The winners of this year's Stage Awards, presented by industry paper The Stage were announced at a ceremony at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane this week.
Sonia Friedman took away the prize for Producer of the Year for the second year in a row, whilst for the first time in the Awards' history the prize for Fringe Theatre of the Year went to a venue outside of London, Cardiff's the Other Room.
The Unsung Hero award went to Roger Miller for his work in saving the Felixstowe Spa Pavilion Theatre.
Alistair Smith, print editor of The Stage, said, “The Stage Awards are the only awards that recognise theatre at all scales and in all places, not just in the UK but across the world. Our winners come from London, Manchester, Cardiff and Felixstowe, but also China.
"Meanwhile, they range in scale from one of the world’s most high profile commercial producers—Sonia Friedman—to Roger Miller, a devoted stage manager who helped save his local theatre; from the National Theatre, the UK’s foremost publicly funded theatre, to Wales's first, tiny, pub theatre, which seats only 44 people and receives no funding.
"It’s been another great 12 months, and another really tricky set of decisions for our judging panel, and I’d like to congratulate all our winners and shortlisted organisations."
The winners are:
- Regional Theatre of the Year – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
- London Theatre of the Year – Almeida Theatre
- Fringe Theatre of the Year – The Other Room, Cardiff
- Producer of the Year – Sonia Friedman
- School of the Year – Arts Educational Schools London
- Theatre building of the Year – NT Future
- International Award – War Horse China
- Unsung Hero – Roger Miller
The Stage's print editor Alistair Smith and online editor Paddy Smith, news editor Matthew Hemley, associate editor Mark Shenton and lead critic Natasha Tripney made up the Awards panel, working with a list of public nominations steered by an industry focus group.