The Evening Standard Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre. Sponsored by the Evening Standard newspaper, they are announced in late November or early December.
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The trophies take the form of a strongly modelled statuette, a somewhat Grecian figure representing Drama, designed by Frank Dobson RA, a former Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art.
Three of the awards are given in the names of former Evening Standard notables:
In 1980, noting the first use of the Special Award category, Shulman observed that: "In 1968 the judges felt that Alan Bennett's work Forty Years On did not fit either the category of a Play or a Musical. But since they liked it so much they gave him the coveted Dobson statuette as a Special Award. In a quarter of a century, only in 1968 had no-one been designated as 'Promising' although it could conceivably be argued that Alan Bennett's Special Award was a reasonable substitute for this category."[1]
The Special Awards process came to a climax in 2004 when, in the 50th anniversary year, the category was used to signal peaks of accomplishment by the National Theatre (an institution), Harold Pinter (a playwright) and Dame Judi Dench (a performer).
The Patricia Rothermere Award, presented biennially, was established in 1999 to recognise those who have given outstanding support to young actors. There is also a three-year scholarship award for a drama student. Lady Rothermere is the wife of Lord Rothermere, chairman of the Daily Mail and General Trust, owners of the Evening Standard.
Commencing in 2007, the award for Best Musical was renamed The Ned Sherrin Award, in memory of the entertainer and raconteur, for many years the witty compere of the Evening Standard Awards ceremony.
The 2007 Awards lunchtime ceremony took place at the Savoy Hotel in London on 27 November, 2007. [2]. For the judges' assessments of the winners, see [2][3]
The "long list" of possible nominations for the 2008 Awards was announced on 4 November, 2008. [4] The "short list" of actual nominees was announced on 7 November 2008. [5] The winners will be announced in a ceremony at London's Royal Opera House on 24 November.
The list of winners provides a concise conspectus of London theatre in the second half of the 20th Century. Winners have been as follows.
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