Indira Varma And John Lithgow To Be Honored At Shakespeare Theatre Company's Annual Gala

Shakespeare Theatre Company has announced the star-studded line-up and honorees to be celebrated at its annual Gala on April 15, 2024. Titled All the World's a Stage: Celebrating the US/UK Relationship, the gala will take place at The Anthem on the Washington, DC Wharf.

Internationally acclaimed Olivier Award-winning actor Indira Varma will be honored with the William Shakespeare Award for Classical Acting (aka “Will Award”), presented to her by Tony Award-winning actor Ralph Fiennes, her co-star in STC's production of Macbeth, which will be playing in Washington April 9 through May 5. Celebrated Tony Award-winning actor John Lithgow will be present to receive the STC Lifetime Achievement Award. 

STC will also present the theatre's inaugural Sea Change Award to a policymaker for their political and philanthropic work aimed at protecting and developing the arts sector. 

Presenters and performers throughout the night include Broadway's Jordan Donica, fresh from his Tony-nominated performance as Lancelot in Camelot. The BBC's Katty Kay will serve as the evening's emcee. The event's honorary co-chairs are The British Ambassador, Dame Karen Pierce DCMG, and Sir Charles Roxburgh KCB.

“The unique relationship between the US and the UK has endured over centuries, reflected in our common language, values, and stories. Shakespeare has had an outsized, ongoing influence on all three,” says Artistic Director Simon Godwin. “We are so excited to bring together such acclaimed International Artists and guests to celebrate with us.”

Indira Varma, currently starring as Lady Macbeth in Godwin's Macbeth and well known for her roles in Game of Thrones and Obi-Wan Kenobi, will be recognized with the annual Will Award for her broad range of performances in classical and Contemporary Stage and film. Less than a week before the gala, Varma and Fiennes will open Macbeth in Washington after acclaimed runs in Liverpool, Edinburgh, and London. Fiennes received the Will Award in 2001.

Varma's lengthy film and stage career has included dozens of roles in Shakespeare and classical works on major stages throughout the UK and US, including The National Theatre, Old Vic, Young Vic, and Lincoln Center. In 2021, she became the first woman of South Asian descent to win a Laurence Olivier award for her role in Present Laugher at The Old Vic.

John Lithgow will be recognized for his long and varied career, which spans more than 50 years on stage and screen, with the STC Lifetime Achievement Award. From his Broadway debut in 1973 to his most recent return in 2019, he has appeared in hundreds of productions, including the title role in King Lear in 2014 at The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park. A beloved American actor in film and television, he has received six Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a BAFTA, as well as two Tony Awards for The Changing Room and Sweet Smell of Success, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards.