Jodie Comer, Adrian Lester and a Mary Whitehouse Play Take Top Honours at the 2026 UK Theatre Awards
Comer received the first Outstanding Achievement prize for touring Prima Facie, Nottingham Playhouse's new play won best new play and Theatr Clwyd took two awards at the London ceremony.
Monday, October 12, 2026/2 min read
Jodie Comer collected the first Outstanding Achievement in British Theatre award at the UK Theatre Awards on Monday in London, a prize that recognises her UK and Ireland tour of Prima Facie. The ceremony, hosted by La Voix at 8 Northumberland Avenue, handed out awards in 19 categories, according to WhatsOnStage. Comer said she was "incredibly honoured", BroadwayWorld reported when the award was announced earlier this month, and called the tour one of the most special experiences of her career.
BroadwayWorld says the tour reached more than 1.2 million people through live performances and National Theatre Live broadcasts. The late Alan Finch CBE received the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre award, which was collected by his family.
Who won the main UK Theatre Awards?
Best New Play went to The Last Stand of Mrs Mary Whitehouse, from Nottingham Playhouse with Eleanor Lloyd Productions and Kate Pakenham Productions. Caroline Bird's play, directed by Sarah Frankcom, stars Maxine Peake as Whitehouse and Samuel Barnett in 14 other roles, and takes in her blasphemy case against Gay News. WhatsOnStage's five-star review from last September called it balanced and well crafted.
Birmingham Rep's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street won Best Musical Production, and Our Town, from the Rose Theatre and Michael Sheen's Welsh National Theatre, took Best Play Revival. Tom Littler won Best Director for Love's Labour's Lost and Much Ado About Nothing, as listed by Best of Theatre.
Which performances were honoured?
Adrian Lester won Best Performance in a Play for the RSC's Cyrano de Bergerac, and Julianne Pundan took Best Performance in a Musical for Miss Saigon. Gloria Obianyo won Best Supporting Performance for As You Like It at Theatre Royal Bath. Ceci Calf won Best Design for The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse. Beauty and the Beast from the Citizens Theatre won Best Show for Children and Young People, Yorke Dance Project took Achievement in Dance for Modern Milestones and English Touring Opera won Achievement in Opera.
Which theatres won off-stage awards?
Theatr Clwyd was the night's most successful venue, with two wins: UK's Most Welcoming Theatre and Excellence in Touring, the latter for Under Milk Wood. The other off-stage winners were Buxton Opera House for arts education, The Theatre Chipping Norton for inclusivity, Mercury Theatre for sustainability and Blackpool Grand Theatre for workforce culture.
The organisers, the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre, called the winners proof of the extraordinary contribution theatre makes to audiences and communities across the UK. The question for the new Outstanding Achievement prize is whether it becomes an annual fixture, and whether winners like the Playhouse's new play find a longer life on tour.
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