Connect with us

Published

on

Spending a fair chunk on going to see your favourite big artist is not new – but it certainly feels like concert prices have entered a new stratosphere.

Fans of Bruce Springsteen have paid upwards of £120 for “rear pitch” standing tickets for his May 2024 tour, while some expressed disappointment recently over the £145 price tag of standing tickets for Billie Eilish’s 2025 UK leg.

And while you could have nabbed Beyonce or Taylor Swift tickets in the UK for £50 (before fees) if you took a “nosebleed” seat, these had limited availability and quickly sold out. General admission standing tickets for Swift’s Eras tour – which comes to the UK next week – started at £110.40 and those at the front had to shell out £172.25. It didn’t stop there – by the time many fans got to the front of the online ticket queue, the only tickets left cost upwards of £300.

So what’s behind rising ticket costs? The Money blog investigates some of the reasons…

Fans willing to pay for big spectacles

Simply put, ticket prices would come down if people voted with their feet.

Matt Hanner, booking agent and operations director at Runway, said prices at the top level had “risen considerably” – but the increase was partly being driven by demand.

“We’re seeing a lot more stadium shows, greenfield, outdoor festival-type shows which are now a staple of towns around the country,” he said.

“There’s a growing number of people that are happy to spend a large chunk of their disposable income on going to a major music event.”

Read more:
‘Heartsick’ Jennifer Lopez cancels tour
Mike Tyson v Jake Paul bout postponed
Model sues Cannes Film Festival over alleged red carpet assault

Jon Collins, chief executive of LIVE, the trade body representing the UK’s live music industry, had a similar view.

He said there were more large-scale shows and tours now than ever, and there was “massive appetite” among music lovers for “bigger spectacles”.

Fancy shows mean higher costs – with staffing, the price of the venue, transport, artists’ needs, insurance and loads more to factor in.

Of course, all these things are affected by inflation. Collins said ticket prices also factored in the rising costs that had hit every venue from the grassroots scene to major arenas.

“You’ve got a couple of different factors – you’ve got the spectacle of the show and the production cost and everything that goes into the ticket price. But then you’ve also got the fundamentals,” he said.

The cost of venue hire has increased “significantly” in the past couple of years due to electricity and gas price rises, he added.

“You’ve got the increase in the cost of people… very justifiable costs like increases in minimum wage and living wage. At every stage of the process we’ve got these cost increases that will all push through the pressure on the ticket price.”

Beyonce performing in Cardiff. Pic: Cover Images via AP
Image:
Beyonce performing in Cardiff. Pic: Cover Images via AP

Are artists being greedy?

How much money artists really earn off live touring is of interest to many – but the music industry is generally reluctant to release details.

The people we spoke to suggested it was not as simple as artist greed because, as we mentioned earlier, there’s a lot to pay for before anything reaches their bank accounts.

The Guardian spoke to anonymous insiders about this topic in 2017. Its report suggested that between 50-70% of gross earnings were left for promoters and artists. The piece also cited a commonly quoted figure that the promoter takes 15% of what is left and the act will get 85%.

It all depends on the calibre of the artist and how much work the promoter has had to put in – they could end up with a bigger share if it was a hard push to get the show sold.

The people we spoke to said music acts and their teams would discuss the ticket price, and the bigger the act, the more sway they have – but it’s ultimately set by the promoter.

Taylor Swift – arguably the biggest popstar on the planet right now – is personally earning between $10m and $13m (£8m – £10.5m) on every stop of her Eras Tour, according to Forbes. She is reported to take home a whopping 85% of all revenue from the tour.

But it’s worth pointing out, too, that she’s been known to be generous with her cash, having given $100,000 bonuses to the dozens of lorry drivers working on the tour.

What have other artists said?

Some artists have been critical of the high ticket prices being demanded by others.

Tom Grennan told ITV two years ago that he had seen “loads of artists putting tickets out that are way too expensive for the times that we are in”, adding that he wanted people to enjoy shows without worrying if they could pay their bills.

Singer-songwriter Paul Heaton was also praised for capping ticket prices for his tour with Jacqui Heaton at £30 in a bid to tackle music industry “greed” and help people during the cost of living.

British star Yungblud recently announced his own music festival, Bludfest – saying the industry was too expensive and needed to be “shaken up”.

“I believe that gigs are too expensive, festivals are too expensive, and I just wanted to work to create something that has been completely done by me,” he told Sky News.

Read more:
Think twice before buying your holiday clothes from Zara
Can my mortgage lender end my two-year fix if I haven’t been in the house for two years?

Meanwhile, frequent Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff has said “dynamic pricing” by ticket sale sites such as Ticketmaster was also an issue when it came to cost.

He told Stereogum that he wanted artists to be able to opt out of the system – which basically means ticket prices increase when a show is in demand – and be able to sell them at the price they choose.

On its website, Ticketmaster describes its “Platinum” tickets as those that have their price adjusted according to supply and demand.

It says the goal of the dynamic pricing system is to “give fans fair and safe access to the tickets, while enabling artists and other people involved in staging live events to price tickets closer to their true market value”.

The company claims it is artists, their teams and promoters who set pricing and choose whether dynamic pricing is used for their shows.

Coldplay's 2022 tour. Pic: PA
Image:
Coldplay’s 2022 tour. Pic: PA

Ticketing website fees

As well as dynamic pricing, “sneaky” fees by online ticket sites are also causing issues for live music lovers, according to the consumer champion Which?.

A report from the group last month said an array of fees that isn’t seen until checkout can add around 20% to the cost of concert and festival tickets.

Which? has urged a crackdown on the “bewildering” extra charges, which include booking, “delivery” and “transaction” fees, venue charges and sometimes charges for e-tickets.

The Cure lead singer Robert Smith tweeted that he was “sickened” after fans complained last year about processing fees on Ticketmaster that wound up costing more than the ticket itself in some cases.

Responding to the Which? findings, Ticketmaster (which was far from the only company named) said: “Fees are typically set by and shared with our clients… who all invest their skill, resource and capital into getting an event off the ground. Ticketmaster supports legislation that requires all-in pricing across the industry.”

Live Nation and Ticketmaster sued over ‘dominance’

The US government is suing Ticketmaster owner Live Nation over allegations the company is “monopolising” the live events industry.

Justice department officials said it was unfair for the firm to control around 70% of primary ticketing for concerts in America.

Live Nation has been accused of using lengthy contracts to prevent venues from choosing rival ticket companies, blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers and threatening venues that they could lose money and support if Ticketmaster wasn’t the chosen seller.

Live Nation said the lawsuit reflected a White House that had turned over competition enforcement “to a populist urge that simply rejects how antitrust law works”.

“Some call this ‘anti-monopoly’, but in reality it is just anti-business,” it said.

And it said its share of the market had been shrinking and its profit margin of 1.4% was the “opposite of monopoly power”.

The lawsuit “won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees and access to in-demand shows”, the company said.

“We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists.”

Billie Eilish performs in Paris. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Billie Eilish performs in Paris. Pic: Reuters

As well as reportedly controlling most of the ticketing market, Live Nation also owns and represents some acts and venues.

Canadian artist Dan Mangan told Moneywise this was enabling the company to take “more and more of the pie”.

He said when venue rent, equipment and other costs were taken into account, lesser known artists could take as little as 20% of ticket sales.

VAT

Another major cost on tickets in the UK is VAT (value added tax).

At 20%, it’s pretty hefty. It was brought down to 5% and then 12.5% as the live music industry was hampered by COVID, but returned to the pre-pandemic level in April 2022.

The charge puts the UK “out of step” with other countries, Collins said.

“In competitive major markets like France, it’s 5%. Germany it’s 7%, Italy it’s 10%. Sales tax in the US is typically 6% or 7%. So we are significantly out of step with other markets when it comes to how much VAT we charge on tickets,” he said.

Touring now bigger source of income for major stars

With the decline of physical products and the rise of subscription listening, artists are earning less from making music – and income from live shows has become more important for the biggest stars.

Writer and broadcaster Paul Stokes said major stars who would have toured infrequently in the past were now willing to put on more shows as it becomes increasingly profitable.

Some artists will even pencil in multiple nights at huge venues like Wembley Arena, he said – something that wouldn’t have been considered two decades ago.

“When Wembley was built and they said ‘we’ll be doing regular shows’ you’d think ‘are there acts big enough to fill this massive stadium?’

“It’s become absolutely part of the live calendar that artists will come and play not just one night at Wembley, but two or three every every summer.”

Stokes said this demand has also prompted the scale of shows that we’ve become used to seeing, featuring expensive production and pyrotechnics.

Pic: iStock
Image:
Pic: iStock

Not being felt evenly

While a night out seeing a platinum-selling artist is likely to be an expensive affair, industry figures are also keen to point out that the escalation in ticket prices isn’t necessarily happening at a lower level.

Collins said that while major stars were putting on arena shows, there would be plenty of other live music taking place at the same time, “from the free pub gig to the £10 ticket at the grassroots venue, to the £30 mid-cap”.

“There’s an absolute range of opportunities for people to experience live music, from free through to experiencing the biggest stars on the planet,” he said.

But concertgoers choosing to save their cash for artists they’re more familiar with may have led to a “suppression” of prices for lesser-known acts, Hanner noted.

“Everyone’s short of disposable income because there’s a cost of living crisis. [Artists’ and promoters’] core costs are going up as well, so it’s more expensive for everyone. That fear of pricing people out is just being compounded,” he said.

“I think [that] has definitely led to prices being suppressed [at the lower level], when really they should have been going up.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Jay-Z sues woman who accused him of rape before dropping claim

Published

on

By

Jay-Z sues woman who accused him of rape before dropping claim

Jay-Z has sued the woman who accused him of raping her, in a now-withdrawn complaint.

Sky News’ US partner NBC News reported the 55-year-old music mogul had launched a defamation lawsuit against the woman.

The American rapper reportedly said the woman and the lawyers representing her “were soullessly motivated by greed, in abject disregard of the truth” and alleged that they caused harm to his personal and professional reputation.

Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, is reported to have filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Alabama, where the woman, referred to in the lawsuit only as “Jane Doe”, lives.

The initial allegation made by the woman centred on Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.

It was withdrawn with prejudice last month – meaning it cannot be brought back to court.

At the time the lawsuit was withdrawn, Jay-Z said: “Today is a victory. These frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed.

“The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims. I would not wish this experience on anyone.”

In her lawsuit, in New York, the woman originally accused Carter and Combs of raping her at an after party following the 2000 MTV Music Video Awards.

His lawsuit cited inconsistencies in the woman’s account that were reported by NBC News.

This reportedly included claiming her father had picked her up for a ride home, but him saying he didn’t recall making the drive – of more than five hours – at the time.

She also claimed to speak to musician Benji Madden at the party, but a representative for Madden said that neither Benji nor his brother Joel attended the 2000 VMAs and that they were on tour in the Midwest at the time, NBC News added.

Jay-Z is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.

However, in a separate legal filing Monday, the woman said she was sticking with her story, NBC News reported.

Read more from Sky News:
Another broadcaster featured Hamas official’s son
Dolly Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years dies
Comedy ‘super producer’ dies after accident abroad

Combs is currently in prison awaiting a scheduled 5 May criminal trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges.

He still faces dozens of other civil lawsuits by women and men who have accused him of sexual assault and other misconduct.

Combs has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case and has maintained his innocence in all the cases.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

BBC apologises over controversial Gaza documentary, with chairman calling it ‘a dagger to the heart’

Published

on

By

BBC apologises over controversial Gaza documentary, with chairman calling it 'a dagger to the heart'

The BBC has called the ongoing controversy over a documentary on Gaza a “really, really bad moment”, admitting the film’s failings are “a dagger to the heart” of the corporation’s impartiality.

Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone was pulled from iPlayer and will not be broadcast on channels again after it emerged that the child narrator is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, who has worked as Hamas’s deputy minister of agriculture.

Last week, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called an “urgent meeting” with the corporation over the film.

BBC director-general Tim Davie and BBC chairman Samir Shah were questioned by MPs during a Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Mr Shah told committee members: “This is a really, really bad moment. It’s is a dagger to the heart of the BBC claim to be impartial and to be trustworthy.”

He said questions over “what went wrong” were asked “on day one” following the programme’s transmission.

He went on: “To my shock, I think that we found that there were serious failings on both sides, on the independent production side as well, as well as on the BBC side.”

More on Bbc

Mr Shah said an interim report commissioned by the BBC found “it wasn’t so much the processes were at fault as people weren’t doing their job”.

Mr Shah said he believed the problem was confined to this programme, adding: “On this story we’re examining the how and why, the compliance that determines did not take place.”

However, he also said he thought an independent review into how the BBC covers stories in the Middle East should also be carried out independently.

BBC director general Tim Davie  and BBC chairman Samir Shah answering questions at the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.
Pic: PA
Image:
BBC director general Tim Davie and chairman Samir Shah. Pic: PA

Tim Davie said there was “a lot of frustration and disappointment” over the film, adding: “We’re very sorry to the audience.”

Read more:
Starmer faces calls for UK’s role in Gaza war to be scrutinised
Hamas rejects Israeli request to extend first phase of Gaza ceasefire deal

‘We were not told’

How To Survive A Warzone was made on commission by independent production company Hoyo Films, and features 13-year-old Abdullah al Yazouri, who speaks about life in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas.

Mr Davie said there were specific questions asked around Abdullah’s father, and the BBC “found out that we were not told”.

He went on: “At that point, quite quickly, I lost trust in that film. Therefore, I took the decision quite quickly to take it off iPlayer while we do this deep dive.”

Mr Davie said removing the film from iPlayer had been “a very tough decision”.

Discussing whether or not the family involved in the film had been paid for their work, he said: “As I understand it today, the BBC has only made one payment. This was for a licence fee, to the programme maker.”

He said an initial assessment of the economics had showed “that there was a small payment to the sister… It’s totally normal payment because the boy recorded the narration. He went to a studio to do it.”

Describing the fallout as “damaging”, Mr Davie said he believes “overall trust in BBC news remains very high”.

He went on: “We’re not losing all context here. This was a serious failing. But we have trust numbers that we’re very proud of, we’re the most trusted brand in the world. And part of what we do to earn that trust… is actually be highly transparent and go through enormous processes when we fail like this to show how we’re going to fix it.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

What’s next as the ceasefire deal ends?

Mr Davie says he has “fast-tracked” the review “out of the news department”, where it will be overseen by Peter Johnson, BBC Director, Editorial Complaints and Reviews.

Media watchdog Ofcom sent a letter to the BBC flagging their “ongoing concerns” about the “nature and gravity” of the documentary on Monday, which Mr Shah said he “welcomed”.

The Metropolitan Police said: “Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are currently assessing whether any police action is required” in relation to the documentary.

Complaints from both sides

Hoyo Films said in a statement: “We are co-operating fully with the BBC and Peter Johnston (director of editorial complaints and reviews) to help understand where mistakes have been made.

“We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors – who have no say in the war – should have their voices heard.”

Last week, protesters gathered outside Broadcasting House in London claiming the BBC had aired Hamas propaganda.

The BBC also faced criticism in pulling the documentary, with Gary Lineker, Anita Rani, Riz Ahmed and Miriam Margoyles among more than 500 media figures who had condemned the action.

In an open letter addressed to Mr Davie, Dr Shah and outgoing chief content officer Charlotte Moore, hundreds of TV and film professionals and journalists called the decision to remove the documentary “politically motivated censorship”.

Following the committee session, Artists for Palestine UK, the group that published the letter, accused Mr Davie and Mr Shah of “throwing Palestinian children under the bus”, questioning how the corporation would safeguard the young people who appeared in the documentary.

In a statement, the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism accused the BBC of “marking its own homework”, adding: “No other broadcaster would be permitted this latitude, and no other regulated industry would allow this.”

They also called for the licence fee to be suspended pending an independent investigation into the documentary.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Olivier Awards: Adrien Brody gets first nomination days after Oscar win

Published

on

By

Olivier Awards: Adrien Brody gets first nomination days after Oscar win

Nominations for the Olivier Awards, British theatre’s most prestigious honours, have been announced.

Following his second Oscar win at the weekend, Adrien Brody is nominated for best actor, for his performance in The Fear Of 13 – a play based on the real-life story of a man who spent 22 years on death row for a rape and murder that he did not commit.

Fellow US stars Billy Crudup and John Lithgow are up against him in the category, along with UK stars Paapa Essiedu and Mark Strong.

Brody, Crudup, Essiedu and Lithgow are all first-time nominees.

In the best actress category, The Crown star Lesley Manville is up against Meera Syal, Indira Varma, Heather Agyepong and Rosie Sheehy.

Manville and Varma both nominated for playing the same role in different productions of the Greek mythology classic Oedipus

Fiddler On The Roof is this year’s most nominated production, with 13 nods.

More on Adrien Brody

It’s up for best musical revival, with old favourites including Oliver!, Hello Dolly and Starlight Express.

Starlight Express. Pic: SOLT
Image:
Starlight Express. Pic: SOLT

In the musical theatre performing categories, John Dagleish is up for best actor for his role in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, a decade after his last win.

He’s up against Myles Frost, Simon Lipkin, Jamie Muscato and Adam Dannheisser.

Four-time Olivier winner Imelda Staunton is up for best actress in a musical for her role in Hello Dolly!, her 14th Olivier nomination and her eighth in the category.

She’s competing against Lara Pulver, Chumisa Dornford-May, Lauren Drew and Clare Foster.

Why Am I So Single? Pic: SOLT
Image:
Why Am I So Single? Pic: SOLT

Best new play includes Brody’s The Fear Of 13, along with Kyoto, Shifters, Giant and The Years.

Giant and The Years are tied for most nominated play this year with five apiece.

Gina McKee is nominated for best actress in a supporting role, alongside Romola Garai who is double nominated in the same category for her roles in Giant and The Years.

Actress Sharon D Clarke makes up the category.

And in best supporting actor, Ben Whishaw will be battling it out against Jorge Bosch, Tom Edden, and Elliot Levey.

Sunset Boulevard was the big winner at last year’s Olivier Awards, taking home seven gongs and equalling the record for the most prizes for a musical at the ceremony.

The 2025 Olivier Awards will take place on Sunday 6 April at the Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Beverley Knight and Billy Porter.

MJ The Musical. Pic: SOLT
Image:
MJ The Musical. Pic: SOLT

Full list of nominations:

Mastercard Best New Musical

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, music & lyrics by Darren Clark, book & lyrics by Jethro Compton at Ambassadors Theatre

MJ The Musical, book by Lynn Nottage at Prince Edward Theatre

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812, music, lyrics & book by Dave Malloy at Donmar Warehouse

Why Am I So Single?, music, lyrics & book by Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss at Garrick Theatre

Blue-i Theatre Technology Award for Best Set Design

Jon Bausor for Set Design, Toby Olié & Daisy Beattie for Puppetry Design and Satoshi Kuriyama for Projection Design for Spirited Away at London Coliseum

Frankie Bradshaw for Set Design for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier

Es Devlin for Set Design for Coriolanus at National Theatre – Olivier

Tom Scutt for Set Design for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

White Light Award for Best Lighting Design

Paule Constable & Ben Jacobs for Oliver! at Gielgud Theatre

Howard Hudson for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Howard Hudson for Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

Aideen Malone for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

TAIT Award for Best New Opera Production

Duke Bluebeard’s Castle by English National Opera at London Coliseum

Festen by The Royal Opera at Royal Opera House

L’Olimpiade by Irish National Opera & The Royal Opera at Royal Opera House

The Tales Of Hoffmann by The Royal Opera at Royal Opera House

Outstanding Achievement in Opera

Aigul Akhmetshina for her performance in Carmen at Royal Opera House

Allan Clayton for his performance in Festen at Royal Opera House

Jung Young-doo for his direction of Lear at Barbican Theatre

Best Family Show

Brainiac Live at Marylebone Theatre

Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas at Apollo Theatre

The Nutcracker at Polka Theatre

Rough Magic at Shakespeare’s Globe – Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre

Animal Farm at Theatre Royal Stratford East by George Orwell, adapted by Tatty Hennessy

Boys On The Verge Of Tears by Sam Grabiner at Soho Theatre

English by Sanaz Toossi at Kiln Theatre

Now, I See by Lanre Malaolu at Theatre Royal Stratford East

What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander at Marylebone Theatre

Best New Dance Production

Assembly Hall by Kidd Pivot, Crystal Pite & Jonathon Young at Sadler’s Wells

Frontiers: Choreographers Of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner by The National Ballet Of Canada at Sadler’s Wells

Theatre Of Dreams by Hofesh Shechter Company at Sadler’s Wells

An Untitled Love by A.I.M by Kyle Abraham at Sadler’s Wells

Outstanding Achievement in Dance

Sarah Chun for her performance in Three Short Ballets at Royal Opera House – Linbury Theatre

Tom Visser for his lighting design of Angels’ Atlas as part of Frontiers: Choreographers Of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner at Sadler’s Wells

Eva Yerbabuena for her performance in Yerbagüena at Sadler’s Wells

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Jorge Bosch for Kyoto at @sohoplace

Tom Edden for Waiting For Godot at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Elliot Levey for Giant at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Ben Whishaw for Bluets at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Sharon D Clarke for The Importance Of Being Earnest at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Romola Garai for Giant at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Romola Garai for The Years at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Gina McKee for The Years at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer

Matthew Bourne for Oliver! at Gielgud Theatre

Julia Cheng for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Hofesh Shechter for Oedipus at The Old Vic

Christopher Wheeldon for MJ The Musical at Prince Edward Theatre

Best Costume Design

Hugh Durrant for Robin Hood at The London Palladium

Sachiko Nakahara for Spirited Away at London Coliseum

Tom Scutt for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Gabriella Slade for Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

d&b audiotechnik Award for Best Sound Design

Nick Lidster for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Christopher Shutt for Oedipus at The Old Vic

Thijs van Vuure for The Years at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Koichi Yamamoto for Spirited Away at London Coliseum

Outstanding Musical Contribution

Mark Aspinall for Musical Supervision & Additional Orchestrations for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Darren Clark for Music Supervision, Orchestrations & Arrangements and Mark Aspinall for Musical Direction, Music Supervision, Orchestrations & Arrangements for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors Theatre

Dave Malloy for Orchestrations and Nicholas Skilbeck for Musical Supervision for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Asaf Zohar for Compositions and Gavin Sutherland for Dance Arrangements & Orchestration for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Liv Andrusier for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Amy Di Bartolomeo for The Devil Wears Prada at Dominion Theatre

Beverley Klein for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Maimuna Memon for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Andy Nyman for Hello, Dolly! at The London Palladium

Raphael Papo for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Layton Williams for Titanique at Criterion Theatre

Tom Xander for Mean Girls at Savoy Theatre

Noël Coward Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play

Ballet Shoes adapted by Kendall Feaver at National Theatre – Olivier

Inside No 9 Stage/Fright by Steve Pemberton & Reece Shearsmith at Wyndham’s Theatre

Spirited Away adapted by John Caird & co-adapted by Maoko Imai at London Coliseum

Titanique by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle & Constantine Rousouli at Criterion Theatre

Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director

Eline Arbo for The Years at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Jordan Fein for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Nicholas Hytner for Giant at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Robert Icke for Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best Actress

Heather Agyepong for Shifters at Duke of York’s Theatre

Lesley Manville for Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre

Rosie Sheehy for Machinal at The Old Vic

Meera Syal for A Tupperware Of Ashes at National Theatre – Dorfman

Indira Varma for Oedipus at The Old Vic

Best Actor

Adrien Brody for The Fear Of 13 at Donmar Warehouse

Billy Crudup for Harry Clarke at Ambassadors Theatre

Paapa Essiedu for Death Of England: Delroy at @sohoplace

John Lithgow for Giant at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Mark Strong for Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre

Cunard Best Revival

The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Machinal by Sophie Treadwell at The Old Vic

Oedipus by Robert Icke at Wyndham’s Theatre

Waiting For Godot by Samuel Beckett at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Piper-Heidsieck Award for Best Musical Revival

Fiddler On The Roof, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Hello, Dolly!, music & lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart at The London Palladium

Oliver!, book, music & lyrics by Lionel Bart, new material & revisions by Cameron Mackintosh at Gielgud Theatre

Starlight Express, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Richard Stilgoe at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre

Best Actor in a Musical

John Dagleish for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors Theatre

Adam Dannheisser for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Myles Frost for MJ The Musical at Prince Edward Theatre

Simon Lipkin for Oliver! at Gielgud Theatre

Jamie Muscato for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Best Actress in a Musical

Chumisa Dornford-May for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet Of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse

Lauren Drew for Titanique at Criterion Theatre

Clare Foster for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors Theatre

Lara Pulver for Fiddler On The Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Imelda Staunton for Hello, Dolly! at The London Palladium

The Londoner Award for Best New Play

The Fear Of 13 by Lindsey Ferrentino at Donmar Warehouse

Giant by Mark Rosenblatt at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court Theatre

Kyoto by Joe Murphy & Joe Robertson at @sohoplace

Shifters by Benedict Lombe at Duke of York’s Theatre

The Years adapted by Eline Arbo, in an English version by Stephanie Bain at Almeida Theatre & Harold Pinter Theatre

Continue Reading

Trending