UK Theatre Awards 2024 Announced - Full List of Winners!

The winners of this year's UK Theatre Awards have been announced at a ceremony hosted by Faye Tozer, which took place at 8 Northumberland Avenue this afternoon. The UK Theatre Awards celebrate the very best of theatre across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Awards are given for creative excellence and outstanding work both on and off stage, including the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award and the UK's Most Welcoming Theatre Award. 

With winners representing all four nations, the ceremony celebrated the UK's world-leading theatre industry. Leeds Playhouse's production of Oliver! led the way, winning two awards: Best Musical Production, and Best Performance in a Musical for Jenny Fitzpatrick. Belgrade Theatre are attached to two winning productions: Swim, Aunty, Swim! (Best New Play), and Dracula: Mina's Reckoning (Best Design for Kenneth MacLeod). 

Elsewhere in the On Stage categories, Best Director was awarded to Drew McOnie for The Artist at Theatre Royal Plymouth, Rhino at Lyric Theatre Belfast snapped up Best Play Revival, and Stephen Joseph Theatre's production of Beauty And The Beast secured Best Show for Children & Young People. Achievement in Dance was won by Mehek, an Aakash Odedra Company & Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company production, and Achievement in Opera was awarded to Welsh National Opera's Death In Venice. 

In the performing categories, David Shields won Best Performance in a Play for Punch at Nottingham Playhouse, and Chumisa Dornford-May won Best Supporting Performance (in a Musical or Play) for Evita at the Curve. 

The highly coveted UK's Most Welcoming Theatre Award was secured by Polka Theatre, coming out on top against strong competition from fellow nominees Hall for Cornwall and Octagon Theatre Bolton. 

Elsewhere in the Off Stage categories, the Workforce Award was won by Buxton Opera House & Pavilion Arts Centre, Chichester Festival Theatre snapped up the newly-introduced accolade for Excellence in Sustainability, Excellence in Inclusivity went to Antony & Cleopatra at Shakespeare's Globe, Excellence in Touring to Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru's Parti Priodas, and Excellence in Arts Education was secured by the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

As previously announced, the recipient of this year's Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award was Jenny Sealey OBE, Artistic Director of Graeae, whose achievements were celebrated at this afternoon's ceremony as she was presented with her Award. 

Claire Walker & Hannah Essex, Co-CEOs of Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, said: 

“This year's UK Theatre Awards ceremony has been a truly joyful celebration and a real testament to the quality and diversity of the work that our members do both on and off the stage and in their local communities. We are constantly in awe of the resilience, creativity and ambition that we witness across the four nations. 

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees, and thank you to our sponsors and partners for their support. We are thrilled to have celebrated another year of phenomenal UK theatre with you all.” 

The UK Theatre Awards 2024 are sponsored by Encore, kindly supported by AKT, Cunard, Harbottle & Lewis, John Good Ltd, MTI Europe, Theatre Tokens, Tysers in association with Ecclesiastical, Unusual Rigging & White Light. 

 

Full list of winners at the UK Theatre Awards 2024 

 

On Stage Awards: 

 

Best Design 

Kenneth MacLeod for Dracula: Mina's Reckoning, a National Theatre of Scotland & Aberdeen Performing Arts co-production in association with Belgrade Theatre 

 

Best Director 

Drew McOnie for The Artist, a Theatre Royal Plymouth, McOnie Company, Playful Productions & Bill Damaschke co-production 

 

Best Musical Production sponsored by Tysers in association with Ecclesiastical 

Oliver!, a Leeds Playhouse production by special arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh 

 

Best New Play sponsored by Cunard 

Swim, Aunty, Swim!, a Belgrade Theatre production in association with tiata fahodzi 

 

Best Play Revival 

Rhino, a Tinderbox Theatre Company production at Lyric Theatre Belfast 

 

Achievement in Dance sponsored by AKT 

Mehek, an Aakash Odedra Company & Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company production in association with The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi 

 

Achievement in Opera 

Death In Venice, by Welsh National Opera in association with NoFit State 

 

Best Supporting Performance (in a Musical or Play) 

Chumisa Dornford-May for Evita, a Curve production 

 

Best Performance in a Musical 

Jenny Fitzpatrick for Oliver!, a Leeds Playhouse production by special arrangement with Cameron Mackintosh 

 

Best Performance in a Play 

David Shields for Punch, a Nottingham Playhouse production 

 

Best Show for Children & Young People 

Beauty And The Beast, a Stephen Joseph Theatre production 

 

Off Stage Awards: 

 

Excellence in Arts Education 

Royal Shakespeare Company 

 

Excellence in Touring sponsored by Theatre Tokens 

Parti Priodas by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru 

 

Excellence in Inclusivity 

Antony & Cleopatra at Shakespeare's Globe  

 

Excellence in Sustainability 

Chichester Festival Theatre  

 

Workforce Award 

Buxton Opera House & Pavilion Arts Centre 

 

UK's Most Welcoming Theatre sponsored by Encore  

Polka Theatre 

 

UK Theatre represents approximately 260 theatres, dance companies, producers and arts centres throughout the UK. UK Theatre also operates as a professional association, supporting over 1,400 individuals working professionally in theatre and the performing arts in the UK. 

Since 1991, UK Theatre's annual UK Theatre Awards have celebrated the creative excellence and outstanding work seen on and off stage throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Encore is the premier provider of lighting equipment for theatre productions across the UK, including London's West End, Off-West End, Europe, and Asia, as well as numerous UK and international tours. Renowned for its exceptional equipment and unmatched customer service, Encore works closely with established lighting designers, production electricians, and emerging talent to bring every vision to life with precision and expertise. 

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