Olivia Colman and David Tennant scoop gongs at stage awards

By Press Association

February 25 2018, 9:30 pm

Olivia Colman and David Tennant have scooped the top acting prizes at the WhatsOnStage Awards.

The ceremony saw 42nd Street triumph, with four awards including Best Musical Revival.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and The Ferryman both won three awards, while smash hit Hamilton opened too late to be eligible for the gongs.

Former Broadchurch co-stars Tennant and Colman won prizes for best actor and actress in a play – Tennant for Don Juan In Soho at the Wyndham’s Theatre and Colman for Mosquitoes at the National Theatre.

Tennant said that the play felt like a “celebration of London” in the wake of the 2017 terrorist attacks.

The actor, who beat fellow big stars Bryan Cranston, Martin Freeman, Andrew Garfield and Andrew Scott to the award, said he was “chuffed” to win.

“It was a real privilege getting to do a play about Soho in Soho and especially over a summer when London sadly suffered terrible attacks, the play itself began to feel like a real celebration of London,” he said.

“And indeed one of the crown jewels of London which is theatreland and the WhatsOnStage Awards are such a glorious celebration of that, so thank you all for voting and thank you all for getting involved.”

Colman beat Eve Best, Imelda Staunton, Natalie Dormer and Tamsin Greig.

We hope your Friday night is full of this much SASS! 💋 #JamieLondon #FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/Eiz5u53N0U
— JamieMusical (@JamieMusical) February 23, 2018

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a musical inspired by a teenage boy’s true story about wanting to wear a dress at school.

It was snapped up for the West End, after becoming a surprise hit on stage in Sheffield, by award-winning producer and London theatre owner Nica Burns.

Its star, John McCrea, who had never had a major lead and did not have an agent when he landed the part in Sheffield, has won Best Actor In A Musical.