The winners were announced at a ceremony at 8 Northumberland Avenue this evening.
It has been announced that the 12 winners of The Stage Debut Awards 2024, in partnership with ATG Entertainment have been confirmed in a ceremony in London this evening.
Hosted by drag artist, performer and singer Divina De Campo, the event is a celebration of the brightest emerging talents who made their mark both on and off stage.
This year 49 nominations across eight categories were in the spotlight, representing
performers, composers, designers, writers, lyricists and directors whose work premiered on stages across the UK in the previous year.
Winning the Best West End Debut Performer award for his performance as Gabe in Next To Normal at Wyndham’s Theatre was Olivier Award nominee Jack Wolfe.
Meanwhile, Best Performer in a Play was awarded to both Ellie-May
Sheridan for London Tide at the National Theatre and Louis
McCartney, who was recognised for performance in Stranger
Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix Theatre.
In addition, Best Performer in a Musicalaward was shared between Jeevan Braich for his performance inStarlight Express at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre and Grace Hodgett Young for her impressive performance in Jamie Lloyd’s
revival Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre.
The new writing talent in the industry was acknowledged
with the Best Writer award going to two upcoming industry stars. Sam Grabiner
for Boys on the Verge of Tears at Soho Theatre shared the accolade with Azuka Oforka
for The Women of Llanrumney at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff.
More awards on the night recognised talent behind the scenes included Best Creative
West End Debut, which was given to Bush Theatre’s associate artistic director Daniel
Bailey for his dynamic and sensitively directed production of Tyrell Williams’ Red Pitch. The production enjoyed a hugely successful West End transfer to @sohoplace.
Meanwhile, this year’s directing award was presented to Sophie Drake for her production of The Bleeding Tree at Southwark Playhouse Borough, while video design for Jamie Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre was recognised in the Best Designer award, which Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom took home. Jack Godfrey won the Best Composer, Lyricist, or Book Writer award for his a talents bringing 42 Balloons at The Lowry, Salford, a new musical success story, to life.
The Stage editor Alistair Smith said: “The judges were in complete awe of the talent on
display from all our winners. In many cases, it felt almost inconceivable these could be
their professional debuts such was the level of skill on show.
“At a time when there has been much talk about how difficult it is for new playwrights to
break through, the judges were particularly pleased to be able to recognise two superb
winners in the Best Writer category for the first time, such was the quality of the shortlist.”
As well as the awards themselves, the evening featured performances including a special number by Divina De Campo. Additional performances came from Georgina Castle, who currently stars as Regina George in Mean Girls at the Savoy Theatre, Timmika Ramsay, starring as Miss Adelaide in Guys & Dolls at the Bridge Theatre, and the celebrated actor, comedian and writer Nick Mohammed, who performed as his
acclaimed alter-ego, Mr. Swallow, in a unique and exclusive routine.