Mark Gatiss is the 2023 UK Theatre Awards Recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award

Mark Gatiss is the 2023 recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award. He will be honoured at the UK Theatre Awards ceremony, taking place on Sunday 8 October at London’s Guildhall. The UK Theatre Awards are the only nationwide awards to honour and celebrate outstanding achievements in theatre throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by UK Theatre members.

Gatiss is a writer, director, producer, author and actor, and regional theatre has been at the heart of his long and varied career. From directing productions like The Unfriend at Chichester Festival Theatre and The Way Old Friends Do at Birmingham Rep, to starring in productions like the Madness Of King George III and his own adaptation of A Christmas Carol (both at the Nottingham Playhouse), it is clear to see his commitment to making world class productions in regional theatre, which he acknowledges as ‘the lifeblood of the industry’. 

He is also an Olivier Award winning actor, and his stage work includes Coriolanus (Donmar Warehouse), The Boys In The Band (Park/Vaudeville Theatres) and Three Days In The Country (National Theatre: Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role). In December he will be reprising his role as Sir John Gielgud in The Motive and The Cue which transfers to the Noël Coward Theatre. 

Outside of theatre, he is best known as a member of The League Of Gentlemen and as the co-creator and executive producer of the multi-award winning BBC series Sherlock, in which he played Mycroft Holmes. Elsewhere on screen, Gatiss also co-created the BBC and Netflix drama Dracula, and has written and directed several BBC ghost stories, including Count Magnus, The Mezzotint, Martin’s Close, The Dead Room and The Tractate Middoth. As an actor, his recent screen work includes Mission Impossible 7, Operation Mincemeat, The Father, The Favourite, Christopher Robin, Gunpowder, Wolf Hall, Coalition and Game Of Thrones. 

Mark Gatiss said, “I’m very flattered and delighted to receive this unexpected honour. The theatre holds a very special place in my blackened old heart, and it’s been a delight to have been so thoroughly immersed in it in recent years.” 

Claire Walker, Co-CEO of Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, commented, “We would like to offer congratulations to the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award, Mark Gatiss. The impact he has made on national theatre is immeasurable – from his Olivier Award winning performances on stage as an actor, to his work in regional and West End productions as a director. 

We are so looking forward to celebrating his achievements at the UK Theatre Awards ceremony on Sunday 8 October.” 

Photo Credit: Tom Turpie