First Shadow is still booking at the Phoenix Theatre until the end of August, so there’s still time to take a trip to Hawkins yourself – if you’re brave enough, that is.
Operation Mincemeat
It was one of the buzziest new openings of the last few years, but the irreverent wartime musical still beat out some heavy competition in the Best New Musical category, including @sohoplace’s The Little Big Things and the Apollo Theatre’s The Time Traveller’s Wife. With sixty-five five star reviews and counting, however, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that Operation Mincemeat came out on top.
