Best Actor in a Play
Hans Kesting, Who Killed My Father
In a year of some mighty solo performances, Kesting ranks as one of the absolute best with his blistering work here. Highly theatrical but entirely true, it was a deeply affecting masterclass.
Honourable mention: Shubham Saraf, The Father and the Assassin
As Gandhi’s assassin, Saraf was near omnipresent on the vast Olivier stage but held it effortless in with his blackly funny performance and his fourth-wall-shattering unreliable narration as comic as it was illuminating.
Mohand Hasb Alrosol Abdalrahem & Peter Pearson, Mohand & Peter
Jack Holden, Cruise
Victor IJdens, Jesse Mensah, Felix Schellekens and Romijn Scholten, The End of Eddy
Ramsey Nasr, A Little Life
Daniel Ryan, Middle
8-10
John Heffernan, Much Ado About Nothing; Lennie James, A Number; Giles Terera, Blues for an Alabama Sky
Best Actor in a Musical
Callum Scott Howells, Cabaret
Eddie Redmayne may have taken this title last year for originating this role and as we move onto the second set of replacement leads, I couldn’t have imagined anyone matching his performance. But Callum Scott Howell’s interpretation of the Emcee is wickedly good – queerer, sexier, more haunting, I was simply mesmerised.
Honourable mention: Charlie Stemp, Crazy For You
An example of the near-perfect match of actor and role, Charlie Stemp’s leading man chops are perfectly suited to this classic musical and the role of charmer Bobby.
Michael Ahomka-Lindsay, Legally Blonde
Sam Harrison, Love is Only Love
George Maguire, The Wicker Husband
Alon Moni Aboutboul, The Band’s Visit
Jamie Muscato, Moulin Rouge
8-10
Arthur Darvill, Oklahoma!; Damian Humbley, The Great British Bake Off – The Musical; Andrew Rannells, Tammy Faye
