The brightest stars of the London stage will gather next month to celebrate the 67th Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
The ceremony will be hosted by the newspaper’s proprietor, Lord Lebedev, with the help of co-hosts David Harewood, Vanessa Kirby, Ian McKellen and Sienna Miller. They will be joined by writer and actress Susan Wokoma, who starred in the Enola Holmes films and will present the ceremony at Claridge’s on November 19.
Lord Lebedev said: “The Evening Standard is proud to celebrate the incredible creatives who, in such difficult times, have continued to dazzle on stage and create magic behind the scenes. The awards are part of London’s heritage, and this year’s ceremony is shaping up to be one of our most special yet.”
Wokoma, who has just starred in Never Have I Ever at Chichester Festival Theatre, is about to start work on the film Three Weeks which she will direct and star in. Her previous stage work includes appearances at the Bush Theatre, the National and the Royal Court.
Among the awards are best play, best actor and the Milton Shulman Award for best director, named after the Standard’s late theatre critic.
Other honours include the Natasha Richardson Award for best actress in association with Mithridate and the Charles Wintour Award for most promising playwright — named in honour of the paper’s editor for many years.
Also awarded on the night is the Lebedev Award, which is given to an individual or institution for lifetime achievement or a specific critically acclaimed piece of work or series.
Miller, who made her West End debut in a 2005 revival of As You Like It, said: “I am delighted to be co-hosting this year’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards, an historic event that has long recognised the unique talents of the London stage.”
Harewood, the first black actor to play Othello at the National Theatre, recently starred in award-winning play Best of Enemies. Kirby’s career has included acclaimed roles at the National and the Young Vic, while McKellen is widely regarded as one of our greatest stage actors. He is starring in Frank and Percy at the Other Palace.
A shortlist, decided by a panel including Deadline Hollywood columnist Baz Bamigboye and Evening Standard chief theatre critic Nick Curtis, will be announced this month. All new productions and performances on the London stage between October 13 last year and October 12 this year are eligible for consideration.
Dylan Jones, editor-in-chief of the Standard, said: “I am honoured to take part in the glitziest celebration of the London stage. The Standard has always championed London’s creatives and nowhere is this energy more powerful than in the theatre.”
