Whatsonstage Awards Return for their 23rd year with the Ceremony taking place on Sunday 12th February

WhatsOnStage today announces that the 23^rd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards will take place on Sunday 12 February 2023, at a West End theatre to be announced. As well as seeing the winners crowned across a range of categories, theatregoers will also enjoy a host of exclusive live performances from top stage talent. The event is co-produced with creative directors Alex Parker and Damian Sandys.

Now in their 23rd year, the WhatsOnStage Awards are the only major theatre awards decided by the theatregoers themselves.

Nominations are now open and will close on Wednesday 23 November 2022 ahead of the shortlist being announced on Thursday 8 December 2022. Voting will then open at the same time, closing on Tuesday 10 January 2023, with the winners being announced at the ceremony on Sunday 12 February 2023.

This year, the performance categories will be gender-free and, for each of the following, readers will be able to nominate and vote for one individual:

• Best Performer in a Play
• Best Performer in a Musical
• Best Supporting Performer in a Play
• Best Supporting Performer in a Musical

The shortlist for the technical categories (Choreography, Costume Design, Direction, Graphic Design, Lighting Design, Musical Direction/Supervision, Set Design, Sound Design, Casting Direction and Video Design) will be once again decided by an independent panel of industry experts from across the UK appointed by WhatsOnStage. Their shortlists will then be voted on by the general public.

Additional and returning categories include Best Takeover Performance, Best Professional Debut, Best Casting Direction, and Best Concert Event, taking the total number of categories to 24.

WhatsOnStage’s Sarah Coleman said today: “It’s been an utter joy to witness theatre bounce back revitalised and undeterred, and we can’t wait to celebrate the wealth of incredible talent on our stages at the next WhatsOnStage Awards. With our Awards we always seek to keep the nominations process fresh with changes to our categories, reflecting the changes within our community. And as ever, we want to say a special thank you to the voting public, the people who keep our industry alive.” 

JUDGES

These are truly the “theatregoers’ choice” prizes, the only major theatre awards in which the audience are the judges. The 2023 awards shortlists – covering the best theatre from 26 November 2021 and 22 November 2022 – will be announced on 8 December 2022, with voting then online until 10 January 2023.

ELIGIBILITY

All live, original UK professional productions – and performers within these productions – whose performances began between 26 November 2021 and 22 November 2022 are eligible in almost all the categories.

The new category, Best Concert Event, is open to any new self-described concert event that ran for a maximum of three performances.

Productions that have been eligible in previous years, plus any performers that have appeared in these productions between 26 November 2021 and 22 November 2022 are not eligible in almost all categories. The exceptions are: Best West End Show, Best Takeover Performance and Best Professional Debut Performance.

• Best Off-West End Production
  Any professional production whose performances began in an Off-West End venue (in London) between 26 November 2021 and22 November 2022 is eligible.

• Best Regional Production
  Any professional production whose performances began in a venue outside of Greater London between 26 November 2021 and22 November 2022 is eligible.

• Best West End Show
  The award recognises the most popular show currently running in a West End theatre that will have played for at least 12 months up to 10 January 2023. This includes shows that began performances before 26 November 2021.

WhatsOnStage.com is the UK’s leading consumer theatre website and has been an essential and trusted voice in theatre news and content for over 26 years. The website encompasses a listings database of 14k+ performances nationwide, unrivalled theatre news and exclusives, insightful reviews, compelling interviews, blogs and features plus eye-catching videos. We are also a central source for great tickets at fantastic prices, the home of the WhatsOnStage Awards (now in their 23rd year) and our London Theatre Club, with a loyal membership of over 1.5k. In 2017, WhatsOnStage became a part of the AudienceView family of live entertainment solutions, an integral partner for live event professionals around the world looking to elevate their businesses.

Damian Sandys has worked on the WhatsOnStage Awards since their second year and is delighted to be taking the helm this year, alongside Alex Parker. His recent credits are: associate director for the Broadway production of The Kite Runner (Hayes Theater); resident director for Calendar Girls The Musical and Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical; Shakespeare for Breakfast (EdFringe); When Midnight Strikes (nominated, Best Musical Production, Off West End Awards). He is artistic producer for UK Productions, with whom productions include the forthcoming world premiere of The Beekeeper of Aleppo (Nottingham Playhouse).

Alex Parker has worked on the WhatsOnStage Awards since 2015. He is currently the musical director for the Lincoln Center’s production of My Fair Lady which is touring the UK and Ireland. His musical director credits include Gypsy (Alexandra Palace Theatre), Sunset Boulevard (Alexandra Palace/Royal Albert Hall), Chicago (Ljubljana Festival), Wonderful Town (Opera Holland Park), Far From Heaven (Turbine Theatre), Am Dram (Curve), A Little Night Music (Holland Park Opera), Mame (Hope Mill Theatre/tour), The Color Purple (Curve and Birmingham Hippodrome) and My Left/Right Foot (National Theatre Of Scotland). Alex produced and served as the musical supervisor for the London premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s Putting It Together at the St. James Theatre in 2013. As a composer, he has written five musicals with his writing partner Katie Lam. One of these, After You, was filmed at the London Coliseum for streaming. He and Lam are currently writing a musical adaptation of David Ebershoff’s book The Danish Girl.

To find out more about the awards and how to vote, visit here…

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