The longlist for 2012’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards has been announced with the National Theatre boasting an impressive 24 nominations.
The much-decorated Southbank venue is nominated across all eight categories, including Best New Play for Simon Stephens’ adaptation of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time and James Graham’s This House, while Simon Russell Beale (Collaborators), Alex Jennings (Collaborators), Charles Edwards (This House), Rory Kinnear (The Last Of The Haussmans) and Luke Treadaway (The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time) will compete for a place in the short list for Best Actor and there are nods for Martina Laird (Moon On A Rainbow Shawl) and Helen McCrory (The Last Of The Haussmans) in the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress category.
The Royal Court is not far behind with 14 nominations. Dominating the Best New Play Award, the Sloane Square venue is nominated for shows including Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Choir Boy, Nick Payne’s Constellations, April De Angelis’ Jumpy, while James Macdonald makes the Best Director category for Love And Information and Olivier Award-winner Tamsin Greig is nominated for the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress for Jumpy alongside The Witness’ Pippa Bennett-Warner.
Other highlights in the longlist include nominations for high-profile actresses Eileen Atkins, Eve Best, Cate Blanchett, Anne-Marie Duff, Hattie Morahan and Sheridan Smith, while Rupert Everett, Laurence Fox, David Haig and Adrian Lester will all compete for the Best Actor Award.
In the hotly contended Best New Musical Award list, Southwark Playhouse is nominated for two productions, Floyd Collins and Mack & Mabel, against West End shows Sweeney Todd, Singin’ In The Rain, Top Hat and Bristol Old Vic’s production of Swallows Amazons, which was presented by the National Theatre.
Narrowing down the currently very long list on 12 November will be a panel including theatre journalists Henry Hitchings, Georgina Brown, Susannah Clapp, Libby Purves, Charles Spencer, Matt Wolf and Sarah Sands. The winners will then be announced at a ceremony held on 25 November hosted by James Corden, where the One Man, Two Guvnors actor will also reveal the recipients of this year’s five special awards.
Full longlist:
Best Play
Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney (Royal Court Upstairs)
Constellations by Nick Payne (Royal Court Upstairs)
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Simon Stephens (National Theatre Cottesloe)
Jumpy by April De Angelis (Royal Court Downstairs and Duke of York’s)
The Last Of The Duchess by Nicholas Wright (Hampstead)
Love And Information by Caryl Churchill (Royal Court Downstairs)
Love Love Love by Mike Bartlett (Royal Court Downstairs)
Reasons To Be Pretty by Neil LaBute (Almeida)
South Downs by David Hare (Chichester Minerva and the Harold Pinter)
This House by James Graham (National Theatre Cottesloe)
The Witness by Vivienne Franzmann (Royal Court Upstairs)
Best Director
Benedict Andrews for Three Sisters (Young Vic)
Lucy Bailey for Uncle Vanya (The Print Room)
Tom Cairns for Scenes From An Execution (National Theatre Lyttelton)
Carrie Cracknell for A Doll’s House (Young Vic)
Marianne Elliott for The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (National Theatre Cottesloe)
Polly Findlay for Antigone (National Theatre Lyttelton)
Sean Foley for The Ladykillers (Gielgud)
Jeremy Herrin for This House (National Theatre Cottesloe)
Nicholas Hytner for Timon Of Athens (National Theatre Olivier)
Jonathan Kent for Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival and Adelphi)
James Macdonald for Love And Information (Royal Court Downstairs)
Roger Michell for Farewell To The Theatre (Hampstead)
Lindsay Posner for Noises Off (Old Vic and Novello)
Ian Rickson for Hamlet (Young Vic)
Josie Rourke for The Recruiting Officer (Donmar Warehouse)
Lyndsey Turner for Philadelphia, Here I Come! (Donmar Warehouse)
Best Actor
Simon Russell Beale, Collaborators (National Theatre Cottesloe and Olivier)
Charles Edwards, The King’s Speech (Wyndham’s) and This House (National Theatre Cottesloe)
Rupert Everett, The Judas Kiss (Hampstead)
Laurence Fox, Our Boys (Duchess)
David Haig, The Madness Of George III (Theatre Royal Bath and Apollo)
Douglas Hodge, Inadmissible Evidence (Donmar Warehouse)
Alex Jennings, Collaborators (National Theatre Cottesloe and Olivier)
Rory Kinnear, The Last of the Haussmans (National Theatre Lyttelton)
Adrian Lester, Red Velvet (Tricycle)
Simon Paisley Day, The Taming Of The Shrew (Shakespeare’s Globe)
Eddie Redmayne, Richard II (Donmar Warehouse)
Adrian Scarborough, Hedda Gabler (Old Vic)
Michael Sheen, Hamlet (Young Vic)
Scott Shepherd, Gatz (Elevator Repair Service at Noël Coward)
David Suchet, Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Apollo)
Luke Treadaway, The Curious Incident Of The Dog in the Night-Time (National Theatre Cottesloe)
Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress
Eileen Atkins, All That Fall (Jermyn Street)
Pippa Bennett-Warner, The Witness (Royal Court Upstairs)
Eve Best, The Duchess Of Malfi (Old Vic)
Cate Blanchett, Big And Small (Sydney Theatre Company for Barbican)
Anna Chancellor, The Last Of The Duchess (Hampstead)
Anne-Marie Duff, Berenice (Donmar Warehouse)
Mariah Gale, Three Sisters (Young Vic)
Tamsin Greig, Jumpy (Royal Court Downstairs and Duke of York’s)
Sally Hawkins, Constellations (Royal Court Upstairs)
Martina Laird, Moon On A Rainbow Shawl (National Theatre Cottesloe)
Helen McCrory, The Last Of The Haussmans (National Theatre Lyttelton)
Laurie Metcalf, Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Apollo)
Hattie Morahan, A Doll’s House (Young Vic)
Joely Richardson, The Lady From The Sea (Rose Theatre, Kingston)
Sheridan Smith, Hedda Gabler (Old Vic)
Imelda Staunton, Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival Theatre and Adelphi)
Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical
Floyd Collins (Southwark Playhouse) directed by Derek Bond
Mack & Mabel (Southwark Playhouse)
Singin’ In The Rain (Chichester Festival and Palace)
Swallows And Amazons (A Bristol Old Vic production, presented by the National Theatre and The Children’s Touring Partnership at the Vaudeville)
Sweeney Todd (Chichester Festival and Adelphi)
Top Hat (Aldwych)
Best Design
Hildegard Bechtler, Top Hat (Aldwych)
Miriam Buether, Wild Swans (A Young Vic/American Repertory Theatre/Actors Touring Company co-production)
Bunny Christie, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (National Theatre Cottesloe)
Kevin Depinet, Detroit (National Theatre Cottesloe)
Es Devlin, The Master And Margarita (Complicite at Barbican)
Soutra Gilmour, Inadmissible Evidence (Donmar Warehouse) and Antigone (National Theatre Olivier)
Richard Kent, Richard II (Donmar Warehouse)
Ian MacNeil, A Doll’s House (Young Vic)
Peter McKintosh, Noises Off (Old Vic)
Vicki Mortimer, The Last Of The Haussmans (National Theatre Lyttelton)
Lucy Osborne, The Recruiting Officer (Donmar Warehouse)
Michael Taylor, The Ladykillers (Gielgud)
Jamie Vartan, Misterman (National Theatre Lyttelton)
Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright
Stephen Beresford, The Last Of The Haussmans (National Theatre Lyttelton)
Lolita Chakrabarti, Red Velvet (Tricycle)
Ishy Din, Snookered (Bush)
Vickie Donoghue, Mudlarks (Bush)
Nancy Harris, Our New Girl (Bush)
John Hodge, Collaborators (National Theatre Cottesloe)
Luke Norris, Goodbye To All That (Royal Court Upstairs)
Nicholas Pierpan, You Can Still Make A Killing (Southwark Playhouse)
Tim Price, Salt, Root And Roe (Trafalgar Studios)
Hayley Squires, Vera Vera Vera (Royal Court Upstairs and Theatre Local Peckham)
Tom Wells, The Kitchen Sink (Bush)
Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer
Jonathan Bailey, South Downs (Chichester Minerva and the Harold Pinter)
Denise Gough, Our New Girl (Bush) and Desire Under The Elms (Lyric Hammersmith)
David Fynn, She Stoops To Conquer (National Theatre Olivier)
Cush Jumbo, She Stoops To Conquer (National Theatre Olivier)
Abby Rakic-Platt, Vera Vera Vera (Royal Court Upstairs and Theatre Local Peckham)
Matthew Tennyson, Making Noise Quietly (Donmar Warehouse)
Joshua Williams, Shivered (Southwark Playhouse) and Love And Information (Royal Court Upstairs)
Emi Wokoma, Soul Sister (Hackney Empire and Savoy)