Winners announced for 25th Critics Circle Awards
by Oliver Mitford on Thursday 30 January 2014, 10:26 pm in Critics' Circle Awards
The 25th Critics Circle Awards were held on 28 January and saw a whole host of winners walk away clutching the much sought after accolades.
Acclaimed playwright Lucy Kirkwood won three awards including Best New Play for Chimerica that ran at the Almeida Theatre before its West End transfer to the Harold Pinter Theatre last year. The production also won awards for Best Director: Lyndsey Turner and Best Designer: Es Devlin.
The Young Vic's recent production of Kander and Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys won Best Musical, while Rory Kinnear and Phoebe Waller-Bridge shared the Most Promising Playwright prize for The Herd and Fleabag respectively. Rory Kinnear also won Best Shakespearean performance for his role as Iago opposite Adrian Lester in Nicholas Hytner’s critically acclaimed production of Othello at the National Theatre.
The Best Actor award went to Lenny Henry for his role as Troy Maxson in Theatre Royal Bath's revival of August Wilson's Fences at the Duchess Theatre. The Best Actress gong went to Lesley Manville for her portrayal of Mrs Alving in Ghosts at the Almeida Theatre, which is currently running at Trafalgar Studios until March 8 2014.
Young actress Kate O'Flynn won Most Promising Newcomer for her performance in the National Theatre’s revival of Simon Stephens’ Port, directed by Marianne Elliott.
The Chair of the Drama Section of the Critics’ Circle, Mark Shenton said, “Against all the odds, there's simply more theatre being produced than ever before, which means critics play an important role as guides and challengers to audiences for what to see. These awards confirm just how vital and alive the theatre is. Here's to the next 25 years."