WHATS ON STAGE AWARDS NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

For the musicals the top rivals are **Matilda the Musical** and **Ghost the Musical**, both with nine nominations each. Competing against them to be named Best New Musical is London Road, Betty Blue Eyes (with 6 nominations in total), **Rock of Ages** and **Shrek the Musical** (both with 5 nominations in total). For the plays, the biggest amount of nominations goes to One Man, Two Guvnors and Anna Christie both with 5 nominations including the tough Best Actor category which has recent Evening Standard Award winner Benedict Cumberbatch going against Jude Law, Kevin Spacey, David Tennant, James Earl Jones and James Corden. The voting opened last Friday 2nd December and will close at the end of January 2012 with the winners receiving their prize at the Awards Concert on 19 February 2012 at the West End’s **Prince of Wales Theatre**. Last year more than 46,000 theatregoers voted for their favourites. THE FULL LIST OF 2011/12 NOMINATIONS - **Best Actress in a Play**: Eve Best – Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe Kristin Scott Thomas – Betrayal at the Comedy Ruth Wilson – Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse Samantha Spiro – Chicken Soup with Barley at the Royal Court Downstairs Tamsin Greig – Jumpy at the Royal Court Downstairs Vanessa Redgrave – Driving Miss Daisy at Wyndham’s **Best Actor in a Play**: Benedict Cumberbatch – Frankenstein at the National, Olivier Jude Law – Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse Kevin Spacey – Richard III at the Old Vic David Tennant – Much Ado About Nothing at Wyndham’s James Earl Jones – Driving Miss Daisy at Wyndham’s James Corden – One Man, Two Guvnors at the National, Olivier & Adelphi **Best Supporting Actress in a Play:** Bryony Hannah – The Children’s Hour at the Comedy Catherine Tate – Season’s Greetings at the National, Lyttelton Doon Mackichan – Jumpy at the Royal Court Downstairs Jemima Rooper – One Man, Two Guvnors at the National, Olivier & Adelphi Niamh Cusack – Playboy of the Western World at the Old Vic Sheridan Smith – Flare Path at the Theatre Royal Haymarket **Best Supporting Actor in a Play**: Arthur Darvill – Dr Faustus at Shakespeare’s Globe Charles Edwards – Twelfth Night at the National, Cottesloe David Hayman – Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse Harry Hadden-Paton – Flare Path at the Theatre Royal Haymarket Mark Gatiss – Season’s Greetings at the National, Lyttelton Oliver Chris – One Man, Two Guvnors at the National, Olivier & Adelphi **The BABY GRAND Best Actress in a Musical**: Amanda Holden – Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane Caissie Levy – Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Clare Foster – Crazy for You at the Open Air & Novello Emma Williams – Love Story at the Duchess Cleo Demetriou, Kerry Ingram Eleanor Worthington Cox & Sophia Kiely – Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Sarah Lancashire – Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello **The THEATRE TOKENS Best Actor in a Musical**: Bertie Carvel – Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Nigel Lindsay – Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane Oliver Tompsett – Rock of Ages at the Shaftesbury Reece Shearsmith – Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello Richard Fleeshman – Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Sean Palmer – Crazy for You at the Open Air & Novello **Best Supporting Actress in a Musical**: Ann Emery – Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello Hannah Waddingham – The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium Harriet Thorpe – Crazy for You at the Open Air & Novello Lauren Ward – Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Meow Meow – The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the Gielgud Sharon D Clarke – Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly **Best Supporting Actor in a Musical**: Andrew Langtree – Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Ben Goddard – Million Dollar Quartet at the Noël Coward David Burt – Crazy for You at the Open Air & Novello Nigel Harman – Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane Paul Kaye – Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Simon Lipkin – Rock of Ages at the Shaftesbury **The LES MISÈRABLES Best Ensemble Performance**: Backbeat – at the Duke of York’s London Road – at the National, Cottesloe Richard III & The Comedy of Errors – Propeller at Hampstead Some Like It Hip Hop – Sadler’s Wells at the Peacock The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – at the Donmar Warehouse Top Girls – at Trafalgar Studios 1 **The JO HUTCHISON INTERNATIONAL Best Solo Performance**: Daniel Kitson – It’s Always Right Now Until It’s Later at the National, Lyttelton John Leguziamo – Ghetto Klown at Charing Cross Kerry Ellis – Anthems at the Royal Albert Hall Ruby Wax – Losing It at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Duchess Simon Callow – Being Shakespeare at Trafalgar Studios 1 Stephanie Street – The Nightwatchman at the National, Paintframe **The SEATLIVE Best Takeover in a Role**: Alex Gaumond – We Will Rock You at the Dominion Alfie Boe – Les Misèrables at the Queen’s Kimberley Walsh – Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane Matt Lucas – Les Misèrables at the Queen’s Susan McFadden – Legally Blonde at the Savoy Tara Fitzgerald – Broken Glass at the Vaudeville **The NICK HERN BOOKS Best New Play**: Belongings by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm – at Hampstead & Trafalgar Studios 2 Collaborators by John Hodge – at the National, Cottesloe Grief by Mike Leigh – at the National, Cottesloe Mogadishu by Vivienne Franzmann – at the Lyric Hammersmith The Heretic by Richard Bean – at the Royal Court Downstairs Three Days in May by Ben Brown – at Trafalgar Studios 1 **The EMG Best New Comedy**: Get Santa! by Anthony Neilson – at the Royal Court Downstairs Jumpy by April de Angelis – at the Royal Court Downstairs No Naughty Bits by Steve Thompson – at Hampstead One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean – at the National, Lyttelton & Adelphi Potted Panto by Daniel Clarkson, Jefferson Turner & Richard Hurst – at the Vaudeville The Village Bike by Penelope Skinner – at the Royal Court Upstairs **The SEE TICKETS Best New Musical**: Betty Blue Eyes by George Stiles, Antony Drewe, Ron Cowen & Daniel Lipman – at the Novello Ghost the Musical by Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard & Bruce Joel Rubin – at the Piccadilly London Road by Adam Cork & Alecky Blythe – at the National, Cottesloe Matilda the Musical by Tim Minchin & Dennis Kelly – at the Cambridge Rock of Ages by Chris D'Arienzo – at the Shaftesbury Shrek the Musical by Jeanine Tesori & David Lindsay-Abaire – at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane **The SAMUEL FRENCH Best Play Revival**: Anna Christie – at the Donmar Warehouse Chicken Soup with Barley – at the Royal Court Downstairs Driving Miss Daisy – at Wyndham’s Ecstasy – at Hampstead & the Duchess Flare Path – at the Theatre Royal Haymarket Saved – at the Lyric Hammersmith **The RADISSON EDWARDIAN Best Musical Revival**: Crazy for You – at the Open Air & Novello Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be – at the Union Parade – at Southwark Playhouse Ragtime – at the Landor South Pacific – at the Barbican The Wizard of Oz – at the London Palladium **Best Shakespearean Production**: Hamlet – at the Young Vic King Lear – at the Donmar Warehouse Much Ado About Nothing – at Shakespeare’s Globe Much Ado About Nothing – at Wyndham’s Richard III – at the Old Vic The Tempest – at the Theatre Royal Haymarket **The OAKLEY CAPITAL Best Director**: Danny Boyle – Frankenstein at the National, Olivier Josie Rourke – Much Ado About Nothing at Wyndham’s Matthew Warchus – Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly & Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Michael Grandage – King Lear & Luise Miller at the Donmar Warehouse Nicholas Hytner – One Man, Two Guvnors at the National, Lyttelton & Adelphi Trevor Nunn – Flare Path & Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead at the Theatre Royal Haymarket **Best Set Designer**: Mark Tildesley – Frankenstein at the National, Olivier Jon Bausor – Lord of the Flies at the Open Air Miriam Buether – Decade at St Katharine’s Docks Paul Wills – Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse Rob Howell – Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly & Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Robert Jones – The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium **The WHITE LIGHT Best Lighting Designer:** Bruno Poet – Frankenstein at the National, Olivier Hugh Vanstone – Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Mark Henderson – The Kitchen & 13 at the National, Olivier & The Emperor & Galilean at the National, Lyttelton Neil Austin – Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello Oliver Fenwick – My City at the Almeida Paule Constable – Luise Miller at the Donmar Warehouse **Best Choreographer**: Aline David – The Kitchen at the National, Olivier Ashley Wallen – Ghost the Musical at the Piccadilly Kate Prince – Some Like It Hip Hop at the Peacock Kelly Devine – Rock of Ages at the Shaftesbury Peter Darling – Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Stephen Mear – Crazy for You at the Open Air & Betty Blue Eyes at the Novello **The DEWYNTERS London Newcomer of the Year**: Danielle Hope – The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium Johnny Flynn – The Heretic at the Royal Court Downstairs Kara Tointon – Pygmalion at the Garrick Kyle Soller – The Glass Menagerie & Government Inspector at the Young Vic & The Faith Machine at the Royal Court Downstairs Shayne Ward – Rock of Ages at the Shaftesbury Tim Minchin – Matilda at the Cambridge **The TIME OUT Best Off-West End Production**: Accolade – at the Finborough Realism – at Soho The Animals & Children Took to the Streets – at Battersea Arts Centre The Belle’s Stratagem – at Southwark Playhouse The Riots – at the Tricycle Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story – at the Tristan Bates & Charing Cross **The LUCKINGS Best Regional Production**: 20th Century Boy – at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich Love Love Love – at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth & on tour Macbeth – at Liverpool Everyman Othello – at Sheffield Crucible Sweeney Todd – at Chichester Festival The Go Between – at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Derby Live & the Royal & Derngate, Northampton **The EQUITY Best West End Show**: Jersey Boys – at the Prince Edward Les Misérables – at the Queen’s The Phantom of the Opera – at Her Majesty’s War Horse – at the New London We Will Rock You – at the Dominion Wicked – at the Apollo Victoria **The AKA Theatre Event of the Year:** David Tennant & Catherine Tate reuniting on stage in Much Ado About Nothing Headlong’s commemoration of 9/11 with Decade, written by 18 authors & staged in a disused office block at St Katharine’s Dock Michael Sheen & Bill Mitchell's National Theatre of Wales staging of The Passion on the streets of Port Talbot The Bush Theatre’s 24-hour cycle of 66 Books, in response to the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, to open its new Shepherd’s Bush Library home The Phantom of the Opera’s 25th anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall & screened to cinemas worldwide The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 50th anniversary season & reopening of the Royal Shakespeare & Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon Danny Boyle’s return to the stage with Frankenstein and his alternate casting of Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in the leads Duckie’s Lullaby, the Barbican’s first-ever sleepover show The National’s opening of its Paintframe as a one-off performance space Benefit concert to rescue Dress Circle