Designer of the Year
Winner: Bob Crowley for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the National Theatre Cottesloe, Hedda Gabler and Ghetto at the National Theatre Olivier and The Plantagenets, RSC at the Barbican
Nominees:
- Bob Crowley for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the National Theatre Cottesloe, Hedda Gabler and Ghetto at the National Theatre Olivier and The Plantagenets, RSC at the Barbican
- Chris Dyer for The Wars Of The Roses at the Old Vic and The Merchant Of Venice at the Phoenix
- The Design Team for Suicide For Love at the National Theatre Lyttelton
- John Napier for Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and The Baker’s Wife at the Phoenix
Director of the Year
Winner: Michael Bogdanov for The Wars Of The Roses at the Old Vic
Nominees:
- Michael Bogdanov for The Wars Of The Roses at the Old Vic
- Richard Eyre for Racing Demon and The Voysey Inheritance at the National Theatre Cottesloe
- Nicholas Hytner for Ghetto at the National Theatre Olivier and Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
- Trevor Nunn for Othello, RSC at the Young Vic
Actor of the Year
Winner: Oliver Ford Davies for Racing Demon at the National Theatre Cottesloe
Nominees:
- Oliver Ford Davies for Racing Demon at the National Theatre Cottesloe
- Nigel Hawthorne for Shadowlands at the Queens
- Ian McKellen for Othello, RSC at the Young Vic, and Bent at the National Theatre Lyttelton
- Michael Pennington for The Wars Of The Roses at the Old Vic
Actress of the Year
Winner: Fiona Shaw for Electra, RSC at the Barbican Pit, As You Like It at the Old Vic and The Good Person Of Sichuan at the National Theatre Olivier
Nominees:
- Sheila Hancock for Prin at the Lyric
- Jane Lapotaire for Shadowlands at the Queens
- Prunella Scales for Single Spies at the National Theatre Lyttelton
- Fiona Shaw for Electra, RSC at the Barbican Pit, As You Like It at the Old Vic and The Good Person Of Sichuan at the National Theatre Olivier
Comedy Performance of the Year
Winner: Michael Gambon for Man Of The Moment at the Globe
Nominees:
- Michael Gambon for Man Of The Moment at the Globe
- Alex Jennings for The Liar at The Old Vic
- Alfred Molina for Speed-the-Plow at the National Theatre Lyttelton
- Peter O’Toole for Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell at the Apollo
Outstanding Achievement in Opera
Winner: The Komische Oper’s Orpheus And Eurydice at the Royal Opera House
Nominees:
- The Royal Opera’s production of Un Re In Ascolto at the Royal Opera House
- English National Opera’s Lear at the London Coliseum
- The Garden Venture’s Survival Song at the Donmar Warehouse
- The Komische Oper’s Orpheus And Eurydice at the Royal Opera House
- English National Opera’s The Love For Three Oranges at the London Coliseum
Outstanding Performance of the Year in a Supporting Role
Winner: Michael Bryant for Hamlet at National Theatre Olivier, The Voysey Inheritance at the National Theatre Cottesloe and Racing Demon at the National Theatre Cottesloe
Nominees:
- Michael Bryant for Hamlet at the National Theatre Olivier, The Voysey Inheritance at the National Theatre Cottesloe and Racing Demon at the National Theatre Cottesloe
- Linda Kerr Scott for Ghetto at the National Theatre Olivier
- Simon Russell Beale for Man Of Mode, Restoration, Playing With Trains and Some Americans Abroad, all RSC at the Barbican Pit
- Zoe Wanamaker for Othello, RSC at the Young Vic
Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actor in a Musical
Winner: Jonathan Pryce for Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Nominees:
- Alun Armstrong for The Baker’s Wife at the Phoenix
- Matthew Devitt for Return To The Forbidden Planet at the Cambridge
- Paul Hipp for Buddy at the Victoria Palace
- Jonathan Pryce for Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actress in a Musical
Winner: Lea Salonga for Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Nominees:
- Patricia Hodge for Noel And Gertie at the Comedy
- Judy Kuhn for Metropolis at the Piccadilly
- Elaine Paige for Anything Goes at the Prince Edward
- Lea Salonga for Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Most Promising Newcomer of the Year in Theatre
Winner: Jeremy Northam for The Voysey Inheritance at the National Theatre Cottesloe
Nominees:
- Glen Goei for M Butterfly at the Shaftesbury
- Charlotte Keatley for My Mother Said I Never Should at the Royal Court
- Jeremy Northam for The Voysey Inheritance at the National Theatre Cottesloe
- Georgia Slowe for Romeo And Juliet, RSC at the Barbican Pit
Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Dance
Winner: London Contemporary Dance Theatre for Kim Brandstrup’s Orfeo
Nominees:
- Nina Ananiashvili and Irek Mukhamedov for their performances with The Bolshoi Ballet at the London Coliseum
- Siobhan Davies for her choreography of Rambert Dance Company’s Embarque at Sadler’s Wells
- London Contemporary Dance Theatre for Kim Brandstrup’s Orfeo
- David Bintley for his choreography of Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet’s Hobson’s Choice at the Royal Opera House
- The Royal Ballet for Kenneth MacMillan’s Prince Of The Pagodas at the Royal Opera House
- The Paul Taylor Dance Company for its season at Sadler’s Wells
Comedy of the Year
Winner: Single Spies by Alan Bennett at the National Theatre Lyttelton and the Queen’s
Nominees:
- Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell by Keith Waterhouse at the Apollo
- Single Spies by Alan Bennett at the National Theatre Lyttelton and the Queen’s
- Some Americans Abroad by Richard Nelson, RSC at the Pit
- Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling at the Lyric
Musical of the Year
Winner: Return To The Forbidden Planet by Bob Carlton at the Cambridge
Nominees:
- The Baker’s Wife, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Joseph Stein, at the Phoenix
- Buddy, written by Alan Janes, at the Victoria Palace
- Miss Saigon, music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jnr, at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
- Return To The Forbidden Planet by Bob Carlton at the Cambridge
BBC Award for the Play of the Year
Winner: Racing Demon by David Hare at the National Theatre Cottesloe
Nominees:
- Ghetto by Joshua Sobol at the National Theatre Olivier
- Man Of The Moment by Alan Ayckbourn at the Globe
- Racing Demon by David Hare at the National Theatre Cottesloe
- Shadowlands by William Nicholson at the Queen’s
The Observer Award for Outstanding Achievement
Winner: Declan Donnellan for Fuente Ovejuna, at the National Theatre Cottesloe
Nominees:
- Declan Donnellan for Fuente Ovejuna at the National Theatre Cottesloe
- Ute Lemper for her Kurt Weill Evening at the Almeida
- Philip Prowse for The Vortex at the Garrick
- John Wood for The Tempest and The Master Builder, RSC at the Barbican