# 2025 WhatsOnStage Awards

The 25th WhatsOnStage Awards took place on 9 February 2025 at the London Palladium for the second time.

## Winners and nominees

Nominations opened on 7 November 2024. The nominees for the 25th WhatsOnStage Awards were announced in December 2024 by My Fair Lady stars Molly Lynch, David Seadon-Young and Minal Patel at the Curve Theatre in Leicester.
| Best New Play | Best New Musical |
| Spirited Away Giant Kyoto Princess Essex Punch Slave Play | Mean Girls Babies The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Devil Wears Prada MJ the Musical Why Am I So Single? |
| Best Play Revival | Best Musical Revival |
| Macbeth A Raisin in the Sun The Crucible Oedipus Romeo and Juliet Waiting for Godot | Starlight Express Dear Evan Hansen Hadestown Hello, Dolly! Kiss Me, Kate Oliver! |
| Best Performer in a Play | Best Supporting Performer in a Play |
| David Tennant, Macbeth Emma D'Arcy, The Other Place Tom Holland, Romeo and Juliet Cush Jumbo, Macbeth Anne Odeke, Princess Essex Michael Sheen, Nye | Freema Agyeman, Romeo and Juliet Romola Garai, Giant Julie Hesmondhalgh, Punch Teddy Hinde, The History Boys Atsuki Mashiko, Spirited Away Sharon Small, Nye |
| Best Performer in a Musical | Best Supporting Performer in a Musical |
| Imelda Staunton, Hello, Dolly! Georgina Castle, Mean Girls Jo Foster, Why Am I So Single? Myles Frost, MJ the Musical Leesa Tulley, Why Am I So Single? Vanessa Williams, The Devil Wears Prada | Melanie La Barrie, Hadestown Siobhan Athwal, Bhangra Nation Amy Di Bartolomeo, The Devil Wears Prada Grace Mouat, Mean Girls Jaydon Vijn, Starlight Express Tom Xander, Mean Girls |
| Best Takeover Performance | Best Professional Debut Performance |
| Layton Williams, Cabaret Zoe Birkett, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical Cara Delevingne, Cabaret Craig Ryder, Moulin Rouge! the Musical Alex Sawyer, Hamilton Tobias Turley, Mamma Mia! | Jeevan Braich, Starlight Express Esme Bowdler, Heathers the Musical Stevie Doc, Mamma Mia! Vasco Emauz, Back to the Future Mia Kobayashi, Your Lie in April Gerardine Sacdalan, & Juliet |
| Best Direction | Best Musical Direction/Supervision |
| Emma Rice, The Buddha of Suburbia Eline Arbo, The Years Robert Icke, Oedipus Anthony Lau, The Crucible James Macdonald, Waiting for Godot Drew McOnie, The Artist | Tarek Merchant and Liam Robinson, Hadestown Mark Aspinall and Darren Clark, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Mark Aspinall and Dan Turek, Fiddler on the Roof Simon Baker and Niraj Chag, The Buddha of Suburbia Alasdair Macrae, Macbeth Matthew Malone, Brassed Off |
| Best Choreography | Best Sound Design |
| Christopher Wheeldon, MJ the Musical Matthew Bourne, Oliver! Julia Cheng, Fiddler on the Roof Drew McOnie, The Artist Rujata Vaidya, Bhangra Nation Anthony Van Laast, Kiss Me, Kate | Gareth Fry, Macbeth Paul Arditti, Brace Brace Susan Bear, Maggie and Me Nicola T Chang, Minority Report Gareth Fry, Viola's Room Gareth Owen, Starlight Express |
| Best Set Design | Best Costume Design |
| Tim Hatley, Starlight Express Jon Bausor with puppetry by Toby Olié, Spirited Away Miriam Buether, Kyoto Es Devlin, Coriolanus Kenneth MacLeod, Maggie and Me Tom Scutt, Fiddler on the Roof | Gabriella Slade, Starlight Express Sachiko Nakahara, Spirited Away Lez Brotherston, Oliver! Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray Tom Scutt, Fiddler on the Roof Rae Smith, Hello, Dolly! |
| Best Lighting Design | Best Casting |
| Howard Hudson, Starlight Express Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs, Oliver! Jessica Hung Han Yun, Minority Report Tim Lutkin, Coriolanus Bruno Poet, Waiting for Godot Zoe Spurr, The Artist | Harry Blumenau and Sarah-Jane Price, Why Am I So Single? Amy Ball, The Years Chloe Blake and Alastair Coomer, Till the Stars Come Down Stuart Burt, Fiddler on the Roof Anna Cooper, Macbeth Lotte Hines, A Raisin in the Sun |
| Best Video Design | Best Wigs, Hair and Make Up Design |
| Andrzej Goulding, Starlight Express David Bergman, The Picture of Dorian Gray Grant Gee and Ellie Thompson, Bluets Tal Rosner, Minority Report Ash J Woodward, The Artist Ash J Woodward, Fangirls | Jackie Saundercock and Campbell Young Associates, Starlight Express Campbell Young Associates, The Devil Wears Prada Marg Horwell, The Picture of Dorian Gray Betty Marini, The Cabinet Minister Hiroaki Miyauchi, Spirited Away Georgia Nosal, The Artist |
| Best Off-West End Production | Best Regional Production |
| Diary of a Gay Disaster Brace Brace Dear Young Monster Kenrex Mulatto Boy Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em | Oliver! 42 Balloons The Artist Becoming Nancy Brassed Off Dear Evan Hansen |
| Best Concert Event | Best West End Show |
| Something Rotten! – In Concert Gypsy the Musical in Concert I Am Harvey Milk Pippin – 50th Anniversary Concert Sondheim on Sondheim Spring Awakening: 15th Anniversary Concert | Six Cabaret Hamilton Les Misérables Mamma Mia! Operation Mincemeat |
| Special Award: Services to UK Theatre ||
| Paule Constable (Lighting Designer) ||

## Productions with multiple accolades
### Multiple wins

* 7 wins: Starlight Express
* 2 wins: Macbeth, Hadestown

### Multiple nominations

* 9 nominations: Starlight Express
* 6 nominations: The Artist, Macbeth
* 5 nominations: Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver!, Spirited Away
* 4 nominations: The Devil Wears Prada, Mean Girls, Why Am I So Single?
* 3 nominations: Cabaret, Hadestown, Hello, Dolly!, Mamma Mia!, MJ the Musical, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Romeo and Juliet, Waiting for Godot
* 2 nominations: Bhangra Nation, Brace Brace, Brassed Off, The Buddha of Suburbia, Coriolanus, The Crucible, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Dear Evan Hansen, Giant, Hamilton, Kiss Me, Kate, Kyoto, Maggie and Me, Nye, Oedipus, Princess Essex, Punch, A Raisin in the Sun, The Years