Theater News

Miss Saigon and Dr. Who Favorites David Tennant and Billie Piper Win Big at WhatsOnStage Awards

A full list of winners for the British theater honors have been announced.

David Tennant and Billie Piper, who starred together on the BBC series Doctor Who, took home 2015 WhatsOnStage Awards for their performances in Richard II and Great Britain, respectively.
David Tennant and Billie Piper, who starred together on the BBC series Doctor Who, took home 2015 WhatsOnStage Awards for their performances in Richard II and Great Britain, respectively.

The new West End revival of Miss Saigon dominated the 15th annual WhatsOnStage Awards, taking home a record-setting nine awards, including Best Musical Revival and Best West End Show. The honors were presented during a February 15 ceremony hosted by Mel Giedroyc and Steve Furst at the West End's Prince of Wales Theatre. The awards are the only major theater prizes to be voted for entirely by the audience.

Dr. Who stars David Tennant and Billie Piper also took home honors in the Best Actor and Actress in a Play categories for their performances in Richard II and Great Britain, respectively. The pair had previously starred together as The Doctor and Rose on the popular BBC sci-fi series in 2006.

Of Miss Saigon's wins, producer Cameron Mackintosh said in a statement, "I've always known that the public knows best so I am delighted that the new Miss Saigon has swept the board with a record breaking nine awards including Best Musical Revival and Best Show and I'm thrilled for all our other winners as well, especially to the extraordinary achievement of our four leading Asian performers winning the top acting awards."

A full list of winners is as follows:

Best Actor in a Play sponsored by Radisson Blu Edwardian:
David Tennant, Richard II
Mark Strong, A View From the Bridge
Richard Armitage, The Crucible
Tom Bateman, Shakespeare in Love
Tom Hiddleston, Coriolanus

Best Actress in a Play:
Billie Piper, Great Britain
Gillian Anderson, A Streetcar Named Desire
Helen McCrory, Medea
Imelda Staunton, Good People
Lucy Briggs-Owen, Shakespeare in Love

Best Actor in a Musical:
Alistair Brammer, Miss Saigon
Jon Jon Briones, Miss Saigon
Killian Donnelly, Memphis the Musical
Marti Pellow, Evita
Robert Lindsay, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Best Actress in a Musical sponsored by STAR:
Beverley Knight, Memphis the Musical
Eva Noblezada, Miss Saigon
Gemma Arterton, Made in Dagenham
Jenna Russell, Urinetown the Musical
Madalena Alberto, Evita

Best Supporting Actor in a Play:
Adrian Schiller, The Crucible
David Oakes, Shakespeare in Love
Hadley Fraser, Coriolanus
Mark Gatiss, Coriolanus
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall & Bring Up the Bodies

Best Supporting Actress in a Play:
Anna Madeley, The Crucible
Deborah Findlay, Coriolanus
Nicola Walker, A View From the Bridge
Samantha Colley, The Crucible
Vanessa Kirby, A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Supporting Actor in a Musical:
Ben Forster, Evita
George Maguire, Sunny Afternoon
Hugh Maynard, Miss Saigon
Kwang-Ho Hong, Miss Saigon
Rolan Bell, Memphis the Musical

Best Supporting Actress in a Musical:
Claire Machin, Memphis the Musical
Karis Jack, Urinetown the Musical
Katherine Kingsley, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Rachelle Ann Go, Miss Saigon
Samantha Bond, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Best New Play:
Great Britain
King Charles III
The Nether
Shakespeare in Love
Wolf Hall

Best New Musical sponsored by Autograph:
Here Lies Love
Made in Dagenham
Memphis the Musical
Sunny Afternoon
Urinetown the Musical

Best Play Revival:
Blithe Spirit
Coriolanus
The Crucible
Richard II
A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Musical Revival sponsored by R&H Theatricals Europe:
Evita
Miss Saigon
The Pajama Game
Porgy and Bess
Sweeney Todd

Best Direction sponsored by Managed Networks:
Christopher Ashley, Memphis the Musical
Gregory Doran, Richard II
Jamie Lloyd, Urinetown the Musical
Laurence Connor, Miss Saigon
Yaël Farber, The Crucible

Best Choreography sponsored by Capezio:
Ann Yee, Urinetown the Musical
Bob Avian & Geoffrey Garratt, Miss Saigon
Drew McOnie, In the Heights
Jerry Mitchell, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Sergio Trujillo, Memphis the Musical

Best Set Design sponsored by Feast Creative:
Bunny Christie, Made in Dagenham
David Gallo, Memphis the Musical
Nick Ormerod, Shakespeare in Love
Soutra Gilmour, Urinetown the Musical
Totie Driver & Matt Kinley, Miss Saigon

Best Lighting Design sponsored by White Light:
Adam Silverman, Urinetown the Musical
Bruno Poet, Miss Saigon
Howell Binkley, Memphis the Musical
Jon Clark, Made in Dagenham
Mark Henderson, Coriolanus

Best Off-West End Production:
Dogfight, Southwark Playhouse
Forbidden Broadway, Menier Chocolate Factory
In the Heights, Southwark Playhouse
Oh, the Humanity and Other Good Intentions, Tabard Theatre
Sweeney Todd, Twickenham Theatre

Best Regional Production sponsored by Travelzoo:
Guys and Dolls, Chichester Festival Theatre
Gypsy, Chichester Festival Theatre
The Kite Runner, Nottingham Playhouse
Oliver!, Sheffield Crucible
Water Babies, Curve Leicester

Best Takeover in a Role sponsored by Equity:
Craige Els, Matilda the Musical
David Hunter, Once
Jennifer DiNoia, Wicked
Kerry Ellis, Wicked
Michael Watson, Jersey Boys

Best West End Show:
Les Misérables
Matilda the Musical
Memphis the Musical
Miss Saigon
Wicked

For more coverage and photos from the starry WhatsOnStage Awards, visit WhatsOnStage.com.