Stage Awards - The Young Vic and Park theatres in London, Southampton's Nuffield theatre and producer Sonia Friedman were among the winners at The Stage's 2015 awards. Friedman, who is behind such West End success stories as The Book of Mormon, Shakespeare in Love and 1984, was named producer of the year.
Liverpool's Everyman Theatre won two prizes in its reopening season. The Young Vic beat the Almeida and the Unicorn to be named the capital's theatre of the year. Recent Young Vic productions, including A Streetcar Named Desire starring Gillian Anderson, have been praised by critics, with Anderson winning best actress at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in December. North London's Park Theatre, which has hosted such acting talents as Maureen Lipman and Matthew Kelly, was named fringe theatre of the year.
The Nuffield in Southampton was named regional theatre of the year, beating Leicester's Curve and the Ustinov Studio at Bath Theatre Royal. Following a total rebuild, Liverpool's Everyman Theatre shared the award for theatre building of the year with Paines Plough, whose pop-up Roundabout Theatre tours the UK. Shakespeare's Globe was honoured with the international award for its two-year tour of Hamlet, which is attempting to visit every single country in the world.
Staying On - War Horse has extended its booking period in the West End until February next year. It had been booking at the New London Theatre until October but is now selling tickets until February 2016.
Sunny Afternoon - Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon has extended its booking period and will now run at the Harold Pinter Theatre until October 24. Directed by Edward Hall, the musical originated at the Hampstead Theatre and opened in the West End in October 2014.
On The Waterfront - A Mersey ferry is to undergo a transformation into a brightly coloured "dazzle ship" thanks to the man behind a famous Beatles album cover. The Snowdrop will have a new look next month designed by Sir Peter Blake, who created The Beatles' Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band cover in 1967. It will celebrate World War One ship designers who used the dazzle effect to try to avoid detection by the enemy. Visitors boarding the Snowdrop can learn more about the technique. It was commissioned by arts festival Liverpool Biennial and Tate Liverpool. The camouflage works by confusing the eye, making it difficult to estimate a target's range, speed and direction, said a gallery spokesman.
(Jim Evans)
