At a ceremony today at the National Theatre hosted by Mark Lawson, the Critics’ Circle Drama Section announced the winners of this year’s Theatre Awards 2025. These are the only awards to be entirely voted for by the professional theatre critics who are members of the Circle.
Chair of the Critics’ Circle Drama Section, Rosemary Waugh said today, “It’s a real honour to bring the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards to the National Theatre, an institution that stands for the importance of theatre within the cultural life of this country. Our awards went to a varied and inspiring collection of theatremakers this year, and it’s a pleasure to be able to celebrate the brilliance of all these stars of the British theatre industry.”
The big winner was Oedipus, created by Robert Icke after Sophocles which ran at Wyndham’s Theatre, receiving three awards – Best Actor for Mark Strong, Best Actress for Lesley Manville, and Best Director for Icke. The production will debut on Broadway later this year.
Mark Rosenblatt received two awards - The Michael Billington Award for Best New Play and Most Promising Playwright, both for Giant, his play about Roald Dahl which transfers to the West End next month after a sell out run at the Royal Court.
Completing the performance categories, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers won The Jack Tinker Award for Best Newcomer sponsored by Finito for Romeo and Juliet opposite Tom Holland; and Danny Sapani, The Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance for his acclaimed King Lear, directed by Yaël Farber, at the Almeida Theatre.
The Barbican bound Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof wins The Peter Hepple Award for Best Musical; with Frankie Bradshaw receiving the Best Designer sponsored by Cabbells jointly for Ballet Shoes and Dear Octopus, both at the National Theatre.
This is the third year of the acclaimed Empty Space…Peter Brook Award being part of the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards and is this year won by East London’s The Yard Theatre. Founded by Blanche Marvin MBE, the award recognises a theatre that embodies the spirit of Peter Brook, both in its use of space and in relationship to its locality. This year, Niki Marvin, an Oscar-nominated director/producer, has taken over the running of the award.
The Awards are made possible through the generous support of Nyman Libson Paul who have supported the Awards for over two decades. In addition, the Critics’ Circle are pleased to announce a new partnership with Cabbells, who are sponsoring the Best Designer Award, and a continued relationship with Finto, the Employability Experts, who are once again sponsoring The Jack Tinker Award for Best Newcomer, and the Trewin Family who created the Best Shakespearean Performance Award.
