The Stage Debut Awards in association with Netflix today announces the nominees for the industry’s most prestigious annual awards ceremony celebrating breakthrough talent in UK theatre. The winners will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, on September 28, 2025.
The 46 nominations originate from UK shows staged in all four nations, marking this year’s awards as the most geographically representative to date. The eight categories shine a spotlight on individuals making their professional or West End debuts, and salute excellence in acting, directing, design, writing and musical composition. The varied shortlist demonstrates a thriving transference of cross-genre skills with novelists, screenwriters, film-makers, film stars and podcasters among this year’s talent.
Nominees for the hotly contested Best West End Debut Performer award, the only category in which the winner is decided by public vote, features two sets of co-stars among the eight. Rachel Zegler and Diego Andres Rodriguez, the leading actors of Jamie Lloyd’s much-lauded revival of Evita, are contenders alongside Tosin Cole (Netflix’s Supacell) and Heather Agyepong, the romantic leads of the Olivier-award nominated Shifters. Last summer’s hit love story also claims the most nominees for a single production, three in total with playwright Benedict Lombe in the running for Best Creative West End Debut. Meanwhile, Georgie Buckland’s standout performance in The Devil Wears Prada, Clueless the Musical’s Emma Flynn and Kat Ronney in Titanique are also nominated in this musicals-dominated shortlist alongside actor Samuel Brewer’s turn in Oedipus.
This year’s Best Performer in a Musical category boasts a four-strong all-female line-up. The nominees are Why Am I So Single?’s Leesa Tulley at London’s Garrick Theatre, Dora Gee in The Mad Ones at the Other Palace, London, and Megan Ellis in Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, the stage adaptation of the popular film at Leicester’s Curve theatre, alongside Eve Shanu-Wilson, who took over the lead role of Christine in the long-running The Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty’s Theatre, London.
New musicals with a whimsical or comedic theme are the common thread running through this year’s outstanding nominees for Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer category, proving the genre’s popularity is as strong as ever. Innovative storytelling exploring modern themes are expressed in the exemplary work of Lovestuck’s trio Martin Batchelar, James Cooper (co-creator and star of global comedy podcast hit My Dad Wrote A Porno) and Bryn Christopher at Theatre Royal Stratford East, London; Yve Blake’s Fangirls at the Lyric Hammersmith, London; and One Man Musical by Flo & Joan by Nicola and Rosie Dempsey at the Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh.
The UK’s vibrant theatre scene is especially evident in this year’s Best Performer in a Play category, with eight nominees represented on all manner of stages across the UK including Hilson Agbangbe for Wonder Boy at Bristol Old Vic and Paula Clarke in her deftly signed and ‘chilling’ performance in The Tragedy of Richard III at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre; Lucy Karczewski’s ‘shining’ performance in Stereophonic in the West End’s Duke of York’s theatre; and Daisy Sequerra’s accomplished role in Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre. London fringe theatre also stakes its claim with Eva Morgan in The Glass Menagerie at the Yard and Christopher Neenan’s ‘hugely promising debut’ in Blood Wedding at Omnibus Theatre.
This year there are several individuals with South Asian heritage being recognised for their excellence in directing: among the nominees is Amit Sharma for Ryan Calais Cameron’s Retrograde (in the Best Creative West End Debut category) as well as Adam Karim for Guards at the Taj at the Orange Tree Theatre, London, and visionary Indian film-maker Aditya Chopra for Come Fall In Love at Manchester’s Opera House, who are both in the running for the Best Director category.
A plethora of writers featured in this year’s Best Creative West End Debut shortlist already come with Olivier-award winning and Olivier-award nominated accolades for their work including Mark Rosenblatt for Giant, Jethro Compton and Darren Clark for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eline Arbo (adapter/director) for The Years, Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli for Titanique while novelist Nathan Englander’s Olivier-nominated What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank makes the shortlist as a contender for his debut as Best Writer. Richard Mylan, a Debut Awards’ Best Writer nominee for Sorter (2023), returns this time as a contender in the Best Director category, flexing his multi-disciplinary skills in Mumfighter at Swansea Grand Theatre.
Last but not least, The Stage Debut Awards are thrilled to reveal comedy royalty, actor and pantomime dame Julian Clary as the new host of ceremonies at this year’s awards. With over 40 years in showbusiness under his belt, Clary will be putting his unique comedy stamp on The Stage Debut Awards. He says: "It is a true pleasure to host this annual celebration of emerging talent in the theatre industry where we will honour the artistry, creativity and dedication of the newest voices shaping the future of the stage. I look forward to celebrating the extraordinary promise of these rising stars."
The Stage editor Alistair Smith comments: “Judging The Stage Debut Awards was as thrilling as it was challenging. The sheer breadth and brilliance of emerging talent across the UK made narrowing down our longlist of more than 200 eligible theatremakers no easy task.
“For the first time, our shortlists include nominees from productions staged in all four nations of the UK — a real testament to the geographical spread and vibrancy of theatremaking today. We’re also proud to recognise artists working at every scale: from performers and creatives in blockbuster West End musicals to those making their mark in some of the UK’s most intimate fringe spaces. This year’s nominees truly embody the future of British theatre, and I can’t wait to celebrate their achievements.”
Votes for Best West End Debut Performer opens on August 21 and can be cast online at HERE voting closes on September 14. This award honours a performer’s first appearance in London’s West End.
Winners will be announced at The Stage Debut Awards’ eighth annual ceremony on September 28 at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, in association with headline sponsor Netflix.
The line-up of guest presenters and performers will be revealed in September
THE FULL LIST OF 2025 NOMINEES
Best Performer in a Play (sponsored by Encore):
● Hilson Agbangbe for Wonder Boy at Bristol Old Vic
● Paula Clarke for The Tragedy of Richard III at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast
● Joseph Edwards for The Red Shoes at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
● Lucy Karczewski for Stereophonic at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London
● Eva Morgan for The Glass Menagerie at the Yard Theatre, London
● Christopher Neenan for Blood Wedding at Omnibus Theatre, London
● Daisy Sequerra for Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre, London
● Jasper Talbot for Redlands at Chichester Festival Theatre
Best Performer in a Musical (sponsored by Michael Harrison Entertainment):
● Megan Ellis for Muriel’s Wedding the Musical at Curve, Leicester
● Dora Gee for The Mad Ones at the Other Palace, London
● Eve Shanu-Wilson for The Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty’s Theatre, London
● Leesa Tulley for Why Am I So Single? at the Garrick Theatre, London
Best Writer (sponsored by Sonia Friedman Productions):
● Sarah Bond for Seagulls and Sad, Sad Stories at Laurels, Whitley Bay
● Nathan Englander for What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank at
Marylebone Theatre, London
● Danny James King for Miss Myrtle’s Garden at Bush Theatre, London
● Nancy Netherwood for Radiant Boy: A Haunting at Southwark Playhouse, London
● Ava Pickett for 1536 at the Almeida Theatre, London
● Milly Sweeney for Water Colour at Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Byre Theatre,
St Andrews
● Saana Sze for Belly of the Beast at Finborough Theatre, London
Best Director (sponsored by Arts Council England):
● Aditya Chopra for Come Fall In Love at Opera House, Manchester
● Nathan Crossan-Smith for The Walrus Has a Right to Adventure at
Liverpool Everyman
● Adam Karim for Guards at the Taj at Orange Tree Theatre, London
● Emily Susanne Lloyd for The Mad Ones at the Other Palace, London
● Richard Mylan for Mumfighter at Swansea Grand Theatre
Best Designer (sponsored by Preevue):
● Juliette Demoulin (set), various at Finborough Theatre, London
● Adam Jefferys (lighting) for Communion at Bush Theatre, London
● Hannah Schmidt (set and costume) for The Passenger/Personal Values at
Finborough Theatre/Hampstead Theatre, London
● Chloe Wyn (set and costume) for The Walrus Has a Right to Adventure, at
Liverpool Everyman
Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer (sponsored by Theatricals Rights Worldwide):
● Martin Batchelar, James Cooper, Bryn Christopher for Lovestuck, at Theatre Royal
Stratford East, London
● Yve Blake for Fangirls at Lyric Hammersmith, London
● Nicola Dempsey and Rosie Dempsey for One Man Musical by Flo & Joan at
Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh
Best West End Debut Performer (Sponsored by Noël Coward Foundation):
● Heather Agyepong for Shifters at the Duke of York’s Theatre
● Samuel Brewer for Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre
● Georgie Buckland for The Devil Wears Prada at Dominion Theatre
● Tosin Cole for Shifters at the Duke of York’s Theatre
● Emma Flynn for Clueless the Musical at Trafalgar Theatre
● Diego Andres Rodriguez for Evita at London Palladium
● Kat Ronney for Titanique at Criterion Theatre
● Rachel Zegler for Evita at London Palladium
Best Creative West End Debut (sponsored by Learn My Lines Productions):
● Eline Arbo (adapter/director) for The Years at Harold Pinter Theatre
● Tye Blue (writer/director), Marla Mindelle (writer) and Constantine Rousouli (writer)
for Titanique at Criterion Theatre
● Darren Clark (music and lyrics) and Jethro Compton (book and lyrics)
for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors Theatre
● Justin Craig (musical director and orchestrator) for Stereophonic at the Duke of
York’s Theatre
● Benedict Lombe (playwright) for Shifters at the Duke of York's Theatre
● Mark Rosenblatt (playwright) for Giant at the Harold Pinter Theatre
● Amit Sharma (director) for Retrograde at Apollo Theatre
For tables and tickets please contact Sarah DuMay, sarah.dumay@thestage.co.uk
With thanks to our sponsors Netflix, Encore, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Michael Harrison Entertainment, Arts Council England, Preevue, Sonia Friedman Productions, Noël Coward Foundation and Learn My Lines Productions.
The inaugural The Stage Debut Awards took place in 2017 and recipients of these awards have gone on to star in West End shows, television series and films. Previous years’ winners include Best West End Debut Performer Jack Wolfe in Next to Normal, currently preparing for his Broadway debut in Hadestown, he follows in the footsteps of winner Rose Ayling-Ellis (2023) and Jodie Comer (2022). Other notable winners include Jeevan Braich for Starlight Express, Rob Madge for My Son's a Queer, (But What Can You Do?) at the Garrick Theatre and Ambassadors Theatre who also took their show to Broadway this year, Isobel Thom for their leading role in I, Joan at Shakespeare’s Globe, Michael R Jackson for composing A Strange Loop at the Barbican Theatre and Tingying Dong for her sound design on The Crucible, the Gielgud and National Theatre. A further roll call of notable award winners from previous years include Best West End Debut for Shan Ako (Les Misérables), SpitLip (Operation Mincemeat), Tyrell Williams (Red Pitch), Sam Tutty (Dear Evan Hansen), Miriam-Teak Lee (& Juliet), Bush Theatre artistic director Lynette Linton (Sweat) and composers Femi Temowo (Death of a Salesman) and Dan Gillespie Sells (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie). Jim Barne and Kit Buchan’s The Season (renamed Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)) will be transferring to Broadway later this year.