Almeida Theatre and Hull City of Culture Among Winners of The Stage Awards 2018

Winners of The Stage Awards 2018, in association with Integro Insurance Brokers Ltd, were announced at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday, January 26, 2018.

The Almeida Theatre was named London Theatre of the Year, sponsored by Managed Networks, for the second time having previously won the award in 2016. The theatre was praised for productions including Hamlet starring Andrew Scott, Robert Icke's production of Mary Stuart and James Graham's new play Ink.

Sherman Theatre in Cardiff picked up the award for Regional Theatre of the Year, sponsored by Evolution Productions. The judging panel cited the Welsh theatre's superb productions of Killology and The Cherry Orchard, as well as its New Welsh Playwrights Programme.

The Fringe Theatre of the Year award, sponsored by encoreinsure.com, was presented to the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. The 120-seat theatre was nominated in the same category at last year's awards. A number of its musicals have transferred to London including Hair the Musical and Yank!.

Former National Theatre bosses Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr's new venue the Bridge Theatre won Theatre Building of the Year. The venue opened in October 2017 and represents London's first new commercial theatre of scale for four decades.

The Unsung Hero award, sponsored by White Light, went to Clare Ferraby. Ferraby is responsible for the interior design of more than 80 historic theatres since she began working on the Crucible in Sheffield 50 years ago. Theatres she has worked on include the London Palladium, the Lyceum, Wyndham's, Leeds Grand Theatre and Theatre Royal Nottingham. Ferraby has formed a close working relationship with Cameron Mackintosh, for whom she most recently refurbished the Victoria Palace Theatre, the current home of the West End production of Hamilton.

Cameron Mackintosh said, "Clare has been creating magical theatre spaces for over 50 years starting with the timeless Crucible Theatre. Since then, she has brought her extraordinary visual talents to over 80 theatres both in Britain and overseas. No one has greater knowledge of the superb British theatres designed by Matcham and Sprague. Over the last 25 years since I've been a theatre owner, I've had the good fortune of having Clare as both my colleague and inspiration in bringing these wonderful theatres back to life. My latest restoration of Matcham's masterpiece, the Victoria Palace could never have been achieved without her. This achievement is all the more extraordinary as she suffered a number of strokes shortly after we started working on the project, but indomitably, cane in hand, she managed to create an extraordinary colourful and exhilarating temple of theatrical magic and light that will certainly last for another hundred years. The Victoria Palace is arguably her finest achievement and we should all sing from the rafters a hymn of praise and thanks for what she's done for the British theatre."

Other winners included Hull City of Culture, the Royal Exchange Young Company, the Everyman Company in Liverpool, the Arcola Theatre in London and Imaginate for the Edinburgh International Children's Festival.

Alistair Smith, editor of The Stage and chair of the judging panel, said, "We have a wonderfully eclectic selection of winners - from the return of repertory theatre in Liverpool to a children's festival in Edinburgh to one of UK theatre's most talented, specialist craftspeople in Clare Ferraby. I'm also delighted that the awards have such a wide geographical spread - Manchester, Hull, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Liverpool are all represented, as well as London. Congratulations to all our winners."

The Stage Awards, in association with Integro Insurance Brokers Ltd, are decided by The Stage's senior editorial team, following extensive consultation with leading figures in the theatre industry and a public nomination process. The winners were announced on January 26, 2018 at a ceremony at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Previous winners of The Stage Awards include: the National Theatre, Sonia Friedman Productions, Shakespeare's Globe, Almeida Theatre, Royal Exchange Theatre, Young Vic Theatre, Michael Grandage Company, National Youth Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, Arts Educational Schools, Matthew Bourne's New Adventures and Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

The Stage Awards 2018 are presented in association with Integro Insurance Brokers Ltd. Category sponsors for this year's event include Ambassador Theatre Group, Charcoalblue, encoreinsure.com, Evolution Productions, GDS, PRG XL Video, Managed Networks, TodayTix and White Light.

Check out the full list of winners below:

Regional Theatre of the Year
Sponsored by Evolution Productions
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff

London Theatre of the Year
Sponsored by Managed Networks
Almeida Theatre

Fringe Theatre of the Year
Sponsored by encoreinsure.com
Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

Theatre Building of the Year
Bridge Theatre, London

Producer of the Year
Sponsored by PRG XL Video
Hull City of Culture

School of the Year
Sponsored by TodayTix
Royal Exchange Young Company

International Award
Sponsored by Ambassador Theatre Group
Imaginate for the Edinburgh International Children's Festival

Innovation Award
Sponsored by Charcoalblue
The Everyman Company, Liverpool

Sustainability Award
Sponsored by GDS
Arcola Theatre

Unsung Hero
Sponsored by White Light
Clare Ferraby

The Stage Awards highlight the achievements of theatre companies and individuals across the UK and globally.

• Nominations for the awards were open to organisations and the public from October-November.
• The nominations were supplemented by the views of a focus group of 30 influential industry figures and senior writers for The Stage.
• The shortlist and winners are decided by the judging panel. The judging panel for The Stage Awards comprises: Alistair Smith, Mark Shenton, Lyn Gardner, Matthew Hemley, Nick Clark and Natasha Tripney.
• The shortlist for each category (except Unsung Hero for which there is no shortlist) was announced in the December 14, 2017 issue of The Stage.
• Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony held on January 26, 2018 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London.

About The Stage

• Established in 1880, The Stage is a must read for those with an involvement or interest in the performing arts industry in the UK and beyond.
• The Stage offers nationwide theatre news, jobs, castings, reviews, and advice.
• The Stage is also responsible for the annual list of the 100 most influential people in theatre and the performing arts - The Stage 100, The Stage Awards, The Stage Debut Awards and The Stage Supports.
• The Stage newspaper is published every Thursday and is available to purchase for just £2.50 from newsagents around the country. It is also available as a digital edition via App on Android and Apple. The website (www.thestage.co.uk) is read by 550,000 unique users a month

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