WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 17^TH ANNUAL WHATSONSTAGE AWARDS

• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the big winner with eight awards, a WhatsOnStage record for a play, including both Best Actor in a Play for Jamie Parker and Best Supporting Actress in a Play for Noma Dumezweni 

• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child also claims wins for Best New Play and Best Director 

• Billie Piper wins Best Actress in a Play for Yerma, her second WhatsOnStage Award in three years 

• Half a Sixpence is most successful musical with three awards 

• Star of Dreamgirls Amber Riley wins Best Actress in a Musical 

• Cameron Mackintosh receives Equity Award for Lifetime Achievement (So Far) 

The winners were announced at the Prince of Wales Theatre for the 17^th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards, presented by Simon Lipkin and Vikki Stone, celebrating the best of the UK’s theatre over the past year. The awards are the only major theatre prizes to be voted for entirely by the audience.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child leads the awards this year with eight victories, a WhatsOnStage Award record for a play, including Best Actor in a Play for Jamie Parker, Best Supporting Actress in a Play for Noma Dumezweni, Best Supporting Actor in a Play for Anthony Boyle, Best New Play, Best Director for John Tiffany, Best Set Design, Best Lighting Design and Best Video Design.

In the other acting awards, Billie Piper claims Best Actress in a Play for Yerma, her second WhatsOnStage Award in three years following her 2015 Best Actress in a Play victory for Great Britain. Amber Riley is named Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Dreamgirls and Best Supporting Actor in a Musical goes to Trevor Dion Nicholas for Disney’s Aladdin, which also saw success in the Best Costume Design category. 

Half a Sixpence is the most successful musical with three awards, including Best Actor in a Musical for Charlie Stemp, Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for Emma Williams and Best Choreography.  Its producer Cameron Mackintosh is also celebrated with the Equity Award for Lifetime Achievement (So Far) as he marks 50 years in the theatre business.  However, Half a Sixpence loses out in the Best New Musical category to School of Rock whilst the Best Musical Revival category is claimed by Funny Girl.

No Man’s Land, starring Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, wins Best Play Revival, whilst Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s musical The Girls, soon to open in the West End, wins Best Regional Production and, in a WhatsOnStage first, Wicked and Les Misérables tie for Best West End Show.  In the celebration of London’s fringe theatre, The Last Five Years takes Best Off-West End Production.

A number of winners and stars from winning shows performed at the event including Gary Barlow, who performed the song ‘Scarborough’ from The Girls alongside Joanna Riding, Amber Riley who performed ‘Listen’ from Dreamgirls alongside Liisi LaFontaine, the cast of Half of a Sixpence with ‘Flash, Bang, Wallop’, Trevor Dion Nicholas who sung ‘Somebody’s Got Your Back’ from Disney’s Aladdin with Dean John-Wilson, and Gary Trainor and the company of The School Rock who performed ‘Teacher’s Pet’.  There were further performances from Tyrone Huntley who sung ‘Heaven on their Minds’ from Jesus Christ Superstar and Ria Jones with ‘As If We Never Said Goodbye’ from Sunset Boulevard. 

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Best Actor in a Play, sponsored by Radisson Blu Edwardian – Jamie Parker for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Best Actress in a Play, sponsored by Live at Zédel -Billie Piper for Yerma

Best Actor in a Musical, sponsored by The Umbrella Rooms – Charlie Stemp for Half a Sixpence

Best Actress in a Musical, sponsored by The Hippodrome Casino – Amber Riley for Dreamgirls

Best Supporting Actor in a Play – Anthony Boyle for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Best Supporting Actress in a Play, sponsored by Tonic Theatre – Noma Dumezweni for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, sponsored by Encore Radio – Trevor Dion Nicholas for Disney’s Aladdin

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, sponsored by Newman Displays – Emma Williams for Half a Sixpence

Best New Play, sponsored by JHI Marketing – Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Best New Musical, sponsored by Shine Creative Solutions – School of Rock

Best Play Revival – No Man’s Land

Best Musical Revival, sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe – Funny Girl

Best Direction – John Tiffany for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Best Choreography, sponsored by Encore Radio – Andrew Wright for Half a Sixpence

Best Costume Design – Gregg Barnes for Disney’s Aladdin – Christine Jones for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Best Lighting Design, sponsored by White Light – Neil Austin for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Best Video Design, sponsored by PRG XL Video – Finn Ross and Ash Woodward for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Best Off-West End Production, sponsored by Les Misérables – The Last Five Years (St James Theatre)

Best Regional Production, sponsored by MTI (Europe) – The Girls (National Tour)

Best West End Show, sponsored by Capezio – Les Misérables

Equity Award for Lifetime Achievement (So Far) – Cameron Mackintosh

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