The 66th Evening Standard Theatre Awards shortlist is here - and it’s a tribute to London’s incredible talent

Clockwise from top left: Anything Goes, Prima Facie, A Number, Cabaret

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It has been a challenging few years for London theatre. But the astonishing depth and breadth of the creativity, artistry and imagination on display across the community as the capital begins its recovery from the pandemic has taken our breath away. And it’s shown by the sheer calibre of nominees for this year’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards - our 66th. Here are the extraordinary artists up for the coveted gongs...

Best design

Jessie Buckley in Cabaret (Marc Brenner)

Tom Scutt, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre)

Es Devlin, A Number (Old Vic) and The Crucible (National Theatre)

Felix Barrett, Livi Vaughan and Beatrice Minns for The Burnt City (One Cartridge Place)

Lael Jellinek and Grace Laubacher, Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theatre)

Tim Hatley, Back to the Future (Adelphi)/Life of Pi (Wyndham’s Theatre - with Finn Caldwell)

Promising playwright

From left, Francis Lovehall, Emeka Sesay and Kedar Williams-Stirling in Red Pitch at Bush Theatre (Craig Fuller)

Tyrell Williams, Red Pitch (Bush Theatre)

Dipo Baruwa-Etti, An Unfinished Man (Yard Theatre)

Waleed Akhtar, The P Word (Bush Theatre)

Igor Memic, Old Bridge (Bush Theatre)

Bess Wohl, Camp Siegfried (Old Vic Theatre)

Emerging talent

Lizzie Annis, left, with Amy Adams in The Glass Menagerie (Johan Persson)

Isobel McArthur, Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) (Criterion Theatre)

Terique Jarrett, Daddy (Almeida Theatre)

Francis Lovehall, Red Pitch (Bush Theatre)

Lizzie Annis, The Glass Menagerie (Duke of York’s Theatre)

Daniel Raggett, Anna X (Harold Pinter Theatre)

Best director

James McAvoy in Cyrano de Bergerac, directed by Jamie Lloyd (Marc Brenner)

Jamie Lloyd, The Seagull and Cyrano de Bergerac (Harold Pinter Theatre)

Daniel Fish and Jordan Fein, Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theatre)

Lynette Linton, Blues for an Alabama Sky (National Theatre)

Rebecca Frecknall, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse)

Katie Mitchell, Little Scratch (Hampstead Theatre)

Best musical

Sutton Foster and the cast in Anything Goes (PA)

Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theatre)

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre)

Anything Goes (Barbican Theatre)

Get Up Stand Up! (Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue)

Spring Awakening (Almeida Theatre)

Best musical performance

Arinze Kené in Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical (Craig Sugden/handout)

Jessie Buckley, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theatre)

Arinzé Kene, Get Up Stand Up! (Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue)

Sutton Foster, Anything Goes (Barbican Theatre)

Patrick Vaill, Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theatre)

Marisha Wallace, Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theatre)

Best actor

Lennie James, left, and Paapa Essiedu in A Number at The Old Vic (Manuel Harlan)

Paapa Essiedu, A Number (Old Vic Theatre)

James McAvoy, Cyrano de Bergerac (Harold Pinter Theatre)

Shubham Saraf, The Father and the Assassin (National Theatre)

Lennie James, A Number (Old Vic Theatre)

Giles Terera, Blues for an Alabama Sky (National Theatre)

Best actress

Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer, at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London (Helen Murray)

Jodie Comer, Prima Facie (Harold Pinter Theatre)

Samira Wiley, Blues for an Alabama Sky (National Theatre)

Indira Varma, The Seagull (Harold Pinter Theatre)

Ronke Adekoluejo, Blues for An Alabama Sky (National Theatre)

Sheila Atim, Constellations (Vaudeville Theatre)

Best play

David Harewood, left, and Charles Edwards in Best of Enemies (Wasi Daniju)

Best of Enemies by James Graham (Young Vic Theatre)

Indecent by Paula Vogel (Menier Chocolate Factory)

Red Pitch by Tyrell Williams (Bush Theatre)

The Father and the Assassin by Anupama Chandrasekhar (National Theatre)

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel and Ben Miles (Gielgud Theatre)