David Tennant wins prize at WhatsOnStage Awards

The ceremony saw 42nd Street triumph, with four awards including Best Musical Revival.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and The Ferryman both won three awards, while smash hit Hamilton opened too late to be eligible for the gongs.

Former Broadchurch co-stars Tennant and Olivia Colman won prizes for best actor and actress in a play - Tennant for Don Juan In Soho at the Wyndham’s Theatre and Colman for Mosquitoes at the National Theatre.

Tennant said that the play felt like a “celebration of London” in the wake of the 2017 terrorist attacks.

The actor, who beat fellow big stars Bryan Cranston, Martin Freeman, Andrew Garfield and Andrew Scott to the award, said he was “chuffed” to win.

“It was a real privilege getting to do a play about Soho in Soho and especially over a summer when London sadly suffered terrible attacks, the play itself began to feel like a real celebration of London,” he said.

“And indeed one of the crown jewels of London which is theatreland and the WhatsOnStage Awards are such a glorious celebration of that, so thank you all for voting and thank you all for getting involved.”

Colman beat Eve Best, Imelda Staunton, Natalie Dormer and Tamsin Greig.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a musical inspired by a teenage boy’s true story about wanting to wear a dress at school.

It was snapped up for the West End, after becoming a surprise hit on stage in Sheffield, by award-winning producer and London theatre owner Nica Burns.

Its star, John McCrea, who had never had a major lead and did not have an agent when he landed the part in Sheffield, has won Best Actor In A Musical.

Producer Burns said: “The Everybody’s Talking About Jamie team is beyond thrilled at winning Best New Musical.

“This is a huge and exciting endorsement by the public for our home grown new British musical and our phenomenally talented young and unknown cast”.

Harry Potter And The Cursed Child won Best West End Show, while prolific theatre producer Sonia Friedman won a gong for services to theatre.

Winners of the awards, which are celebrating their 18th year, are chosen by theatregoers.

The main WhatsOnStage Awards:

ACTOR IN A PLAY

David Tennant, Don Juan in Soho

ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Olivia Colman, Mosquitoes

ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

John McCrea, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Carrie Hope Fletcher, The Addams Family

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Fra Fee, The Ferryman

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Juliet Stevenson, Hamlet

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Ross Noble, Young Frankenstein

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Lucie Shorthouse, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

NEW PLAY

The Ferryman

NEW MUSICAL

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

PLAY REVIVAL

Hamlet

MUSICAL REVIVAL

42nd Street

DIRECTION

Sam Mendes, The Ferryman

CHOREOGRAPHY

Randy Skinner, 42nd Street

COSTUME DESIGN

Roger Kirk, 42nd Street

SET DESIGN

Douglas W Schmidt, 42nd Street

OFF-WEST END PRODUCTION

Hair

REGIONAL PRODUCTION

Sunset Boulevard

WEST END SHOW

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

EQUITY AWARD FOR SERVICES TO THEATRE

Sonia Friedman