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Paddington has become the first new West End musical to land nine awards at the WhatsOnStage awards.
The much-loved bear’s first appearance on the boards has wowed critics and delighted audiences since it opened in December, and it is now one of the three most awarded shows in the WhatsOnStage ceremony’s history – alongside Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Miss Saigon – as well as the most lauded new musical.
The Guardian’s theatre critic Arifa Akbar praised the state-of-the-art animatronics that bring the bear to life, along with some “marvellous songs about marmalade”.
She said: “This is the new Mary Poppins: a well-known story imaginatively staged, immaculately performed and utterly winning.”
At the 26th edition of the awards, voted for by theatregoers, the latest interpretation of Evita, the musical charting the rise of populism in 1940s Buenos Aires, secured five awards, including best performer for Rachel Zegler. The actor and singer has won plaudits for her depiction of President Juan Perón’s wife, including a celebrated off-stage balcony scene in which she sings Don’t Cry For Me Argentina to passersby on the streets instead of to paying customers.
Although the winners’ list was dominated by musicals, Richard II at the Bridge theatre in Bermondsey was the biggest winner in the straight play categories, with two wins including best play revival. Jonathan Bailey won best performer in a play for his portrayal of the “cocaine-snorting king of misrule”, beating off stiff competition from TV stars Ncuti Gatwa (Born with Teeth), Tom Hiddleston (Much Ado About Nothing) and Rosamund Pike (Inter Alia).
Crowning its 40th year, Les Misérables, the West End’s longest-running musical, won the prestigious best West End show award, while best regional production went to 13 Going on 30: The Musical at the Opera House in Manchester. The Hope Mill’s production of Young Frankenstein taking best studio production.
The best new play award went to The Comedy About Spies by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields, produced by Mischief, the comedy play production house best known for West End stalwart The Play That Goes Wrong.
Stephen Fry took home best supporting performer in a play for The Importance of Being Earnest, while Amber Davies won best supporting performer in a musical for The Great Gatsby, and Emma Kingston secured best takeover for Elphaba in Wicked.
The inaugural best child performance category was won for the portrayal of Young Thomas in The Land of the Living at the National Theatre, a role shared by Platon Filatov, Darcy Tosun, Anton Vehring and Artie Wilkinson-Hunt.
WhatsOnStage’s Darius Thompson and Alex Wood said: “The voters really did look after that Bear. Paddington’s record-setting awards haul has firmly cemented it as a fan-favourite new addition to the West End.
“A big thank you to everyone that nominated, voted and campaigned for their favourite shows and performers – the wealth of excitement around these awards highlights the unwavering passion and love for theatre that brings punters to venues night after night.”
Alongside winning best new musical, Paddington landed best professional debut performance (Timi Akinyosade) and best direction (Luke Sheppard), along with gongs for its technical team including best set design (Tom Pye), best costume design (Gabriella Slade and Tahra Zafar, the latter of whom designed the animatronic bear), best sound design (Gareth Owen), best wigs, hair and makeup design for Campbell Young Associates, best musical supervision and direction (Matt Brind) and best casting direction (Natalie Gallacher CDG).
Evita won best musical revival, best choreography (Fabian Aloise), best lighting (Jon Clark) and best video design (Jamie Lloyd, Nick Ward and David Anderson).
The playwright James Graham was awarded the services to UK theatre award. His new play Punch has won acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, while his adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s Boys from the Blackstuff was recently staged at Liverpool Royal Court and the National Theatre. His play Make It Happen debuted at Dundee Rep and the Edinburgh international festival, and a TV adaptation of his celebrated work Dear England is in production at the BBC.
