WhatsOnStage today announce that Courtney Bowman, Laurie Kynaston and Billy Luke Nevers will host the 23rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards on 12 February 2023 at the Prince of Wales Theatre.
Bowman, herself a nominee for last year’s smash-hit Legally Blonde, will team up with Kynaston who starred in the heavily nominated 2021 revival of Spring Awakening, and her Legally Blonde co-star and current & Juliet cast member Nevers.
The annual Awards ceremony is the only major theatre prize-giving decided entirely by the theatregoers themselves. Further details of the ceremony, including the performances at the event, will be announced shortly. Voting for this year’s awards closes tomorrow, 10 January.
Courtney Bowman: “The talent is already oozing! It’s gonna be a nice celebration of theatre, as always. I’m getting a great vibe from my co-hosts – they’re very, very silly – and we’ve got each other for support as well.”
Laurie Kynaston: “The fact that the Awards are publicly voted for shows the power that audiences hold… without them we wouldn’t be here at all! It’s also going to be gorgeous to be back in a room packed with the cream of British theatre royalty, having a right old knees up. What can you expect? The unexpected! Costume changes? Surprise guest appearances? Me forgetting my lines? Who knows! It’s going to be great fun, and it’s an awards ceremony for all of us. See you there on the 12th!”
Billy Luke Nevers: “I am so excited to be presenting the WhatsOnStage Awards this year and celebrate all the achievements of this year in the UK theatre industry with two wonderful people. This year is going to be a bit different to what the awards will have seen before…. You’ll have to come and find out why!”
Leading this year is My Neighbour Totoro with 9 nominations – Mei Mac for Best Performer in a Play, Best New Play, Best Direction for Phelim McDermott, Best Musical Direction/Supervision, Best Lighting Design, Best Set Design, Best Sound Design, Best Video Design and Best Graphic Design. The next best nominated straight play is Good with 5 nominations, including 3 acting nominations for David Tennant, Sharon Small and Elliot Levey.
The critically acclaimed Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, which transfers to the West End in February, leads the musical categories, with 8 nominations – Best Supporting Performer in a Musical for Marisha Wallace, Best Musical Revival, Best Director for Daniel Fish and Jordan Fein, Best Musical Direction/Supervision, Best Casting Direction, Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design and Best Video Design. Other top nominees in the musical categories were both Almeida Theatre productions, directed by the company’s Artistic Director Rupert Goold – Spring Awakening with 6 nominations, and Tammy Faye, the most nominated new musical, with 5 nominations.
The full list of nominations can be found here
