The Evening Standard announces the 67th Evening Standard Theatre Awards will take place at Claridge’s on Sunday 19th November.
The annual awards return following last year’s intimate celebration and are hosted by the newspaper’s proprietor Lord Lebedev, alongside co-hosts David Harewood, Vanessa Kirby, Ian McKellen and Sienna Miller, with the ceremony presented by Susan Wokoma.
Launched in 1955, the Evening Standard Theatre Awards have helped shape the course of London’s theatrical history and continue to reinforce the West End’s rightful place on the global stage.
The ceremony will be presented by London born and RADA trained Susan Wokoma. Susan is an actress, writer and director and has recently finished starring on stage at Chichester Festival in Never Have I Ever, the debut play by Deborah Frances-White. Her theatre work also includes productions at the Royal Court, Bush Theatre, Almeida, Regent’s Park Theatre and the National Theatre. Susan will begin shooting her first feature for BBC Films in 2024, Three Weeks, which she will both direct and star in.
Last seen in Young Vic’s production of Best of Enemies which transferred to the West End, David Harewood was awarded an OBE for services to theatre in 2023. Other notable stage roles include Othello at the National Theatre and Martin Luther King Jr in The Mountaintop. He is also known for his film and TV appearances, including in Blood Diamond, Homeland and The Night Manager. More recently he has turned to hard-hitting documentaries, presenting one on Blackface and his personal documentary Psychosis and Me which inspired his memoir, Maybe I Don’t Belong Here. Most recently David has co-founded Section 52 Films, developing documentaries, TV and film projects dedicated to crafting challenging narratives and being comfortable with the uncomfortable.
BAFTA Award-winner, Emmy, Golden Globe and Academy Award-nominee Vanessa Kirby has earned international acclaim for her film, television and stage roles. She made her professional acting debut on stage with a production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons (2010), and followed this with praised performances in plays including A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2010), As You Like It (2010), A Streetcar Named Desire (2014, 2016) and Uncle Vanya (2016). In 2016 and 2017, Vanessa starred as Princess Margaret in Netflix’s The Crown, earning her a Supporting Actress nomination at the British Academy Television Awards 2017, and again in 2018, where she won. In 2020, Vanessa starred in Netflix’s Pieces of a Woman, which premiered at the 2020 Venice Biennale where Vanessa won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress. This year, Vanessa reprised her role as Alanna Mistopolis in the latest instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise and is about to star as Empress Josephine opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon.
One of London’s most celebrated stage actors, Ian McKellen also joins the co-hosting line-up. Twice named Best Actor in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards (for Coriolanus in 1984 and Othello in 1989), Ian McKellen was also recipient of the Lebedev Special Award in 2009 for his contribution to theatre. Leading roles include The Alchemist (1978), Bent (1979), Richard III (1990), King Lear (2017) & Hamlet (2022). He is currently starring alongside Roger Allam in Frank & Percy at The Other Palace in Victoria.
Actress Sienna Miller joins Lord Lebedev as a co-host for the first time this year. An accomplished star of international cinema, Sienna made her West End debut in 2005, in a revival of As You Like It. Most recently on stage, she starred alongside Jack O’Connell in Benedict Andrew’s version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Miller said of her co-hosting role “I am delighted to be co-hosting this year’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards, a historic event that has long recognised the unique talents of the London stage.”
Lord Lebedev, said: “The Evening Standard is proud to celebrate the incredible creatives who, in such difficult times, have continued to dazzle on stage and create magic behind the scenes. The Theatre Awards are part of London’s heritage, and this year’s ceremony is shaping up to be one of our most special yet.”
Editor-In-Chief of the Evening Standard, Dylan Jones, adds: “I am honoured to take part in what is without question the glitziest celebration of the London stage. The Evening Standard has always championed London’s creatives and nowhere is this energy more powerful than in the theatre.”
The 67th Evening Standard Theatre Awards include:
Best Play
Milton Shulman Award for Best Director
Best Actor
Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress in association with Mithridate
Best Design
Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright
Emerging Talent Award
Best Musical
Best Musical Performance
Lebedev Award
Editor’s Award
The shortlist for the 67th Evening Standard Theatre Awards will be announced later in the month.
Sponsorship for this year’s Evening Standard Theatre Awards includes Award Category sponsor, Mithridate.
