The winners of the awards, sponsored by Encore, will be announced in a ceremony taking place on Monday 12 October at 8 Northumberland Avenue, hosted by La Voix.
The nominees for the UK Theatre Awards 2026 have now been announced, celebrating the excellence and outstanding achievements seen on and off stage throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In the performing categories, Isis Hainsworth (Measure For Measure, a Royal Shakespeare Company production), Adrian Lester (Cyrano De Bergerac, a Royal Shakespeare Company production), and Katie Redford & Benedict Salter (Scenes From A Friendship, a Nottingham Playhouse production) are nominated for Best Performance in a Play, whilst Hadley Fraser (My Fair Lady, a Chichester Festival Theatre production), Annette McLaughlin (Follies, a Northern Ireland Opera production at Grand Opera House, Belfast), and Julianne Pundan (Miss Saigon, a Cameron Mackintosh production in association with Michael Harrison) receive nominations for Best Performance in a Musical. The nominees for Best Supporting Performance (in a Musical or Play) are Ash Hunter (The Meat Kings! (Inc.) Of Brooklyn Heights, a Papatango Theatre Company & Park Theatre co-production), Lydia Louise (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a Watermill Theatre production) and Gloria Obianyo (As You Like It, a Theatre Royal Bath Productions production).
Meanwhile, the nominees for Best Musical Production sponsored by Tysers Live are Calendar Girls The Musical (a Stephen Joseph Theatre, Theatre by the Lake, New Wolsey Theatre & Octagon Theatre Bolton co-production), The High Life (a National Theatre of Scotland & Dundee Rep Theatre co-production in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Capital Theatres, co-written by original creators of the TV show, Alan Cumming & Forbes Masson), Kiss Of The Spiderwoman (a Curve, Bristol Old Vic & Mayflower Southampton co-production), and Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (a Birmingham Rep production). For Best New Play sponsored by Ecclesiastical Insurance, the nominees are Black Sheep (a curious directive production at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds & New Wolsey Theatre), The Last Stand Of Mrs. Mary Whitehouse (a Nottingham Playhouse, Eleanor Lloyd Productions & Kate Pakenham co-production), and Ava Pickett’s The Manningtree Witches (a Mercury Original in association with Frantic Assembly, supported by Eleanor Lloyd Productions). For Best Play Revival, the Michael Sheen-led Our Town (a Welsh National Theatre & Rose Theatre co-production), Road (a Royal Exchange Theatre production), and Small Island (a Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep & Nottingham Playhouse co-production in association with Actors Touring Company) receive nominations. The nominees for Best Show for Children & Young People are Beauty And The Beast (a Citizens Theatre production), No Such Thing As Wolves (a Birmingham Hippodrome production), and Treasure Island (a Bristol Old Vic production).
In the creative categories, the nominees for Best Director are Abigail Graham (Living, a Sheffield Theatres production), Emma Jordan (The Human Voice, a Prime Cut Productions production at Lyric Theatre Belfast), and Tom Littler (Love’s Labour’s Lost & Much Ado About Nothing, a Guildford Shakespeare Company & Orange Tree Theatre co-production). The nominees for Best Design are Jenny Booth (Set & Costume Design), Garry Boyle (Sound Design), Daniel Hughes (Creative Captioning) & Emma Jones (Lighting Design) (The Singer, a Dundee Rep Theatre & Solar Bear co-production in association with Aberdeen Performing Arts), Ceci Calf (Set & Costume Design) (The Assassination Of Margaret Thatcher, a Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse production), and Terry Parsons (Set Design) (Jack And Sarah, a The Mill at Sonning production).
Dance and Opera nominees are represented by National Dance Company Wales (for Surge | Gwefr), Scottish Ballet (for Mary, Queen of Scots), and Yorke Dance Project (for Modern Milestones) nominated for Achievement in Dance, and English Touring Opera (for the ambition and breadth of their programming in venues across the country), Jack Furness (for his direction of The Flying Dutchman by Welsh National Opera), and Scottish Opera (for their commitment to championing new work through their productions of The Galloping Cure and The Great Wave) nominated for Achievement in Opera.
Claire Walker & Hannah Essex, Co-CEOs of Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre, said: “This year’s UK Theatre Awards nominations celebrate the extraordinary breadth of talent, creativity and dedication across our industry, and the vital role theatres play at the heart of communities across the UK.
“Audiences continue to flock to their local theatre in huge numbers, but as we look ahead to the Budget, we must ensure that our members have the support they need to continue reaching audiences across the country. This is why we are calling on the Chancellor for an expansion of Theatre Tax Relief to support touring costs and relief on business rates. These simple measures will enable greater access to the fantastic venues and productions that we are celebrating in these awards.”