It was all go this week when Alistair and Mark dressed up nice and smart for The Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards at the Prince of Wales theatre. As well as the champagne, other highlights were Rock ‘n’ Roll winning two awards (one for best new play and one for best actor) and Connie Fisher winning her first major theatre award – go Connie! We knew she was a winner from the moment she blubbed about her grandma in front of Graham Norton. Bless.
The Awards were hosted by the Prince of Wales theatre’s Chairman, Charles Spencer, who’s also a top theatre critic at The Daily Telegraph. Comedian, broadcaster and award-winning playwright Arthur Smith was the guest speaker and yours truly, lastminute.com, sponsored the event. And no, not just so that we could get a good seat, (although it helped of course, daaaahling).
As ever, the ceremony was quite an informal gathering of award recipients, the drama critics, theatre practitioners, and the media luvvies who relished the excuse to take another afternoon off work, much like Mark and Alistair, obviously. The critics’ personal choice of the best in theatre from throughout the whole of the UK were rewarded for their talents, efforts and contributions, and because there was some truly fabulous theatre in 2006, nobody really knew who would scoop what until they were announced. Edge of your seat stuff, folks.
In the end, here’s what happened:
Best New Play: ROCK ‘n’ ROLL by Tom Stoppard
(Royal Court Theatre, London / Duke of York’s Theatre, London)
The Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical (new or revival): CAROLINE, OR CHANGE - (National Theatre, London)
Best Actor: RUFUS SEWELL in Rock ‘n’ Roll
(Royal Court Theatre, London /Duke of York’s Theatre, London)
Best Actress: KATHLEEN TURNER in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
(Apollo Theatre, London)
The John and Wendy Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance: TAMSIN GREIG in Much Ado About Nothing
(Royal Shakespeare Company, Swan Theatre, Stratford upon Avon / Novello Theatre, London)
Best Director: JOHN TIFFANY for Black Watch
(National Theatre of Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
Best Designer: THE PUNCHDRUNK FAUST COMPANY
(21 Wapping Lane, London)
Most Promising Playwright: NINA RAINE for Rabbit
(Joanna Morgan Productions at the Old Red Lion Theatre, London / Trafalgar Studios, London)
The Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer (other than a playwright) awarded jointly to: ANDREW GARFIELD in Beautiful Thing, Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship & The Overwhelming
(Sound Theatre, London; National Theatre, London & National Theatre, London)
& CONNIE FISHER in The Sound of Music at the Palladium
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