The Stage

Branagh, Spacey and Russell Beale battle it out for Best Actor Award

Published Tuesday 4 November 2008 at 18:50 by Matthew Hemley

Kenneth Branagh will compete with Kevin Spacey and Simon Russell Beale to be named Best Actor at this year’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

The trio form part of a long list announced by the Evening Standard today. The final shortlist of nominations will be released later this week.

Branagh has been nominated for his performance in Ivanov at the Wyndham’s Theatre, while Spacey is up for his part in Speed the Plow at the Old Vic.

Russell Beale’s performance in the National Theatre’s production of Much Ado About Nothing earned him his nomination.

All three will be up against Rain Man’s Adam Godley, Chiwetel Ejiofor for Othello, Will Keen for Waste and Jonathan Slinger for Richard III.

In the category of Best Actress, Lesley Manville is nominated for Her Naked Skin, against Helen McCrory, Phoebe Nicholls, Margaret Tyzack, Penelope Wilton and Lesley Sharp, who is nominated for her part in Harper Regan.

Elsewhere Black Watch, Days of Significance, Her Naked Skin, Never So Good, Now or Later and The Pitmen Painters are all up for the title of Best Play, and La Cage Aux Folles, Eurobeat, Jersey Boys, Marguerite and Street Scene have been nominated for the Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical.

Lucy Bailey, who directed Timon of Athens at Shakespeare’s Globe, is nominated for the Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director, and faces competition from Michael Boyd, Rupert Goold, Michael Grandage, Katie Mitchell, Emma Rice, Alan Rickman and John Tiffany.

Winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony hosted by Richard Wilson at the Royal Opera House on November 24.

The full long list is:

Best Actress:

• Lesley Manville - Her Naked Skin (National’s Olivier)
• Helen McCrory - Rosmersholm (Almeida)
• Phoebe Nicholls - Waste (Almeida)
• Lesley Sharp - Harper Regan (National’s Cottesloe)
• Margaret Tyzack - The Chalk Garden (Donmar Warehouse)
• Penelope Wilton - The Chalk Garden (Donmar Warehouse)

Best Actor:

• Kenneth Branagh - Ivanov (Donmar West End at Wyndham’s)
• David Calder - King Lear (Shakespeare’s Globe)
• Adam Godley - Rain Man (Apollo)
• Chiwetel Ejiofor - Othello (Donmar Warehouse)
• Will Keen - Waste (Almeida)
• Simon Russell Beale - Much Ado About Nothing (National’s Olivier)
• Jonathan Slinger - Richard II and Richard III (RSC at the Roundhouse)
• Kevin Spacey - Speed-the-Plow (Old Vic)

Best Play:

• Black Watch - by Gregory Burke (National Theatre of Scotland at Barbican)
• Days Of Significance - by Roy Williams (RSC at the Tricycle)
• Her Naked Skin - by Rebecca Lenkiewicz (National’s Olivier)
• Never So Good - by Howard Brenton (National’s Lyttelton)
• Now Or Later - by Christopher Shinn (Royal Court)
• The Pitmen Painters - by Lee Hall (Live Theatre and National Theatre co-production)

The Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical:

• La Cage Aux Folles - Menier Chocolate Factory and Playhouse
• Eurobeat - Novello
• Jersey Boys - Prince Edward
• Marguerite - Theatre Royal Haymarket
• Street Scene - The Opera Group, Young Vic and Watford Palace Theatre co-production

The Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director:

• Lucy Bailey - Timon of Athens (Shakespeare’s Globe)
• Michael Boyd - The History Cycle (Royal Shakespeare Company at the Roundhouse)
• Rupert Goold - Six Characters In Search Of An Author (Gielgud)/No Man’s Land (Duke of York’s)/The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot (Almeida)
• Michael Grandage - Othello/The Chalk Garden/Ivanov (Donmar West End at Wyndham’s and Donmar Warehouse)
• Katie Mitchell - Women of Troy (National’s Lyttelton)
• Emma Rice - Brief Encounter (Kneehigh at Cinema Haymarket Theatre)
• Alan Rickman - Creditors (Donmar Warehouse)
• John Tiffany - Black Watch (National Theatre of Scotland at Barbican)

Best Design:

• Miriam Buether - In The Red And Brown Water (Young Vic)
• Laura Hopkins - Black Watch (National Theatre of Scotland at the Barbican)
• Rob Howell - The Norman Conquests (Old Vic)
• Neil Murray - Brief Encounter (Kneehigh at Cinema Haymarket Theatre)
• Melly Still - The Revenger’s Tragedy (National’s Olivier)

The Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer:

• Michelle Dockery - Pygmalion (Old Vic)
• Luke Evans - Small Change (Donmar Warehouse)
• Felicity Jones - The Chalk Garden (Donmar Warehouse)
• Joseph Mawle - The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot (Almeida)
• Lex Shrapnel - Henry IV Part I (Royal Shakespeare Company at The Roundhouse)
• Ella Smith - Fat Pig (Trafalgar Studios and Comedy Theatre)