Theatre industry newspaper, The Stage, has announced the winners of its annual awards for achievement in the year 2014.
Producer of the year went to Sonia Friedman whose company saw no fewer than thirteen Olivier awards come its way during 2014. Current West End productions include The Book of Mormon, Sunny Afternoon, King Charles III and Shakespeare In Love.
The theatre building of the year prize went jointly to Paines Plough for its pop-up Roundabout Theatre and to Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre for its rebuild, with the Everyman also winning the school of the year prize for its Young Everyman Playhouse scheme.
Southampton's Nuffield Theatre received the prize for regional theatre of the year and Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s head of wardrobe Sue Nightingale won the Unsung Hero award.
In the capital, the Young Vic Theatre and the Park Theatre took away the London theatre of the year and fringe theatre of the year awards respectively.
A judging panel comprised of editor Alistair Smith, editors Matthew Hemley, Susan Elkin, AK Bennett-Hunter and Ian Herbert and critics Mark Shenton and Aleks Sierz chose the winners from nominations received from The Stage readership.
The 2015 awards list is:
- London Theatre of the Year – Young Vic Theatre
- Fringe Theatre of the Year – Park Theatre
- Regional Theatre of the Year – Nuffield, Southampton
- Theatre Building of the Year – Liverpool Everyman and Roundabout Theatre, Paines Plough
- Producer of the Year – Sonia Friedman Productions
- School of the Year – Young Everyman Playhouse, Liverpool
- International Year – Shakespeare’s Globe
- Unsung Hero Award – Sue Nightingale