Designer of the Year
Winner: William Dudley for Futurists at the National Theatre Cottesloe, Kafka’s Dick at the Royal Court and The Merry Wives Of Windsor, RSC at the Barbican
Nominees:
- Maria Bjornson for The Phantom Of The Opera at Her Majesty’s
- Bob Crowley for As You Like It, RSC at the Barbican and Les Liaisons Dangereuses, RSC at the Barbican Pit
- William Dudley for Futurists at the National Theatre Cottesloe, Kafka’s Dick at the Royal Court and The Merry Wives of Windsor, RSC at the Barbican
- Carl Toms for Dalliance and The Magistrate at the National Theatre Lyttelton
Director of the Year
Winner: Bill Alexander for The Merry Wives Of Windsor, RSC at the Barbican
Nominees:
- Bill Alexander for The Merry Wives Of Windsor, RSC at the Barbican
- Howard Davies for Les Liaisons Dangereuses, RSC at the Barbican Pit
- Declan Donnellan for A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Donmar Warehouse
- Peter Wood for The American Clock, at the National Theatre Cottesloe
Actor of the Year
Winner: Albert Finney for Orphans at the Apollo
Nominees:
- Albert Finney for Orphans at the Apollo
- Derek Jacobi for Breaking The Code at the Theatre Royal Haymarket
- Ian McKellen for The Cherry Orchard
- Martin Sheen for The Normal Heart at the Royal Court
Actress of the Year
Winner: Lindsay Duncan for Les Liaisons Dangereuses, RSC at the Barbican Pit and the Ambassadors
Nominees:
- Lindsay Duncan for Les Liaisons Dangereuses, RSC at The Pit and the Ambassadors
- Julia McKenzie for Woman In Mind at the Vaudeville
- Juliet Stevenson for As You Like It, RSC at the Barbican Pit, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Troilus And Cressida, RSC at the Barbican Pit
- Irene Worth for The Bay At Nice, at the National Theatre Cottesloe
Comedy Performance of the Year
Winner: Bill Fraser for When We Are Married at the Whitehall
Nominees:
- Brian Cox for Misalliance, RSC at the Barbican
- Bill Fraser for When We Are Married at the Whitehall
- Nigel Hawthorne for The Magistrate at the National Theatre Lyttelton
- Paul Scofield for I’m Not Rappaport at the Apollo
Outstanding Achievement in Opera
Winner: The English National Opera’s Doctor Faust – Thomas Allen and Graham Clark especially recommended – at the London Coliseum
Nominees:
- Harrison Birtwistle for English National Opera’s The Mask Of Orpheus at the London Coliseum
- The English National Opera’s Doctor Faust – Thomas Allen and Graham Clark especially recommended – at the London Coliseum
- Anne Evans for Welsh National Opera’s The Ring Cycle
- Kathryn Harries for The Ring Cycle
- Stephanos Lazaridis for designing English National Opera’s Doctor Faust and The Mikado at the London Coliseum
Outstanding Performance of the Year in a Supporting Role
Winner: Paul Jesson for The Normal Heart at the Royal Court
Nominees:
- Janet Dale for The Merry Wives Of Windsor and Othello, RSC at the Barbican
- Nicky Henson for As You Like It and The Merry Wives of Windsor, RSC at the Barbican
- Paul Jesson for The Normal Heart at the Royal Court
- Fiona Shaw for As You Like It and Mephisto, RSC at the Barbican
Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actor in a Musical
Winner: Michael Crawford for The Phantom Of The Opera at Her Majesty’s
Nominees:
- Paul Bentley for HMS Pinafore at the Old Vic
- Michael Crawford for The Phantom Of The Opera at Her Majesty’s
- George Hearn for La Cage Aux Folles at the London Coliseum
- Tommy Korberg for Chess at the Prince Edward
Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actress in a Musical
Winner: Lesley Mackie for Judy at the Strand
Nominees:
- Maureen Lipman for Wonderful Town! at the Queen’s
- Lesley Mackie for Judy at the Strand
- Elaine Paige for Chess at the Prince Edward
- Angela Richards for Side By Side By Sondheim at the Royal Court
Most Promising Newcomer of the Year in Theatre
Winner: Sally Dexter for Dalliance at the National Theatre Lyttelton
Nominees:
- Simon Curtis for directing Road and Ourselves Alone at the Royal Court
- Anne Devlin for writing Ourselves Alone at the Royal Court
- Sally Dexter for Dalliance at the National Theatre Lyttelton
- Janet McTeer for The Grace Of Mary Traverse at the Royal Court
Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Dance
Winner: Ballet Rambert for their 60th Anniversary Season at Sadler’s Wells
Nominees:
- The dancers of The Bolshoi Ballet at the London Coliseum
- Michael Clark for his individual impact and contribution
- Irek Mukhamedov, principal of The Bolshoi Ballet
- Ballet Rambert for their 60th Anniversary Season at Sadler’s Wells
- Jerome Robbins for a range of work performed by three companies
- Jorge Salavisa, director of The Ballet Gulbenkian
Comedy of the Year
Winner: When We Are Married by JB Priestley at the Whitehall
Nominees:
- Lend Me A Tenor by Ken Ludwig at the Globe
- The Merry Wives Of Windsor by William Shakespeare, RSC at the Barbican
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, RSC at the Barbican
- When We Are Married by JB Priestley at the Whitehall
Musical of the Year
Winner: The Phantom Of The Opera, lyrics by Charles Hart, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, book by Richard Stigloe and Andrew Llyod Webber, at Her Majesty’s
Nominees:
- Chess by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus ad Tim Rice at the Prince Edward
- HMS Pinafore, lyrics by WS Gilbert, music by Arthur Sullivan, musical adaptation and arrangements by Bill Whelan, at the Old Vic
- The Phantom Of The Opera, lyrics by Charles Hart, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, book by Richard Stigloe and Andrew Lloyd Webber at Her Majesty’s theatre
- Wonderful Town!, book by Joesph A Fields and Jerome Chadovov, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, based on the play “My Sister Eileen” by Joesph A Fields and Jerome Chadovov and the shared stories of Ruth McKenny, at the Queen’s
BBC Award for the Play of the Year
Winner: Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton, RSC at the Pit and the Ambassadors
Nominees:
- The American Clock by Arthur Miller at the National Theatre Cottesloe
- Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton, RSC at the Pit and the Ambassadors
- The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer at the Royal Court
- Ourselves Alone by Anne Devlin at the Royal Court
The Observer Award for Outstanding Achievement
Winner: The Lyric Theatre Hammersmith for The House Of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca
Nominees:
- Barbara Cook for her performances at the Donmar Warehouse and Albery
- The Hampstead theatre’s production of The Gambler by Mel Smith, Bob Goody and Peter Brewis
- Robert Holman for his triple bill of plays Making Noise Quietly at the Bush theatre
- The Lyric Theatre Hammersmith for The House Of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca