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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Michael Billington

Only two cheers for the Evening Standard theatre awards


Billie Piper has been nominated for Treats. But was it really a better performance than Kristin Scott Thomas in The Seagull??

Here we go again. Prize-giving time is upon us with the announcement of the shortlist for the Evening Standard theatre awards do. Expect, in the next few months, the same faces to step up to the podium modestly to accept their gongs. I suppose it's all quite harmless. But, as a long-time proponent of the Critics' Circle drama awards, I have a vague resentment against the Standard. Since their judging panel is now entirely composed of critics, where once it was a delightful pro-am mix, the circle's own prizes inevitably tend to duplicate those of London's evening paper.

I'm also mildly surprised by the Standard's proud vaunt that this year's list shows a resurgence of commercial theatre. In proof, it cites three nominations for the sensational Macbeth currently packing the Gielgud: Patrick Stewart for best actor, Rupert Goold for best director and Anthony Ward for best designer. The fact is, however, that this production originated at Chichester's Minerva Studio, which depends entirely on subsidy. Even two of the shows nominated for Best Musical, Parade and Fiddler on the Roof, stem from the subsidised Donmar and Sheffield Crucible. So where's the evidence for the West End fightback?

A few of the nominations also provoke mild astonishment. Billie Piper for her performance in Treats? Are we seriously asked to believe that she was better than Kristin Scott Thomas and Katherine Parkinson in Ian Rickson's brilliant Royal Court Seagull (which nowhere gets a mention) or Pam Ferris as Archie's wife in The Entertainer? It looks to me as if showbiz hoopla has gone to the judges' heads.

And why, in a thinnish year for new work, is Hassan Abdulrazzak's Baghdad Wedding at the Soho merely nominated in the Most Promising Playwright rather than Best Play category? All awards decided by a panel are, of course, the result of internal jockeying. But, while the Standard nominations make interesting reading, I suggest they be viewed with several pinches of salt.

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