2024 WhatsOnStage Awards explained

24th WhatsOnStage Awards
Date:	11 February 2024
Location:	London Palladium
Host:	Melanie La Barrie and Bonnie Langford
Most Wins:	Sunset Boulevard (7)
Most Nominations:	Guys and Dolls (13)
Previous:	2023
Next:	2025

The 24th WhatsOnStage Awards took place on Sunday 11 February 2024 at the London Palladium.^[1]

Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 24th WhatsOnStage Awards were announced on 7 December 2023^[2] by The Time Traveller's Wife stars Hiba Elchikhe and Tim Mahendran at the Apollo Theatre. Voting closed on 11 January 2024.^[3]

Best New Play	Best New Musical
A Little Life Cowbois Dear England Hamnet The Motive and the Cue	Operation Mincemeat The Little Big Things Mrs Doubtfire Next to Normal Newsies The Time Traveller's Wife
Best Play Revival	Best Musical Revival
VANYA A Streetcar Named Desire The Effect The Merchant of Venice 1936 The Pillowman Shirley Valentine	Guys and Dolls La Cage aux Folles Lord of the Rings The Sound of Music Sunset Boulevard The Wizard of Oz
Best Performer in a Play	Best Supporting Performer in a Play
James Norton, A Little Life Paapa Essiedu, The Effect Joseph Fiennes, Dear England Taylor Russell, The Effect Andrew Scott, VANYA Sheridan Smith, Shirley Valentine	Luke Thompson, A Little Life Michele Austin, The Effect Will Close, Dear England Bryony Corrigan, I, Daniel Blake Zubin Varla, A Little Life Anjana Vasan, A Streetcar Named Desire
Best Performer in a Musical	Best Supporting Performer in a Musical
Nicole Scherzinger, Sunset Boulevard Michael Ahomka-Lindsay, Newsies Natasha Hodgson, Operation Mincemeat Ed Larkin, The Little Big Things Caissie Levy, Next to Normal Marisha Wallace, Guys and Dolls	Jack Wolfe, Next to Normal Aynrand Ferrer, Miss Saigon Jak Malone, Operation Mincemeat Jason Manford, The Wizard of Oz Cedric Neal, Guys and Dolls Amy Trigg, The Little Big Things
Best Takeover Performance	Best Professional Debut Performance
Aimee Lou Wood, Cabaret Karis Anderson, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical Cory English, Mason Alexander Park, Cabaret Lucy St. Louis, Wicked Rebecca Lucy Taylor, Cabaret	Grace Hodgett-Young, Sunset Boulevard Rita Bernard-Shaw, Trouble in Butetown Laura Dawkes, Frozen Lou Henry, SIX Louis McCartney, Stranger Things: The First Shadow Andrew Richardson, Guys and Dolls
Best Direction	Best Musical Direction/Supervision
Jamie Lloyd, Sunset Boulevard Polly Findlay, Assassins Rebecca Frecknall, A Streetcar Named Desire Rupert Goold, Dear England Nicholas Hytner, Guys and Dolls Sam Mendes, The Motive and the Cue	Alan Williams, Sunset Boulevard Mark Aspinall and Sioned Saunders, Lord of the Rings Nick Barstow and Nigel Lilley, Next to Normal Cat Beveridge and Nigel Lilley, The Witches Tom Brady, Guys and Dolls Stephen Brooker, Alfonso Casado Trigo and Stephen Metcalfe, Old Friends
Best Choreography	Best Sound Design
Matt Cole, Newsies Fabian Aloise, Sunset Boulevard Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf, Dear England Stephen Mear, La Cage aux Folles Arlene Phillips with James Cousins, Guys and Dolls Kenrick "H2O" Sandy, Free Your Mind	Adam Fisher, Sunset Boulevard Paul Arditti, Guys and Dolls Paul Arditti, Stranger Things: The First Shadow Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons, Dear England Adam Fisher, Lord of the Rings Tony Gayle, Next to Normal
Best Set Design	Best Costume Design
Bunny Christie, Guys and Dolls Miriam Buether, Stranger Things: The First Shadow Lizzie Clachan, Assassins Lizzie Clachan, The Witches Chloe Lamford, Phaedra Morgan Large, Newsies	Ryan Dawson Laight, La Cage aux Folles Bunny Christie and Deborah Andrews, Guys and Dolls Lizzie Clachan, The Witches Gregory Gale, To Wong Foo: The Musical Gareth Pugh, Free Your Mind Grace Smart, Cowbois
Best Lighting Design	Best Casting
Jack Knowles, Sunset Boulevard Rory Beaton and Lucy Carter, The Time Traveller’s Wife Jon Clark, Dear England Jon Clark, The Effect Jon Clark, Stranger Things: The First Shadow Paule Constable, Guys and Dolls	Jill Green, The Little Big Things Alastair Coomer and Naomi Downham, The Motive and the Cue Anna Cooper, Next to Normal Bryony Jarvis-Taylor, Dear England Bryony Jarvis-Taylor, The Witches Jessica Ronane, Stranger Things: The First Shadow
Best Video Design	Best Graphic Design
Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom, Sunset Boulevard 59 Productions, Stranger Things: The First Shadow Andrzej Goulding, Miss Saigon Andrzej Goulding, The Time Traveller's Wife Ash J Woodward, Dear England Ash J Woodward, The Witches	Muse Creative, Guys and Dolls Bob King Creative, Operation Mincemeat Jeremy Coysten and North Design, Free Your Mind The Creative Partnership, Stranger Things: The First Shadow Feast Creative, La Cage aux Folles Rick Guest, Rob Rae and the NT Graphics Studio, Dear England
Best Off-West End Production	Best Regional Production
Flowers for Mrs Harris Allegiance Othello Rebecca Scouts	The Musical The Shape of Things	Lord of the Rings Boys from the Blackstuff Choir Boy In Dreams Miss Saigon To Wong Foo: The Musical
Best Concert Event	Best West End Show
Love Never Dies Ariana DeBose in Concert Darren Criss Evita in Concert Once: in Concert Schwartz at 75	Cabaret Back to the Future Les Misérables Moulin Rouge! The Musical The Phantom of the Opera Six
Special Award: Services to UK Theatre
Rufus Norris

Productions with multiple accolades

Multiple nominations

• 12 nominations: Guys and Dolls
• 10 nominations: Dear England
• 9 nominations: Sunset Boulevard
• 8 nominations: Stranger Things: The First Shadow
• 6 nominations: Next to Normal
• 5 nominations: The Effect, The Witches
• 4 nominations: Cabaret, La Cage aux Folles, The Little Big Things, A Little Life, Lord of the Rings, Newsies, Operation Mincemeat
• 3 nominations: Free Your Mind, Miss Saigon, The Motive and the Cue, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Time Traveller's Wife
• 2 nominations: Assassins, Back to the Future: The Musical, Cowbois, Shirley Valentine, Six, To Wong Foo: The Musical, VANYA, The Wizard of Oz

Multiple wins

• 7 wins: Sunset Boulevard
• 3 wins: Guys and Dolls
• 2 wins: Cabaret, A Little Life

Notes and References

1. Web site: 24th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards to be Hosted at the London Palladium. Theatre Weekly. 9 November 2023. 18 December 2023.
2. Web site: Nominations in full: the 24th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards. WhatsOnStage. Tom. Millward. 7 December 2023. 13 December 2023.
3. Web site: Hiba Elchikhe and Tim Mahendran to host 24th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards nominations announcement. WhatsOnStage. Tom. Millward. 6 December 2023. 18 December 2023.