Marianne Elliott’s ground-breaking production of Company, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s legendary 1970 musical comedy about life, love and marriage, with a hotly anticipated gender-swapped story line, took home two awards at the 2018 Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards held today (29 January 2019) at London’s Prince of Wales Theatre – The Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical and Best Designer (Bunny Christie).
Drama Section Chair Mark Shenton said:
“Where other award ceremonies prioritise celebrity winners, see the industry rewarding itself or act as a public popularity contest, the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards alone are above the fray with their independence, judged by respected critics whose job it is to see theatre week in, week out, without fear or favour, and who have no other agenda than to celebrate excellence. Critics are invited to reward their favourite contributions to creative excellence equally across plays and musicals.”
The Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards is one of the best loved ceremonies in the theatre awards calendar. It’s an informal gathering of award recipients, drama critics, theatre practitioners and the media, convivially coming together to celebrate the critics’ selection of the best theatre, from throughout the UK, during the last calendar year.
Since the Awards’ inception in 1989, the theatre critics, consisting entirely of respected and influential working journalists, have prided 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 discussion or industry influence, ensuring a highly democratic voting process.
Comedian Arthur Smith opened proceedings in time-honoured fashion, and during the ceremony, Mark Shenton handed over the reins, after nine years at the helm of the theatre section, to incoming chairman Henry Hitchings, Chief Theatre Critic of the London Evening Standard, as Mark becomes President of the Critics’Circle for a two-year term.
The exclusive invited audience also enjoyed a special musical performance from Once on this Island by the British Theatre Academy.
For a third year, the Awards were produced by Terri Paddock.
Tickets for Company are available HERE.
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.