By Constance Drugeot

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Sunday is the day!

Taking place on April 6th at the Royal Albert Hall, the event will see the best performers and shows awarded and will feature amazing performances from all of the Best New Musical nominees, including Fiddler on the Roof, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Why Am I So Single? and Starlight Express.

Who’s presenting? 

Theatre royalties Beverley Knight (Sisters Act, The Drifters Girl, Memphis) and Billy Porter (Kinky Boots, Cabaret) will be hosting the event this year. 

They will be accompanied by past and current West End stars to present the many awards including: Hayley Atwell, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Samantha Barks, Cate Blanchett, Corbin Bleu, Tom Burke, Naomi Campbell, Elizabeth Debicki, Idris Elba, Marianne Elliot, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Martin Freeman, Tom Hiddleston, Celia Imrie, Shobana Jeyasingh, Jane Krakowski, Ewan McGregor, Chris O’Dowd, Elaine Paige, Harriet Scott and Gok Wan, Bryn Terfel and Jacqueline Wilson. 

Who’s performing? 

The evening will have performances from Best New Musical and Best Musical Revival nominees, including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, MJ the Musical, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Why Am I So Single?, Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver! and Starlight Express. We won’t lie, we are quite excited to see some of these amazing shows highlighted during the event – will Starlight Express’s performers roam around the stage in their sparkly costumes and roller skates? We can’t wait to find out!

What are the odds?

This year, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s revival of Fiddler on the Roof leads the pack with a total of thirteen nominations – a record! – alongside The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Oliver! with four nods. But who will be the one to win? See our prediction below!

Our Predictions

In the Best New Play category, we predict that Sthifters by Benedict Lombe at the Duke of York’s theatre will take home the award, with possibly Heather Agyepong also winning in the Best Actress category. However, we believe that Lesley Manville or Indira Varma for Oedipus have a very strong chance as well! In the Best Actor category, it could be Mark Strong for his role in the same play, Oedipus, or even Adrien Brody for The Fear of 13 at Donmar Warehouse.

In the Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, we’re placing our bets on a fan favourite, Titanique at the Criterion Theatre, although it will have to face serious competition with Ballet Shoes and Spirited Away. 

Competition is roaring this year in the Best Musical Revival with Fiddler on the Roof, Hello Dolly!, Oliver! and Starlight Express all nominated. We’re personally rooting for Fiddler on the Roof this year – what an incredible production, which will make a comeback in May at the Barbican! 

In the Best Revival category, The Importance of Being Earnest might win, especially since Sharon D. Clarke is also nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and is a very strong contestant in her category! Oedipus in Best Revival is also a strong opponent! 

Of course, we’ll keep our eyes on one of our favourite shows of the year: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button! Nominated for Best New Musical, we believe that the show is truly deserving of the recognition it’s getting. And what’s better for the British Awards Event of the year than to have a very British Musical win the category! We’re equally rooting for John Dagleish in the Best Actor in a Musical category alongside his stage partner, Clare Foster who is also nominated as Best Actress in a Musical. 

However, they are facing rude competition this year, including with Adam Dannheisser for Fiddler on the Roof and Jamie Muscato for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 for Best Actor and Imelda Staunton for Hello, Dolly! and Lauren Drew for Titanique in the Best Actress category. All are deserving, so may the best win! We also think that Liv Andrusier has a strong possibility to win for Best Supporting Actress in Fiddler on the Roof or even Amy Di Bartolomeo for The Devil Wears Prada. 

In the Best New Musical, either Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 or Why Am I So Single? Also have a strong chance of winning but we still think The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will take the award home. Maybe even the Outstanding Musical Contribution award for Darren Clark and Mark Aspinall for the beautiful music in the show! 

The award for Best Director might go to Jordan Fein for Fiddler on the Roof. Julia Cheng could also win in the Best Theatre Choreographer category for her work on Fiddler on the Roof – that bottle dance never fails to amaze! However, Christopher Wheeldon could have that award in the bag for MJ the Musical. In the Best Costume Design category, our bet is on Gabriella Slade for her work on Starlight Express. Best Set Design will go to Jon Bausor for Spirited Away and Toby Olié and Daisy Beattie for puppetry design for the show.

And you? Who are you rooting for? Who do you think should win this year? Let us know!