In addition to lists of top productions, Mates contributor Ian Foster reviews his reviews from the past year to award his personal prizes for the best performances for Best Actor and Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress in both plays and musicals...
Best Supporting Actress in a Play
Jade Anouka, The Tempest
After being somewhat underused in Doctor Faustus earlier in the year, it was extremely gratifying to see Anouka rise to the fore again in the cumulative triumph of the Donmar's Shakespeare Trilogy. Striking as Hotspur in Henry IV, it was her street-smart Ariel that stood out most for me.
Honourable mention:
Lizzy Connolly/Amanda Lawrence, Once in a Lifetime
Confession time. Both these women should really have been recognised last year - Connolly for Xanadu, Lawrence for Nell Gwynn - and so the fact that they appeared in the same show this year felt like a sign, Lawrence in particular proving she is a comedic tour-de-force wherever she goes.
Also:
- Nadine Marshall, Father Comes Home From The War (Parts 1, 2, and 3)
- Tanya Moodie, Hamlet
- Siân Phillips, Les Blancs
- Rachael Stirling, The Winter's Tale
- Susan Wokoma, A Raisin In The Sun
- Alisha Bailey, A Raisin In The Sun
- Nina Sosanya, Young Chekhov
- Jo Wickham, Steel Magnolias
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical
Jennifer Saayeng, Ragtime
She may only figure [spoiler!] in the first half of the show but Sarah is an epic part with some epic songs, including two stone-cold classics in 'Your Daddy's Son' and 'Wheels of a Dream', and Saayeng rose to the occasion magnificently both dramatically and musically. You totally believed she was someone Ako Mitchell's Coalhouse would turn the world upside down to avenge.
Honourable mention:
Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, Murder Ballad
I wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of this show but Hamilton'Barritt's performance kept me as thoroughly engaged as Ramin Karimloo's abs did. She has that real gift of being able to transcend the material she's given, to become scene-stealingly excellent even when she's not the lead.
Also:
- Josie Benson, Sweet Charity
- Sheila Hancock, Grey Gardens
- Rachel John, The Bodyguard
- Katherine Kingsley, She Loves Me
- Gloria Onitiri, The Grinning Man
- Cassie Clare, Little Shop of Horrors
- Djalenga Scott, Grease
- Nicola Sloane, Flowers for Mrs Harris
