The shortlist for London's 2018 Evening Standard Theatre Awards has been revealed, prior to the 64th annual ceremony taking place November 18 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. This year, most categories contain five nominations (expanded from three in years prior).
Leading the pack this year is Marianne Elliott's gender-swapped production of Company, which received four nods: Best Musical, Best Director (for Elliott), Best Musical Performance (for Rosalie Craig), and Best Design (for Bunny Christie).
Trailing behind was the world premiere of Matthew Lopez's The Inheritance; the acclaimed production from the Young Vic, which recently transferred to the West End, appears in the Best Play category, as well as Best Director for Stephen Daldry and Best Actor for Kyle Soller.
Joining Company in the Best Musical category were Hamilton, which continues its London awards wave after opening nearly a year ago at the Victoria Palace Theatre, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, Fun Home, and Caroline, or Change.
Additional nominees include Tony winners Bryan Cranston (for Network, a performance he will soon reprise on Broadway), Kelli O'Hara (The King and I), Sophie Okonedo (Antony and Cleopatra), and Ian McKellen (King Lear).
See the full shortlist below.
BEST PLAY
Home, I’m Darling (Laura Wade, National Theatre)
The Inheritance (Matthew Lopez, Young Vic & Noël Coward Theatre)
John (Annie Baker, National Theatre)
The Lehman Trilogy (Stefano Massini and adapted by Ben Power, National Theatre)
The Writer (Ella Hickson, Almeida)
BEST MUSICAL
Caroline, or Change (Minerva Chichester & Hampstead Theatre)
Company (Gielgud Theatre)
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Apollo Theatre)
Fun Home (Young Vic)
Hamilton (Victoria Palace)
BEST ACTOR
Bryan Cranston (Network, National Theatre)
Ralph Fiennes (Antony and Cleopatra, National Theatre)
Ian McKellen (King Lear, Minerva Chichester & Duke of York’s)
Colin Morgan (Translations, National Theatre)
Kyle Soller (The Inheritance, Young Vic & Noël Coward Theatre)
NATASHA RICHARDSON AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Laura Linney (My Name Is Lucy Barton, Bridge Theatre)
Carey Mulligan (Girls and Boys, Royal Court)
Cecilia Noble (Nine Night, National Theatre)
Sophie Okonedo (Antony and Cleopatra, National Theatre)
Lia Williams (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Donmar Warehouse)
MILTON SHULMAN AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry (The Inheritance, Young Vic & Noël Coward Theatre)
Marianne Elliott (Company, Gielgud Theatre)
Robert Hastie (The York Realist, Donmar Warehouse)
Phyllida Lloyd (Tina, Aldwych Theatre)
Ian Rickson (Translations, National Theatre)
BEST MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Sharon D Clarke (Caroline, or Change, Minerva Chichester & Hampstead Theatre)
Rosalie Craig (Company, Gielgud Theatre)
Arinzé Kene (Misty, Bush & Trafalgar Studios)
Kelli O’Hara (The King and I, Palladium)
Adrienne Warren (Tina, Aldwych)
BEST DESIGN
Miriam Buether (The Jungle, Young Vic & Playhouse Theatre)
Bunny Christie (Company, Gielgud Theatre)
Es Devlin (Girls and Boys, Royal Court)
Rae Smith (Translations, National Theatre)
Jan Versweyveld (Network, National Theatre)
CHARLES WINTOUR AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING PLAYWRIGHT
Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm (Br’er Cotton, Theatre503)
Natasha Gordon (Nine Night, National Theatre)
Francis Turnly (The Great Wave, National Theatre)
EMERGING TALENT AWARD
Rona Morison (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Donmar Warehouse)
Debris Stevenson (Poet in da Corner, Royal Court)
Chris Walley (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Noël Coward Theatre)
Roy Alexander Weise, director (Nine Night, National Theatre/Br’er Cotton, Theatre503)
Jamael Westman (Hamilton, Victoria Palace)
