Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018: The contenders on this year's best play shortlist

1/5
Marcus Field1 November 2018

The Evening Standard Theatre Awards shortlist was announced this week, featuring the best the London stage has seen this year.

Five plays are in the running for the best play award in partnership with Chanel, and you can read all about them right here.

Home, I’m Darling

Laura Wade, National Theatre (Dorfman)

Manuel Harlan

What appears in the opening scene to be a play about a couple living an idealised Fifties life takes a clever turn to become a musing on the role of women and social change in the 21st century. Tamara Harvey’s production of Laura Wade’s first play since Posh received rave reviews when it opened in July, with Katherine Parkinson in the standout role as stay-at-home wife Judy. Home, I’m Darling received its premiere at Theatr Clwyd, Mold, and now gets a West End transfer to the Duke of York’s, opening on Jan 26.

The Inheritance

Matthew Lopez, Young Vic

Marc Brenner

Matthew Lopez’s lauded two-part epic of love, lust and hypocrisy. Stephen Daldry is also on the shortlist for the Milton Shulman Award for Best Director and Kyle Soller is up for Best Actor, in Partnership with Ambassador Theatre Group, for his role as Eric. The Inheritance is at the Noel Coward Theatre, WC2, until Jan 19.

John

Annie Baker, National Theatre (Dorfman)

Stephen Cummiskey

A strange meeting between a young couple (Anneika Rose and Tom Mothersdale) and a pair of creepy B&B hosts is at the centre of this work by one of America’s most fêted playwrights. James Macdonald’s production was widely admired, with Standard critic Henry Hitchings calling it a “slow-burning portrait of disappointment”.

The Lehman Trilogy

Stefano Massini (adapted by Ben Power), National Theatre (Lyttleton)

Mark Douet

The 163-year history of Lehman Brothers is told in this mesmerising piece, adapted from Stefano Massini’s script by Ben Power. Simon Russell Beale, Ben Miles and Adam Godley are superb in Sam Mendes’s production. The show has a West End run at the Piccadilly Theatre from May 11.

The Writer

Ella Hickson, Almeida

Manuel Harlan

Ella Hickson’s The Writer, directed by Blanche McIntyre, examines the frustrations of a female playwright (Romola Garai) as she tackles the theatre establishment and her own private life. A devastating final scene brought gasps, reminding us that even the most loving modern relationship might have an imbalance at its heart.

The winners of the 64th Evening Standard Theatre Awards will be announced on November 18.

Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018: The shortlist

1/44

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in