Galaxy of stars up for Standard theatre awards

Stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Robert Lindsay, John Simm, Jessica Lange, Billie Piper, Rosamund Pike and Kristin Scott Thomas are among the dozens who are under consideration for prizes.

With so many in the running, the judges made a plea that the longlist and not just the eventual shortlist should be released.

So today, for the first time, we list every person and production put forward by the judges - theatre critics Nicholas de Jongh of the Evening Standard, Georgina Brown of the Mail on Sunday, Susannah Clapp of The Observer, Benedict Nightingale of The Times and Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph.

De Jongh said: "The whole notion of introducing the longlist is to draw attention to the very high quality which we regularly enjoy across the full gamut of theatre.

"There has been this past six months a considerable range of fine acting and directing. Often as many as four or five people could be worthy winners in the closest-run categories, such as best actor and actress."

He said the full list would give a stronger appreciation of the work the judges got to enjoy, adding: "Everyone on the longlist deserves their moment of glory."

The shortlist will be announced next week and Richard Wilson, the actor and director, will compere the lunchtime prize ceremony at the Savoy on 27 November.

He takes over from Ned Sherrin, the much-loved broadcaster, writer and director, who died earlier this month, aged 76.

Wilson, who has been associated with winning work at the awards but never won an Evening Standard Award himself, said his only regret at being master of ceremonies was that he would not be able to enjoy the champagne.

"I'm honoured and thrilled to be asked, but following Ned is a very, very difficult job so I'm a little bit nervous," he said. "Because the theatre world is such a disparate community, we don't get to meet up very much as a big group so it's our way of having a celebration and a party. Of course people want to win, without a doubt, but the event is the most important thing." Sherrin will be remembered at the awards for his years of service as compere. The best musical prize is to be renamed in his honour.

De Jongh said: "Ned had a considerable career on several fronts and one of them was in theatre. He did a lot of distinguished directing, the most famous being Peter O'Toole in Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell, and he wrote a series of musicals with Caryl Brahms.

"He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of plays and performers and was an inveterate first-nighter. In terms of the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, for more than 20 years he was just an astonishing compere.

"We wanted to mark his association with the awards by naming one after him and thought that the musical would be very suitable."