The awards, presented in association with Netflix, will see the winners crowned in a ceremony taking place on the 27th September.
The 2026 shortlist of nominees for this year’s The Stage Debut Awards have been confirmed, celebrating the performers and creatives making standout professional and West End debuts across UK theatre.
Among this year’s nominees are Stranger Things star Sadie Sink and actor Noah Jupe, both shortlisted for their West End debuts in Romeo and Juliet; Oscar-nominated Brendan Gleeson for his West End debut in The Weir; and BAFTA and Tony-winning actor Ralph Fiennes, recognised for his directorial debut with As You Like It at Theatre Royal Bath.
Across eight categories, the shortlist recognises breakthrough talent on stage and off, spanning performance, writing, directing, design, composition, lyrics and book writing. Nominees come from productions staged in the West End, at major regional theatres, on tour and at fringe venues, underlining the breadth of new talent emerging across the UK.
Meanwhile, several productions have received multiple nominations. Romeo and Juliet earns nominations for Noah Jupe in both Best Performer in a Play and Best West End Debut Performer, while The Weir sees both Brendan Gleeson and Kate Phillips shortlisted for their West End debuts. New musical Paddington the Musical receives nominations for Arti Shah and composer-lyricist Tom Fletcher, while Sing Street is recognised across performance and composition categories. Elsewhere, Redcliffe, 1536 and The Fifth Step also feature across this year’s shortlist.
The public-voted Best West End Debut Performer category once again showcases an exceptional mix of established screen talent making their first West End appearances alongside exciting newcomers. Contenders include Oscar-nominated Brendan Gleeson, Stranger Things’ Sadie Sink, Noah Jupe, Liv Hill and Kate Phillips, alongside performers Levi Brown, Cormac McAlinden, Ntombizodwa Ndlovu, Alistair Nwachukwu and Arti Shah.
This year’s full list of nominations are as follows:
Best Performer in a Play (sponsored by Encore)
- Robert Aramayo for Guess How Much I Love You? at Royal Court Theatre, London
- Zoë Armer for The Virgins at Soho Theatre, London
- Noah Jupe for Romeo and Juliet at Harold Pinter Theatre, London
- Assa Kanouté for Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London
- Erin Kellyman for Evening All Afternoon at Donmar Warehouse, London
- Dylan Malyn for To Kill a Mockingbird at Leeds Playhouse, and touring
- Ruaridh Mollica for Clarkston at Trafalgar Theatre, London
- Amber van der Brugge for Vincent in Brixton at Orange Tree Theatre, London
Best Performer in a Musical (sponsored by Michael Harrison Entertainment)
- Jess Douglas-Welsh for Redcliffe at Southwark Playhouse Borough, London
- Jess Folley for Burlesque at Savoy Theatre, London
- Lydia Louise for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Watermill Theatre, Newbury
- Julianne Pundan for Miss Saigon at Palace Theatre, Manchester, and touring
- James Spence for Thespians at Mercury Theatre, Colchester, and touring
- Sheridan Townsley for Sing Street at Lyric Hammersmith, London
Best Writer (sponsored by Sonia Friedman Productions)
- Chris Ashworth-Bennion for The Red Rogue of Bala at Theatr Clwyd, Mold
- Georgie Dettmer for Are You Watching? at Royal Court Theatre, London
- Hannah Doran for The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights at Park Theatre, London
- Leo Drayton for Dynolwaith at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff
- Fran Kranz for Mass at Donmar Warehouse, London
- John Morton for Eclipse at Chichester Festival Theatre
- Jack Nicholls for The Shitheads at Royal Court Theatre, London
- Danielle Phillips for Children of the Night at Cast, Doncaster
Best Director
- Douglas Clarke-Wood for THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. at Summerhall, Edinburgh
- Ralph Fiennes for As You Like It at Bath Theatre Royal
- Tommaso Giacomin for The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin at New Diorama Theatre, London
- Michelle McTernan for HOP – The Hopeful Hare at Swansea Grand Theatre
Best Designer (sponsored by Preevue)
- Lev Govorovski and Ted Walliker (set and lighting design) for RON at Riverside Studios, London
- Alex Mullins (costume design) for Teeth ‘n’ Smiles at Duke of York’s Theatre, London
- Natalie Roar (costume design) for Les Liaisons Dangereuses at National Theatre, London
Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer (sponsored by Theatrical Rights Worldwide)
- John Carney and Gary Clark (music, lyrics) for Sing Street at Lyric Hammersmith, London
- Jordan Luke Gage (book, music, lyrics) for Redcliffe at Southwark Playhouse Borough, London
- Guido García Lueches and Sergio Antonio Maggiolo (book, music, lyrics) for Jeezus! at Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh and New Diorama Theatre, London
- Ed Zanders (music, lyrics) for Thespians at Mercury Theatre, Colchester, and touring
Best Creative West End Debut (sponsored by Jamie Wilson Productions)
- Finn den Hertog (director) for The Fifth Step at @sohoplace
- Tom Fletcher (composer/lyricist) for Paddington the Musical at Savoy Theatre
- Rachel Joyce (book) and Passenger (composer/lyricist) for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry at Theatre Royal Haymarket
- Ava Pickett (writer) for 1536 at Ambassadors Theatre
Best West End Debut Performer
- Levi Brown for Cyrano de Bergerac at Noël Coward Theatre
- Brendan Gleeson for The Weir at Harold Pinter Theatre
- Liv Hill for 1536 at Ambassadors Theatre
- Noah Jupe for Romeo and Juliet at Harold Pinter Theatre
- Cormac McAlinden for Inter Alia at Wyndham’s Theatre
- Ntombizodwa Ndlovu for Marie and Rosetta at @sohoplace
- Alistair Nwachukwu for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind at @sohoplace
- Kate Phillips for The Weir at Harold Pinter Theatre
- Arti Shah for Paddington the Musical at Savoy Theatre
- Sadie Sink for Romeo and Juliet at Harold Pinter Theatre
Voting for Best West End Debut Performer opens on Thursday 20th August and can be cast online here. Voting closes on Sunday 13th September.
Speaking of the news, Chair of the judges and The Stage reviews editor Sam Marlowe said: “It’s never an easy task, narrowing down the wealth of theatrical talent across the UK into a shortlist – but it is an immense pleasure and a privilege. This year’s nominees have made work of stunning breadth and ingenuity – and, as ever, we recognise and salute those flexing their talents in our smallest spaces, on shoestring budgets, as well as those creating on a much larger scale. From the tiniest fringe venues to the West End stage, they all have one thing in common: a palpable passion for the art form, and limitless vision, both of which continue to make our theatre culture vibrant, challenging, thrilling and beautiful. These are artists taking their first steps with their gaze firmly fixed on the future – and the Debuts celebrates not only their achievements so far, but all those still to come.”
The ceremony’s host will be announced soon, alongside the line-up of guest presenters and performers.