WhatsOnStage Awards 2020: Winners in Full and Highlights

The 20^th annual WhatsOnStage Awards took place on Sunday night, 1 March, at the Prince of Wales theatre in London. The ceremony was broadcast, for the first time, on BBC Radio 2.

The highlight of this year’s edition was & Juliet, a musical which imagines what would have happened if Romeo had died but Juliet had lived. The show won 6 awards, the most prizes of any show this year, having been nominated for 13 awards.

MIRIAM-TEAK LEE AS JULIET, CASSIDY JANSON AS ANNE, AND MELANIE LA BARRIE AS NURSE IN & JULIET ©JOHAN PERSSON

Miriam-Teak Lee, who portrays the show’s heroine, Juliet, took home the award for Best Actress in a Musical.

& Juliet features songs by Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Pink, and Britney Spears, as well as music by celebrity songwriter Max Martin, including hits by the Backstreet Boys, Jesse J and Kesha.

However, the show didn’t win the award for Best New Musical. The prize went instead to ‘Come From Away’, which won 5 awards in total. The musical tells the incredible true story of the 7,000 air passengers from all over the world who were grounded in Canada during the wake of the September 11 terror attacks, and the small Newfoundland community that invited these ‘come from aways’ into their lives.

The Old Vic picked up three acting awards, with The Crown’s Claire Foy winning Best Actress in a Play for her performance in Lungs, Andrew Scott taking home Best Actor for his portrayal of Garry Essendine, and Sophie Thompson winning Best Supporting Actress, both for Present Laughter.

ANDREW SCOTT IN PRESENT LAUGHTER ©MANUEL HARLAN, OLD VIC

Scott’s win for Present Laughter follows an impressive string of successful acting projects for the thespian over the past year, among which are the highly acclaimed TV series Fleabag, the ‘Smithereens’ episode in Black Mirror, and the Oscar-winning feature film 1917.

Another highlight of this year’s ceremony was the Best New Play award, which went, for the very first time, to a production outside of London. Life of Pi, Lolita Chakrabarti’s adaptation of Yann Martel’s Booker prize-winning book of the same name, was staged at the Sheffield Crucible. The play is set to transfer to the West End this year.

One thing to note with regards to these awards, is that the winners are decided by members of the public as opposed to critics.

MARY POPPINS AT PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE, LONDON. © JOHAN PERSSON

The winners in full:

Best actress in a play – Claire Foy, Lungs

Best actor in a musical – Sam Tutty, Dear Evan Hansen

Best actress in a musical – Miriam-Teak Lee, & Juliet

Best supporting actor in a play – Hammed Animashaun, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Best supporting actress in a play – Sophie Thompson, Present Laughter

Best supporting actor in a musical – Jack Loxton, Dear Evan Hansen

Best supporting actress in a musical – Rachel Tucker, Come From Away

Best new play – Life of Pi

Best new musical – Come From Away

Best play revival – Betrayal

Best musical revival – Mary Poppins

Best direction – Jamie Lloyd, Evita

Best musical direction – Ian Eisendrath, Alan Berry and team, Come From Away

Audience award – Six

Best choreography – Kelly Devine, Come From Away

Best costume design – Paloma Young, & Juliet

Best graphic direction – Dewynters, & Juliet

Best set design – Soutra Gilmour, & Juliet

Best lighting design – Howard Hudson, & Juliet

Best sound design – Gareth Owen, Come From Away

Best video design – Andrzej Goulding, & Juliet

Best off-West End production – Falsettos

Best regional production – The Color Purple

Equity award for services to theatre – ERA 50:50