Taylor Swift v The Beatles: As the Eras tour hits the UK, how does the star compare against the biggest band of all time?
Are you ready for it? Because this week, Taylor Swift rolls into town for the first UK dates of her record-shattering Eras tour, to dominate front pages, social media, and a large proportion of the national conversation for the foreseeable.
Something has shifted in the Swiftverse in the past few years. She now transcends even the highest echelons of pop fame, massively boosting everything from music sales to, well, the entire global economy.
The Eras tour is a cultural and economic juggernaut; the first to cross the $1bn mark, according to Pollstar’s 2023 year-end charts, and already beating the record set by Sir Elton John and his Farewell Yellow Brick Road goodbye, which ran from 2018 to 2023 and grossed $939 million. Several experts predict it could generate more than $4bn by the time it finishes.
Swift is the first arts and entertainment star to be named Time’s Person of the Year. The first ever music billionaire to reach the milestone solely through her songwriting and recording. A slick pop star who understands the power of This. Sick. Beat, but also a songwriter and lyricist whose words are studied as poetry around the world. She has long been the biggest modern music star on the planet – but could she now be the biggest of all time?
To answer that question, you have to look to The Beatles. The band that changed the nature of the industry, long regarded as the most influential music act in music history.
In October last year, Swift re-released her fifth album, 1989, the record that really marked her crossover from incredibly successful country star to pop phenomenon. Featuring re-records of tracks that remain among her biggest hits to date, including Shake It Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) inevitably followed all her others in skipping to the top of charts around the world.
Three weeks later came reissues of The Beatles’ classic Red and Blue album collections following the surprise release of Now And Then, the first original single in years, finally finished by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr after more than four decades.
Now And Then topped the singles chart, naturally. But when it came to taking on Swift on the album chart, the star held her spot – denying the biggest and most influential band in history an extension to their record-breaking UK number one tally of 16.
The unstoppable force of Taylor Swift
Pic: AP/ George Walker IV
Of course, The Beatles albums were reissues, but it’s worth noting Swift’s re-recordings are also not entirely new – she is re-recording much of her early work to reclaim her rights, with the addition of “from the vault” tracks – plus, fans had already been buying 1989 (Taylor’s Version) for three weeks by this point.
To Swifties, she is undoubtedly the biggest music artist of all time. To fans of the Fab Four, there will never be another act that comes close. Can their achievements be compared?
It’s tricky. Swift and The Beatles reached the height of their fame (and Swift might not even be there yet) in different – ahem – eras. There are multiple caveats – inflation, population growth, streaming and the affordability of music, live music becoming more lucrative, social media, do we include the individual Beatles’ solo output (we haven’t), and so on – that mean there is no exact science here.
But, we’ve given it a go…
Topping the charts
In the battle of the number ones, The Beatles get the points.
When it comes to singles, surprisingly, Swift hasn’t had as many as you might think topping the charts in the UK. Her first was Look What You Made Me Do in 2017 – Shake It Off, her biggest-selling hit, reached number one in the US, but number two here. Anti-Hero, from Midnights, became her second UK number one in 2022, with Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) and Fortnight, her recent collaboration with Post Malone, adding to the pile in the last year.
The Beatles, on the other hand, started scoring number ones early on. The first, From Me To You, was their third single, released in 1963, and was followed by hits including She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Can’t Buy Me Love, Help!, All You Need Is Love, Hey Jude… the list goes on.
Album chart-toppers are more evenly matched. The Beatles actually have more in the US than they have in the UK, as different versions and more records were released across the pond. All apart from one of their 12 studio albums topped the charts in the UK – Yellow Submarine peaked at number three in 1969 – and they have also reached the top spot with live and compilation albums.
Apart from her debut, Taylor Swift, released in 2006, all of Swift’s albums have reached number one in the US. In the UK it was her fourth album, Red, that became her first chart-topper, and all others since have followed.
Record sales
This one is a tricky one as not all sales are certified. According to Guinness (and we’ll come to world records later), The Beatles have amassed the greatest sales for any group, with all-time sales estimated by record label EMI at more than one billion discs and tapes to date. Note this is worldwide, and estimated.
So we’ve looked at certified sales of the music star’s studio albums – no compilations or live album sales – in the UK and US. In the UK, The Beatles take the win, with more platinum and gold sales than Swift. But in the US, she’s way ahead.
Interestingly, they both add up to just under 295 million certified sales in the UK and US.
In the UK, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) rates platinum sales for albums as those that reach 300,000 units, with gold sales at 100,000. In the US, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) rates diamond sales for albums at 10m units, while platinum is 1m and gold is 500,000.
The trophy cabinet
Swift wins this one – but there are a lot more awards up for grabs nowadays. She has 26 Teen Choice Awards, for example, and 40 American Music Awards, and neither were around in the 1960s.
The Grammy Awards were, though, and Swift is definitely the winner here – with 14 wins out of 52 nominations. Earlier this year, she became the first and only artist to win the Grammy for album of the year four times, for Midnights (2024), Folklore (2021), 1989 (2016), and Fearless (2010). She also has the most nominations for song of the year, with seven, but interestingly has never won in this category.
The Beatles have seven Grammy wins from 23 nominations, including best new artist and best performance by a vocal group, for A Hard Day’s Night, in 1964.
Despite her Grammys success, Swift is by no means the ceremony’s biggest winner – that accolade goes to Beyonce, who has 32 gongs from 88 nominations.
Deep space and earthquakes: Who’s the biggest record breaker?
In 2021, Swift’s re-recorded version of Fearless became the star’s third to top the UK charts in less than 12 months, breaking a long-held record by The Beatles.
In February, she surpassed their record for holding the most weeks in the Billboard 200’s Top 10 in the last 60 years. In April, she topped the UK album chart with The Tortured Poets Department, outselling the rest of the top 10 combined and beating The Beatles for the record of fastest artist to rack up 12 UK number ones.
And remember her billionaire status? Well, Sir Paul is also in the club – but having reached that point only earlier this year, a month after Swift, it’s taken him a lot longer to gain membership.
According to Guinness, Swift currently holds at least 77 records, while The Beatles hold at least 29. However, there is a chance there could be even more than this as records are constantly being set and broken – and it should be noted that with streaming, inflation and more awards shows now, it is easier to keep breaking records now than it was back in The Beatles’ day.
Some of Swift’s records include several for Spotify, such as being the most streamed act in 24 hours following the release of Midnights in 2022; most US singles chart entries (263); most million-selling weeks on the US albums chart; plus the greatest seismic activity caused by a music concert (equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake).
The Beatles’ records include the best-selling group ever worldwide; most consecutive weeks at number one on the UK albums chart – 30 weeks in 1963 for debut Please Please Me; most viewed Wikipedia page for a music group; and first song to be beamed into deep space with Across The Universe in 2008, courtesy of NASA.
Can’t Buy Me Love – but musicians can boost an economy
Now this one is pretty difficult to compare. So we won’t. But there are some impressive stats.
According to Barclays’ Swiftonomics report, released in May, the UK leg of the Eras tour is set to boost the UK economy by almost $1bn.
Eras Tour tickets sparked a 15.8% year-on-year increase in UK spending on entertainment when they were released last July, the bank says, and now the dates are here, nearly 1.2m fans attending 15 gigs taking place in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Liverpool and London are predicted to spend an average of £848 in total on tickets, travel, accommodation, outfits and other expenses.
The Beatles’ economic impact is harder to quantify. But there is information available on the band’s continuing boost to Liverpool alone – £81.9m to their home city’s economy each year, according to a report commissioned by Liverpool City Council in 2016.
This was set to grow by up to 15% each year, the report found at the time, with the band’s legacy also supporting more than 2,300 jobs.
Help! Is Swift bigger than The Beatles?
Pic: AP
We asked some experts for their thoughts.
Dave Fawbert, founder of the Swiftogeddon club nights playing Swift, and nothing but Swift, says she is unmatched at the moment.
“She really does have it all,” he says. “She’s incredibly gifted melodically… you listen to Shake It Off, there’s literally about eight incredible hooks in that song.
“Most of the tracks, you hear the choruses once or twice, they’re so well written, you’ll be able to sing along by the third chorus. The other thing about her songs is they’re arranged so brilliantly, there’s never any wasted space in them.”
And then there’s her lyrics, he says, her ability to pick out universal emotions, specific details, and express them in song. “And she’s done it across virtually every genre. She’s a genius and she’s got the genius to work with good people as well.”
He says he would compare her dominance now to that of Michael Jackson in the 1980s and 1990s. But what about The Beatles? “I mean, they’re the best, I’m not sure they’ll ever be surpassed,” he admits. “But Taylor’s close.”
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UK tribute band The Bootleg Beatles say it’s too early to make a call.
“The music of The Beatles has already stood the test of time. The reaction we get as we continually tour around the UK – we’re back this month – and indeed the world, is testament to that,” they say. “So, while Taylor Swift is undoubtedly a wonderful talent, it’s probably around 50 years too early to judge her against the Fab Four.”
Hits Radio presenter Tom Green says they are two artists that “owned the zeitgeist” of their times. So is the comparison fair? “Yes and no.”
He elaborates: “I think it was probably a bit easier to be the whole zeitgeist in the ’60s, because there was only so many media outlets. Everyone was watching the same thing.”
Now, it’s a lot harder to create something that everyone is looking at, but Swift is constantly keeping our attention, he says. “I think the comparisons are really hard to do and music is so subjective. But I think the interesting thing about The Beatles is they brought in a genre of music, they ushered in the genre of rock and roll into pop music.”
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Dr Clio Doyle, a lecturer in early modern literature at Queen Mary University of London, teaches a module on Swift’s lyrics as literature. In her field, she says she would draw comparisons with artists such as Bob Dylan rather than The Beatles.
“It’s this kind of body of work that is really self-examining and self-revising and revisiting in a way that feels very dynamic and alive and intellectually interesting,” she says of Swift’s music. “I also think that one thing Swift has always done throughout her career is, she’s often talking about literature – from a very early song like Love Story, which is rewriting Romeo And Juliet, to a later song like The Lakes, which is thinking about romantic poetry.”
Dylan became the first musician to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 2016, she points out, a decision deemed controversial due to arguments over whether lyrics count as literature. “I think we have to say they do because they’re written texts,” says Dr Doyle. “I think those are very interesting conversations. And I think we see some of those conversations also now around Taylor Swift.”
And Amy Skjerseth, a lecturer in audiovisual media and a member of the Institute of Popular Music at the University of Liverpool, says that like Swift, The Beatles also had different eras, but Swift’s experience in the industry will have been different to theirs, as four male stars.
“For women-identifying pop stars, eras often are about survival in a music industry that does not make space for them, especially for artists of colour and queer artists,” she says. “There are also significant differences in class between Swift and The Beatles – Swift’s family had the means to support her career.
“And while Beatlemania was heavily stereotyped back in the day, Swift’s fans have an increased ability to push for social justice and social change, connect with each other, and create a larger sense of community.
“Beyond Taylor Swift, the Eras concept might help attract wider attention to artists who have worked tirelessly under the radar to transform their musical messages across changing times.”
So are we any closer to saying whether Swift is the biggest artist of all time?
Some of the stats suggest she might be. Beatles fans will disagree.
Will there be an answer? Maybe in 50 years, as The Bootleg Beatles say. For now, we’ll let it be.
Entertainment
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.”
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 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.”
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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.
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.
It’s up for best musical revival, with old favourites including Oliver!, Hello Dolly and Starlight Express.
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
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
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
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