Julianne Pundan wins for Best Performance in Musical at the UK Theatre Awards 2026. Picture: Danny Kaan
The winners of the UK Theatre Awards 2026 sponsored by Encore have been announced at a ceremony hosted by La Voix, which took place at 8 Northumberland Avenue. For over 30 years, this annual event has celebrated the creative excellence and outstanding achievements seen on and off stage throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Birmingham Rep’s Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street received Best Musical Production while Best Performance in a Musical went to Julianne Pundan for Miss Saigon (a Cameron Mackintosh production in association with Michael Harrison).
Theatr Clwyd was this year’s most-awarded venue, winning the sought-after UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre Award, as well as Excellence in Touring for Under Milk Wood. In further success for Wales, Our Town – a co-production between Rose Theatre and Michael Sheen’s Welsh National Theatre – won Best Play Revival.
Best New Play was awarded to The Last Stand Of Mrs. Mary Whitehouse (a Nottingham Playhouse, Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Kate Pakenham Productions co-production).
Completing the production awards, this year’s Best Show for Children & Young People was Beauty and the Beast (a Citizens Theatre production).
Elsewhere in the on stage categories, Adrian Lester took home the award for Best Performance in a Play for Cyrano De Bergerac (a Royal Shakespeare Company production) and Gloria Obianyo received the award for Best Supporting Performance (in a Musical or Play) for As You Like It, part of the Ralph Fiennes season at Theatre Royal Bath.
Best Musical Production Sweeney Todd at Birmingham Rep. Picture: Manuel Harlan
The creatives recognised this year were Tom Littler, winning Best Director for Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing (a Guildford Shakespeare Company and Orange Tree Theatre co-production) and Ceci Calf won Best Design for the Set and Costume Design of The Assassination Of Margaret Thatcher (a Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse production). Rounding off the on stage awards, Yorke Dance Project won Achievement in Dance for Modern Milestones, and Achievement in Opera went to English Touring Opera for the ambition and breadth of their programming in venues across the country.
Joining Theatr Clwyd in the off stage categories, winning venues were Buxton Opera House – receiving the Excellence in Arts Education award for Connecting For Creativity, The Theatre Chipping Norton for Excellence in Inclusivity, Mercury Theatre for Excellence in Sustainability and Blackpool Grand Theatre for Excellence in Workforce Culture.
As previously announced, Jodie Comer was the recipient of the inaugural Outstanding Achievement in British Theatre Award for her work on the UK tour of Prima Facie, and the late Alan Finch CBE was honoured at the ceremony, with his family accepting the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award on his behalf, recognising his extraordinary contribution to the industry both regionally and nationally.
Claire Walker and Hannah Essex, co-CEOs of Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, said: “This year’s UK Theatre Awards were a wonderful celebration of the creativity, talent, and dedication found across our industry. From outstanding productions and performances to the vital work happening behind the scenes in venues around the country, it’s fantastic to see such a diverse range of work recognised and celebrated.
“Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and nominees, whose achievements demonstrate the extraordinary contribution theatre makes to audiences and communities across the UK. Our thanks also go to our sponsors and partners for their continued support.”
Full list of winners and nominees for the UK Theatre Awards 2026:
Best Musical Production sponsored by Tysers Live
WINNER: Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a Birmingham Rep production
NOMINATED:
Calendar Girls The Musical, a Stephen Joseph Theatre, Theatre by the Lake, New Wolsey Theatre and Octagon Theatre Bolton co-production
The High Life – The Musical: Still Living It!, a National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep Theatre co-production in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Capital Theatres
Kiss of the Spider Woman, a Curve, Bristol Old Vic and Mayflower Southampton co-production
Best New Play sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance
WINNER: The Last Stand Of Mrs. Mary Whitehouse, a Nottingham Playhouse, Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Kate Pakenham Productions co-production
NOMINATED:
Black Sheep, a curious directive production at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds and New Wolsey Theatre
The Manningtree Witches, a Mercury Original in association with Frantic Assembly, supported by Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions and Mark Gordon Pictures
Best Play Revival
WINNER: Our Town, a Rose Theatre and Welsh National Theatre co-production
NOMINATED:
Road, a Royal Exchange Theatre production
Small Island, a Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse co-production in association with Actors Touring Company
Best Director
WINNER: Tom Littler for Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing, a Guildford Shakespeare Company and Orange Tree Theatre co-production
NOMINATED:
Abigail Graham for Living, a Sheffield Theatres production
Emma Jordan for The Human Voice, a Prime Cut Productions production at Lyric Theatre Belfast
Best Performance in a Musical
WINNER: Julianne Pundan for Miss Saigon, a Cameron Mackintosh production in association with Michael Harrison
NOMINATED:
Hadley Fraser for My Fair Lady, a Chichester Festival Theatre production
Annette McLaughlin for Follies, a Northern Ireland Opera production at Grand Opera House, Belfast
Kathy Bourne speaks about Alan Finch CBE (Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre) at the UK Theatre Awards 2026. Picture: Pamela Raith
Best Performance in a Play
WINNER: Adrian Lester for Cyrano De Bergerac, a Royal Shakespeare Company production
NOMINATED:
Isis Hainsworth for Measure For Measure, a Royal Shakespeare Company production
Katie Redford and Benedict Salter for Scenes From a Friendship, a Nottingham Playhouse production
Best Supporting Performance (in a Musical or Play)
WINNER: Gloria Obianyo for As You Like It, as part of the Ralph Fiennes/Theatre Royal Bath season
NOMINATED:
Ash Hunter for The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights, a Papatango Theatre Company and Park Theatre co-production
Lydia Louise for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a Watermill Theatre production
Best Design
WINNER: Ceci Calf (Set and Costume Design) for The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, a Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse production
NOMINATED:
Jenny Booth (Set and Costume Design), Garry Boyle (Sound Design), Daniel Hughes (Creative Captioning) and Emma Jones (Lighting Design) for The Singer, a Dundee Rep Theatre and Solar Bear co-production in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts
Terry Parsons (Set Design) for Jack and Sarah, a The Mill at Sonning production
Best Show for Children & Young People
WINNER: Beauty and the Beast, a Citizens Theatre production
NOMINATED:
No Such Thing As Wolves, a Birmingham Hippodrome production
Treasure Island, a Bristol Old Vic production
Achievement in Dance
WINNER: Yorke Dance Project for Modern Milestones
NOMINATED:
National Dance Company Wales for Surge | Gwefr
Scottish Ballet for Mary, Queen of Scots
Achievement in Opera
WINNER: English Touring Opera for the ambition and breadth of their programming in venues across the country
NOMINATED:
Jack Furness for his direction of The Flying Dutchman by Welsh National Opera
Scottish Opera for their commitment to championing new work through their productions of The Galloping Cure and The Great Wave
Excellence in Arts Education
WINNER: Connecting For Creativity, Buxton Opera House
NOMINATED:
Shine, Curve and the Randal Foundation
Talking Tales, Polka Theatre
Excellence in Touring sponsored by Theatre Tokens
WINNER: Under Milk Wood, Theatr Clwyd
NOMINATED:
Caroline: A New Musical, East Anglian Touring Consortium
Gentleman Jack, Northern Ballet
Excellence in Inclusivity
WINNER: The Theatre Chipping Norton
NOMINATED:
National Youth Theatre
The Welcome Project, Northern Stage
Excellence in Sustainability
WINNER: Mercury Theatre
NOMINATED:
The Old Vic, Backstage
Theatr Clwyd
Excellence in Workforce Culture
WINNER: Blackpool Grand Theatre
NOMINATED:
Swindon Theatres
Wales Millennium Centre
UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre sponsored by Encore
WINNER: Theatr Clwyd
NOMINATED:
Nottingham Playhouse
Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds
Outstanding Achievement in British Theatre
Jodie Comer
Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre
Alan Finch CBE
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