The Stage Awards Announce 2020 Shortlist - Young Vic Production Team, & JULIET, and More!

The production team that ensured the show could go on after part of a West End theatre ceiling collapsed and the revival of much-loved pop magazine Smash Hits are among the nominees for The Stage Awards 2020, in association with Integro Insurance Brokers.

The Stage today announces the shortlist for its annual awards, which includes the new Achievement in Technical Theatre award, sponsored by lighting solutions provider ETC, recognising the superb work going on behind the scenes in theatres and performances spaces all over the country.

The Young Vic production team has been nominated in the category for its "extraordinary" efforts in November. After part of the Piccadilly Theatre's ceiling fell down during a performance of Death of a Salesman, the crew of the Young Vic - where the show had originated - leapt into action.

From being a construction site, the team built a 460-seat auditorium at its Southwark home. They put in and carpeted a new floor, built a stage, hung the lighting rig and brought in props from the West End venue. In less than 24 hours, the site was ready to host scratch performances of Death of a Salesman, which played to standing ovations.

They are up against the teams who put on two of the year's most technically accomplished shows: Anna at The National Theatre and Life of Pi at Sheffield Theatres.

Many questioned how Yann Martel's Booker Prize-winning novel could be effectively brought to the stage, but Sheffield Theatres pulled it off thrillingly. The production used state-of-the-art video projection to put audiences into the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and created a 44-pound tiger puppet that critics have called a worthy successor to War Horse.

For Anna, a play set in a glass box, sound designer brothers Ben and Max Ringham used binaural sound to convey the oppressive world of East Berlin in 1968, with audiences listening in through headphones. It was an example of how a team embraced technology that enhanced the storytelling.

The Innovation Award, sponsored by Charcoalblue, includes the savvy marketing by & Juliet, which recreated iconic pop magazine Smash Hits to introduce the new musical to potential audiences. Handed out free in London, it was a brilliant move, effectively using 1990s and early 2000s nostalgia to sell a show full of classic pop hits.

Also up for the award is Immersive LDN, a new venue for staging immersive theatre shows, and Artistic Directors of the Future for its committed work to diversify theatre boards and make real change throughout the industry.

The London Theatre of the Year category, sponsored by performing arts school LMA, sees Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, Theatre Royal Stratford East and the London Palladium all competing for the prize for the first time since the awards launched 10 years ago. For the Regional Theatre of the Year, Derby Theatre, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh and Sheffield Theatres have been nominated.

Editor of The Stage Alistair Smith said: "Yet again we have a wonderful shortlist that celebrates the astonishing and varied achievements of theatremakers across the UK and beyond. Our nominees range from one of London's largest, grandest and most historic theatres, the London Palladium, to the 75-seat Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle, which is only seven years old. There is excellence and innovation running throughout our shortlist - from the imaginative marketing campaign of new West End musical & Juliet to the daring and controversial work of Swiss director Milo Rau."

The Stage Awards, in association with Integro Insurance Brokers Ltd, were set up to celebrate theatrical achievements in West End, regional, fringe and international theatre. The shortlist is decided by The Stage's senior editorial team, following extensive consultation with leading figures in the theatre industry and a public nomination process. Winners will be announced on January 31, 2020 at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House.

Previous winners have included The National Theatre, Matthew Bourne's New Adventures, Sonia Friedman Productions, Hjinx Theatre Cardiff, Nottingham Playhouse and London's Bush Theatre.

Category sponsors for this year's event include Berkley Executive Ltd, LMA, encoreinsure.com, TAIT, PRG, Ambassador Theatre Group, Charcoalblue, ETC and Get Into Theatre.

Regional Theatre of the Year

Sponsored by Berkley Executive Ltd

Derby Theatre

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

Sheffield Theatres

London Theatre of the Year

Sponsored by LMA

Queen's Theatre Hornchurch

Theatre Royal Stratford East

The London Palladium

Fringe Theatre of the Year

Sponsored by encoreinsure.com

Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle

Bunker Theatre, London

Orange Tree Theatre, London

Theatre Building of the Year

Sponsored by TAIT

Boulevard Theatre, London

Leeds Playhouse

Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London

Producer of the Year

Sponsored by PRG

ATG Productions

Fuel

Michael Harrison Entertainment

International Award

Sponsored by Ambassador Theatre Group

Coronet Theatre, London

Milo Rau

Selladoor Worldwide

Innovation Award

Sponsored by Charcoalblue

& Juliet for its Smash Hits marketing campaign

Artistic Directors of the Future for its work to diversify theatre boards

Immersive LDN for providing a hub for immersive theatre in London

Achievement in Technical Theatre

Sponsored by ETC

Ben and Max Ringham, and the entire team of Anna at The National Theatre

Sheffield Theatres' creative and production team for its work on Life of Pi

Young Vic's production team for the scratch performances of Death of a Salesman

An Unsung Hero award, sponsored by Get Into Theatre, (for which there is no shortlist) will also be announced at the ceremony.

The Stage Awards celebrate theatrical achievements in West End, regional, fringe and international theatre.Nominations for the awards were open to organisations and the public from October to November. The nominations were supplemented by the views of a focus group of influential industry figures and senior writers for The Stage.

The shortlist and winners are decided by the judging panel. The judging panel for The Stage Awards comprises: Alistair Smith, Baz Bamigboye, Georgia Snow, Lyn Gardner, Matt Hemley, Natasha Tripney, Nick Clarke and Tim Bano.

The shortlist for each category (except Unsung Hero for which there is no shortlist) is announced in the December 12, 2019 issue of The Stage and online.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony held on January 31, 2020 at the Royal Opera House, London.

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