THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, CHIMERICA & More Win Critics' Circle Theatre Awards

The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards just took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre, celebrating the 25th anniversary of these unique awards. Hosted by Critics' Circle Drama Section Chairman Mark Shenton, with regular guest speaker comedian Arthur Smith introducing proceedings, the ceremony is firmly established as a highlight of the theatrical calendar and, this year, marks a quarter of a century of recognising the best in British Theatre.

Since the Awards' inception in 1989 the theatre critics, have lauded the finest talent working in the UK theatre industry, as well as recognizing emerging talent; Sam Mendes, Rachel Weisz, Eddie Redmayne and Chiwetel Ejiofor have all been recipients of the Most Promising Newcomer award, before going on to receive their international acclaim.

Consisting entirely of respected and influential working journalists, The Critics' Circle Theatre Awards pride themselves on offering something unique on the packed theatre awards circuit: each member of the Drama Section independently casts their vote based on personal choice, free of any panel discussion or industry influence, ensuring a highly democratic voting process.

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best Actress- Lesley Manville in Ghosts (Almeida Theatre/Trafalgar Studios)

Best Actor- Lenny Henry in Fences (Theatre Royal Bath and tour/Duchess Theatre)

The Jack Tinker Award for Most Promising Newcomer other than a Playwright- Kate O'Flynn in Port (Lyttelton Theatre at the National)

The John and Wendy Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance- Rory Kinnear in Othello (Olivier Theatre at the National)

Best New Play- Chimerica by Lucy Kirkwood (Almeida Theatre/Harold Pinter Theatre)

The Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical- The Scottsboro Boys(Young Vic Theatre)

Best Director- Lyndsey Turner for Chimerica (Almeida Theatre/Harold Pinter Theatre)

Best Designer- Es Devlin for Chimerica (Almeida Theatre/Harold Pinter Theatre)

Most Promising Playwright- Phoebe Waller-Bridge for Fleabag(Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Soho Theatre) and Rory Kinnear for The Herd (Bush Theatre)