2005 Evening Standard Awards Presented in London
(Photo © David Scheinmann)
The musical Billy Elliot and Brian Friel’s drama The Home Place took top honors in the 2005 Evening Standard Awards, which were presented today in London. Billy Elliot topped the Broadway-bound Mary Poppins (which won for Bob Crowley’s set and costume design) and The Big Life, while Friel bested fellow playwrights Mike Leigh, Richard Norton-Taylor, and Richard Bean.
On the acting front, Simon Russell Beale — soon to arrive stateside as King Arthur in Spamalot — took home an award for his work in The Philanthropist, beating Brian Dennehy in Death of a Salesman and Derek Jacobi in Don Carlos. Harriet Walter won for her work in Mary Stuart; her competition included Eve Best in Hedda Gabler, Clare Higgins in Death of a Salesman, and Kristin Scott Thomas in As You Desire Me.
Among the other winners are director Michael Grandage for Don Carlos and Grand Hotel; David Babani and Danielle Tarento Menier, co-directors of the new arts venue The Menier Chocolate Factory, for Outstanding Newcomer; and Neil Leyshon, author of Comfort Me With Apples, who took home the Charles Wintour Award for New Playwriting. For a full list of winners and nominees, click here.
