2007 Evening Standard Award Nominees Are Announced

Nominations for the 2007 Evening Standing Awards have been announced. The awards ceremony will be held at the Savoy on November 2007.

The Chichester Festival’s Macbeth, now playing in the West End and due to arrive in New York in February, topped the list with three nominations,for director Rupert Goold, designer Anthony Ward, and star Patrick Stewart. The National Theatre’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s children’s novel War Horse received nominations for both Best Director (jointly for Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris) and Best Design (Rae Smith and the Handspring Puppet Company).

The Royal Court playwright Polly Stenham’s debut That Face also received two nominations. Stenham has been nominated for the Most Promising Playwright prize, which carries with it a check for £25,000. Meanwhile, actor Matt Smith (now in the West End opposite Christian Slater in Swimming with Sharks) earned a nod for Outstanding Newcomer.

In the Best Musical category, the just-opened Hairspray goes head-to-head with Sheffield Crucible’s revival of Fiddler on the Roof, now at the Savoy, and the Donmar Warehouse’s London premiere of Parade.

In addition to Stewart, this year’s acting nominees include Charles Dance, Robert Lindsay, and Mark Rylance for Best Actor, and Anne-Marie Duff, Billie Piper, Penelope Wilton, and Portia for Best Actress.

For a complete list of nominees, visit www.whatsonstage.com.