The Stage

Plays championed over musicals at Evening Standard Theatre Awards

Published Monday 27 November 2006 at 17:45 by Nuala Calvi

Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll picked up two accolades at today’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards, in a year in which the ceremony championed the cause of straight plays over musicals.

Rufus Sewell won Best Actor for his role in the production, which transferred to the Duke of York’s following a sell-out run at the Royal Court, while Stoppard’s creation beat Conor McPherson’s The Seafarer and Peter Morgan’s Frost/Nixon to the title of Best Play.

Reflecting the concern that plays are now an “endangered species” in the West End, a Special Editor’s Award for outstanding contribution to theatre was presented at the ceremony at London’s Savoy Hotel to Morgan for his dramatisation of David Frost’s interviews with the former American president.

Evening Standard editor Veronica Wadley said: “We’re here to launch a small protest against the march of musicals in the West End.

“Both [these] plays attracted huge excitement, comment and audiences, as well as great reviews. That surely is your challenge - to keep the West End alive with good theatre.”

The Tricycle Theatre was also recognised for its contribution to serious drama, receiving this year’s Special Award.

Meanwhile, the National Theatre’s production of Caroline, or Change, which deals with racism in sixties America, beat the new wave of West End blockbusters to scoop the Best Musical Award. Kathleen Turner picked up the award for Best Actress for her performance as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - a role which she said she had coveted since college.

The Hollywood actress added: “I’m glad I came over. I love working in the West End, I love the audiences and I love the responses, the quickness and alertness we find here on the London stage.”

The Evening Standard Theatre Awards are judged by critics including Nicholas de Jongh, Benedict Nightingale and Charles Spencer.

The full list of winners is:

Best Play: Rock’n’ Roll by Tom Stoppard. (Royal Court, then Duke of York’s Theatre).

Best Actor: Rufus Sewell in Rock ‘n’ Roll. (Royal Court, then Duke of York’s Theatre).

Best Actress: Kathleen Turner in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Apollo Theatre).

The Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director: Marianne Elliott for Pillars of the Community (Lyttelton, National Theatre).

Best Musical: Caroline, or Change (Lyttelton, National Theatre).

The Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer: Andrew Garfield for Beautiful Thing; Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship and The Overwhelming (Sound Theatre; Cottesloe, National Theatre; touring then Cottesloe, National Theatre).

Best Design: Timothy Bird (projection design) and David Farley (set and costume design) for Sunday in the Park with George (Menier Chocolate Factory then Wyndhams).

The Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright: Nina Raine for Rabbit (Old Red Lion Theatre, then Trafalgar Studios).

Editor’s Award: Peter Morgan for Frost/Nixon (Donmar, then Gielgud).

Special Award: Tricycle Theatre for its pioneering work in political theatre.