The shortlist for the 66th Evening Standard Theater Awards is here

These were difficult years for the London theater. But the surprising depth and breadth of creativity, art and imagination on display throughout the community as the capital begins its recovery from the pandemic took our breath away. And it’s proven by the sheer level of nominees for this year’s Evening Standard Theater Awards – our 66th. Here are the extraordinary artists vying for the coveted gongs …

Best design

Tom ScuttCabaret at Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theater)

Es DevlinA Number (Old Vic) and The Crucible (National Theater)

Felix Barrett, Livi Vaughan and Beatrice Minns for The Burnt City (a cartridge seat)

Lael Jellinek and Grace Laubacher, Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theater)

Tim HatleyBack to the Future (Adelphi) / The Life of Pi (Wyndham Theater – with Finn Caldwell)

Promising playwright

Tyrell WilliamsRed Field (Bush Theater)

Dipo Baruwa-EttiAn Unfinished Man (Yard Theater)

Waleed AkhtarThe P Word (Bush Theater)

Igor MemicPonte Vecchio (Bush Theater)

Bess WohlCampo Siegfried (Old Vic Theater)

Emerging talent

Isabella McArthurPride and Prejudice * (* more or less) (Teatro Criterio)

Terique JarrettDad (Almeida Theater)

Francis LovehallRed Field (Bush Theater)

Lizzie AnnisThe Glass Menagerie (Duke of York Theater)

Daniel RaggettAnna X (Harold Pinter Theater)

Best Director

Jamie LloydThe Seagull and Cyrano de Bergerac (Harold Pinter Theater)

Daniel Fish and Jordan Fein, Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theater)

Lynette LintonBlues for an Alabama Sky (National Theater)

Rebecca FrecknallCabaret at Kit Kat Club (Playhouse)

Katie MitchellLittle Scratch (Hampstead Theater)

Best Musical

Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theater)

Cabaret at Club Kit Kat (Theater of the theater)

Everything is alright (Barbacane Theater)

Get up! (Opera House, Shaftesbury Avenue)

Spring awakening (Almeida Theater)

Best Musical Performance

Jessie BuckleyCabaret at Kit Kat Club (Playhouse Theater)

Arinze Kene, Get up! (Opera House, Shaftesbury Avenue)

The story continues

Sutton FosterAll is well (Barbican Theater)

Patrick Vaill, Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theater)

Marisha Wallace, Oklahoma! (Young Vic Theater)

Best Actor

Papa EssieduA Number (Old Vic Theater)

James McAvoyCyrano de Bergerac (Harold Pinter Theater)

Shubham SarafThe father and the murderer (National Theater)

Lennie JamesA Number (Old Vic Theater)

Giles TereraBlues for an Alabama Sky (National Theater)

Best Actress

Jodie ComerPrima Facie (Harold Pinter Theater)

Samira WileyBlues for an Alabama Sky (National Theater)

Indira VarmaThe Seagull (Harold Pinter Theater)

Ronke AdekoluejoBlues for An Alabama Sky (National Theater)

Sheila AtimConstellations (Vaudeville Theater)

Best game

The best of enemies by James Graham (Young Vic Theater)

Indecent by Paula Vogel (Menier Chocolate Factory)

Red Pass by Tyrell Williams (Bush Theater)

The father and the killer by Anupama Chandrasekhar (National Theater)

The mirror and the light by Hilary Mantel and Ben Miles (Gielgud Theater)

The winners of the 66th Evening Standard Theater Awards will be celebrated at a private dinner on 11 December and announced in the newspaper the next day