Ian Charleston Award Winner Announced
Gloria Obianyo announced as the winner of the prestigious prize
By: Aliya Al-Hassan May. 24, 2022
Gloria Obianyo has won the first prize of the 2022 Ian Charleson Awards for her role as Neoptolemus in Paradise by Kae Tempest at The National Theatre. A performance that the judges said "never put a foot wrong".
Speaking to The Times, Obianyo said she was "delighted to win the award, particularly when the cost-of-living crisis and the pandemic have compounded the challenges of making it as a young actor. When you're not in work all of your demons come out and you start worrying about whether you will ever work again."
Paradise was her first big role and she says "it's cool" that it has been recognised. Obianyo recently finished filming the second series of Good Omens with David Tennant and Michael Sheen.
Aimee Lou Wood was awarded second prize for her Sonya in Uncle Vanya at the Harold Pinter Theatre. She is best known as Aimee in Netflix's Sex Education, however she started out in theatre - playing a handmaiden in Mary Stuart at the Almeida in 2016.
Lorn Macdonald won third prize for is role as Segismundo in Life Is a Dream at the Lyceum. He is playing Albion Finch in the Netflix smash-hit Bridgerton.
Winners of the award were announced at a special event held at The National Theatre last week with former winner Rory Kinnear as the guest of honour.
The Ian Charleson Awards were established in 1991 to commemorate the life and work of Ian Charleston, the Scottish actor who died aged just 40. The award celebrate exceptional classical stage performances (defined as written pre-1918) by an actor under 30 years of age.
The shortlist included Jonathan Ajayi and Norah Lopez Holden for Hamlet at the Young Vic; Anna Russell-Martin for Life is a Dream at the Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh; Rebekah Murrell for Romeo and Juliet, and Josh Zaré for Measure for Measure, both at Shakespeare's Globe; and, Baker Mukasa for the RSC's The Comedy of Errors.
Previous winners include David Oyelowo, Cush Jumbo, Rory Kinnear, Rebecca Hall, and Tom Hollander.
Read the full article about the nominees and winners here.
Photo Credit: Helen Murray
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