Frontmezzjunkies reports: The Winners of the WhatsOnStage Awards 2026
By Ross
If you’re a theatre fan like myself, watching from across the Atlantic, nights like the WhatsOnStage Awards ceremony at The London Palladium inspire equal parts joy and envy. The fan-voted celebration of the best of UK theatre wrapped up its 26th annual ceremony tonight with a slate of winners that makes any devoted stage watcher wish they could teleport between the West End and Broadway on a weekly basis, or maybe even more often than that.
The evening’s biggest triumph belonged to the new musical Paddington The Musical, which entered the night with a record-breaking 14 nominations and waddled away with nine awards. The production, directed by Luke Sheppard with music by Tom Fletcher and a book by Jessica Swale, proved irresistible to voters. Alongside the coveted Best New Musical prize, it swept a wide range of design and technical categories, recognizing the work of set designer Tom Pye, sound designer Gareth Owen, costume designer Gabriella Slade, Paddington designer Tahra Zafar, the wigs, hair, and makeup team at Campbell Young Associates, musical supervisor Matt Brind, and a casting team led by Natalie Gallacher. The show’s success also included a warm welcome for newcomer Timi Akinyosade, who won Best Professional Debut Performance for playing Tony.
Another major winner was Evita, the revival directed by Jamie Lloyd that played a buzzy summer engagement at the Palladium itself. The production collected multiple honours, including Best Musical Revival and design awards for choreography by Fabian Aloise, lighting by Jon Clark, and video design by Lloyd, alongside Nick Ward and David Anderson. The revival’s most high-profile moment came when Rachel Zegler was named Best Performer in a Musical for her electrifying turn as Eva Perón. Zegler’s night turned into a double celebration when her solo appearance at the Palladium last year also won Best Concert Event.
In the play categories, Jonathan Bailey took home his first WhatsOnStage Award for his performance in Richard II at the Bridge Theatre. The production, directed by Nicholas Hytner, also secured Best Play Revival, triumphing in a competitive field of classics that included The Importance of Being Earnest and A Streetcar Named Desire.
The evening also celebrated standout individual performances and notable premieres. Amber Davies won Best Supporting Performer in a Musical for playing Jordan Baker in the UK premiere of The Great Gatsby, while Stephen Fry earned Best Supporting Performer in a Play for his scene-stealing Lady Bracknell in the West End revival of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Regional theatre was also in the spotlight. The stage adaptation of 13 Going on 30, which premiered in Manchester, won Best Regional Production, while Young Frankenstein at Hope Mill Theatre took Best Studio Production, underlining Manchester’s continuing importance as a powerhouse of musical theatre development.
For new plays, the Mischief Company added another hit to its growing résumé when The Comedy About Spies won Best New Play, marking the troupe’s first WhatsOnStage win since the breakout success of The Play That Goes Wrong more than a decade ago.
Elsewhere in the evening’s honours, Emma Kingston won Best Takeover Performance for stepping into the role of Elphaba in Wicked, while the long-running phenomenon Les Misérables claimed Best West End Show, continuing its anniversary celebrations with another reminder of its enduring popularity.
The ceremony also paused to honour playwright James Graham with the Services to UK Theatre Award, recognizing a body of work that has become central to contemporary British playwriting.
For theatre fans watching from afar, the WhatsOnStage winners list reads like a travel itinerary of productions you wish you could see tomorrow night. Between the bear-sized success of Paddington, the star power of Evita, and the continuing vitality of Shakespeare, new plays, and regional premieres, the ceremony offered a reminder of just how vibrant the UK theatre scene remains. And for those of us who spend our nights toggling between West End buzz and Broadway headlines, it is another reason to keep dreaming about the next trip across the ocean.
