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Evening Standard theatre awards: Rachel Weisz and Lenny Henry fight stage giants for top prize
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent10.11.09
STARS of the British stage including Rachel Weisz, Samuel West and Lenny Henry will battle it out at the 55th London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
The Royal Court has emerged as the stand-out venue with 11 chances of a win. Two of its productions, Enron and Jerusalem, go head-to-head for best play, director and actor.
Weisz's return to the London stage, as Blanche DuBois in the Donmar's A Streetcar Named Desire, puts her in the running for best actress. She is up against Juliet Stevenson, who put in the performance of her career as a multiple sclerosis sufferer in Duet for One.
American Deanna Dunagan - who already has a Tony award for her performance in August: Osage County - and Penny Downie complete the shortlist of female stars announced today. Judges made special mention of Pauline Malefane in the joyous South African production of The Mysteries.
Henry, 51, finds himself pitted against contenders less than half his age as best newcomer, thanks to his belated stage debut as Othello, still running at Trafalgar Studios. In a battle of stage giants, best actor will be contested by four names who have repeatedly helped keep British theatre alight. Three-time Standard award winner Simon Russell Beale leads the charge for his Leontes in Sam Mendes's The Winter's Tale. He faces stiff competition from Ken Stott in Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge, Mark Rylance and Samuel West.
Rylance wins a place for his tragicomic performance as a West Country rebel in Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem. West is in the running for his depiction of Jeffrey Skilling, the fraudulent head of energy firm Enron in 28-year-old Lucy Prebble's play - only her second one.
Rising star Bertie Carvel won a mention in despatches for a wonderful unshowy performance in The Pride.
In the play category, August: Osage County - the Steppenwolf theatre company production seen at the National - and Punk Rock, a drama of adolescent angst by the prolific Simon Stephens, complete the list.
Rupert Goold, who directed Enron, and Ian Rickson, for Jerusalem, face competition for best director from Jeremy Herrin, for Tusk Tusk, and Anna D Shapiro for August: Osage County. The Menier Chocolate Factory's run of hit shows puts it in contention for best musical alongside two sparky young productions in Spring Awakening, the former Broadway hit that packed new audiences into the Lyric Hammersmith; the Young Vic's Been So Long; and the classic Hello, Dolly! at a rejuvenated Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.
The judges, a group of London's top critics, praised an especially strong year in design, including the immersive submarine experience of Kursk and the site-specific Mincemeat production from Cardboard Citizens.
The Charles Wintour award for most promising playwright, where Alexi Kaye Campbell faces competition from Alia Bano and Katori Hall, comes with cheques of £5,000 for the winner and £1,000 for the other contenders, jointly donated by Anna Wintour, daughter of the late Evening Standard editor, and Evgeny Lebedev, executive director of the London Evening Standard. Award winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House on 23 November presented by Kirsty Young.
Still in with a chance: The shortlist
Best Play
August: Osage County Tracy Letts (Steppenwolf/National)
Enron Lucy Prebble (Chichester/Royal Court/ Headlong)
Jerusalem Jez Butterworth (Royal Court)
Punk Rock Simon Stephens (Lyric Hammersmith)
Best Actor
Simon Russell Beale The Winter's Tale (Bridge Project/Old Vic)
Mark Rylance Jerusalem (Royal Court)
Ken Stott A View From The Bridge (Duke of York's)
Samuel West Enron (Royal Court)
The Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress
Deanna Dunagan August: Osage County (Steppenwolf/ National)
Penny Downie Helen (Shakespeare's Globe)
Juliet Stevenson Duet For One (Almeida/Vaudeville)
Rachel Weisz A Streetcar Named Desire (Donmar Warehouse)
Best Director
Rupert Goold Enron (Royal Court/ Headlong)
Jeremy Herrin Tusk Tusk (Royal Court)
Ian Rickson Jerusalem (Royal Court)
Anna D Shapiro August: Osage County (Steppenwolf/National)
The Ned Sherrin Award for Best Musical
A Little Night Music (Menier Chocolate Factory/Garrick)
Been So Long (ETT/Young Vic)
Hello, Dolly! (Open Air, Regent's Park)
Spring Awakening (Lyric Hammersmith/Novello)
Best Design
Jon Bausor Kursk (Sound&Fury, Fuel/Young Vic)
Miriam Buether Judgement Day (Almeida)
Mamoru Iriguchi Mincemeat (Cardboard Citizens/Cordy House, Shoreditch)
Ultz Jerusalem (Royal Court)
The Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright
Alia Bano Shades (Royal Court)
Katori Hall Mountaintop (Theatre 503 & Trafalgar Studios)
Alexi Kaye Campbell The Pride (Royal Court & Apologia/Bush)
The Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer
Naana Agyei-Ampadu Been So Long
(Young Vic)
Lenny Henry Othello (Northern Broadsides at Trafalgar Studios)
Bel Powley Tusk Tusk (Royal Court)
Tom Sturridge Punk Rock (Lyric Hammersmith)
Reader views (2)
Lenny Henry has become a pretty impressive performer over the years. A good comedian, he developed into a very good serious actor. In my opinion, he deserves the plaudits that have been coming his way.
- Rogan, Irving
How can anyone nominate Sam West's dull performance over Elliot Cowan in Streetcar? Crazy.
- Bemused, London
