On Thursday 24th September, nominees for this year’s Black British Theatre Awards were announced.

Founded in 2019, the Black British Theatre Awards are voted almost entirely by the public and aim to highlight, as well as champion, the recognition, and representation of Black talent in British theatre. 

The awards feature 26 different categories that span production and performance in plays, musicals, and dance productions, with additional categories including the LGBTQ+ Champion Award, the Disability Champion Award, and Best Teacher of Performing Arts as a Subject Award.

BBTA Directors Solange Urdang and Omar F Okai say “This is an important year with UK Theatre coming to a standstill and The Black Lives Matter movement protests. We feel it is important now more than ever to highlight the wonderful Black British talent we have in abundance and hope to bring positivity to such a difficult time”.

This year’s awards ceremony will take place at London’s Young Vic Theatre and be broadcast exclusively on Sky Arts in late October, produced by Kwame Kwei-Armah & Shantelle Rochester and Directed by Charlie Di Placido and Kojey Radical.

Sharon D Clarke winner of 2019 BBTA’s Best Female Actor in a Musical, Caroline, Or Change & Lifetime Achievement Award with Danny Sapani
Photo credit: Michelle Marshall

The Black British Theatre Awards 2020 Nominees are: 

BEST DIRECTOR AWARD FOR A PLAY OR MUSICAL
Clint Dyer, Death of England, National Theatre | Nadia Latif, Fairview, Young Vic Theatre | Ola Ince, Appropriate, Donmar Warehouse | Roy Alexander Weise, ‘Master Harold’… and the boys, National Theatre

BEST PRODUCER AWARD
Adrian Grant, Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre | Nicole Raquel Dennis and Ryan Carter, Turn Up, Cadogan Hall | Tobi Kyeremateng, My White Best Friend (and Other Letters Left Unsaid), Royal Court Theatre

BEST CHOREOGRAPHER AWARD
Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE, REDD, Barbican Theatre | Lanre Malaolu, Pass Over, Kiln Theatre | Shelley Maxwell, ‘Master Harold’… and the boys, National Theatre

BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE IN A DANCE PRODUCTION AWARD
Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE, REDD, Barbican Theatre  | Marcelino Sambé, The Cellist, Royal Opera House

BEST DANCE PRODUCTION AWARD
Ingoma, Ballet Black, Barbican Theatre | REDD – Boy Blue, Barbican Theatre | Some Like It Hip Hop – ZooNation, Peacock Theatre

BEST USE OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Nicole Raquel Dennis and Ryan Carter, Turn Up, Cadogan Hall

LIGHT AND SOUND RECOGNITION AWARD
Carmen Wright | Simeon Miller | Tony Gayle

COSTUME DESIGN RECOGNITION AWARD
Jodie Simone Howe | Maybelle Laye | Natalie Pryce

BOOK AND LYRICS RECOGNITION AWARD
Arinzé Kene | Roy Williams | Shirley Thompson OBE

MUSICAL DIRECTOR RECOGNITION AWARD
Ian Oakley | Sean Green | Shiloh Coke

Martina Laird; Layton Williams; Matt Henry – Michelle Marshall photography 

CASTING DIRECTOR RECOGNITION AWARD
Isabella Odoffin

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Lucian Msamati, Master Harold’… and the boys, National Theatre  | Paapa Essiedu, Pass Over, Kiln Theatre | Valentine Olukoga, The Fishermen, Trafalgar Studios

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Rakie Ayola, On Bear Ridge, Royal Court Theatre | Ronke Adekoluejo, Three Sisters, National Theatre | Sharon D. Clarke MBE, Death of a Salesman, Piccadilly Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Arinzé Kene, Death of a Salesman, Young Vic Theatre | Nari Blair-Mangat, Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre  | Reice Weathers, The Upstart Crow, Gielgud Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Cherrelle Skeete, The High Table, Bush Theatre | Michele Austin, Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre  | Rosalind Eleazar, Uncle Vanya, Harold Pinter Theatre

BEST PRODUCTION PLAY
Death of a Salesman, Piccadilly Theatre | Fairview, Young Vic Theatre | Three Sisters, National Theatre

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Jason Brock, Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre | Jonathan Andrew Hume, Come from Away, Phoenix Theatre | Noah Thomas, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Aisha Jawando, TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, Aldwych Theatre | Maiya Quansah-Breed, Six the Musical, Arts Theatre  | Miriam-Teak Lee, & Juliet, The Shaftesbury Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Arun Blair-Mangat, & Juliet, The Shaftesbury Theatre | Nicholas McLean, Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre | Tarinn Callender, Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Melanie La Barrie, & Juliet, The Shaftesbury Theatre | Nicole Raquel Dennis, Dear Evan Hansen, Noël Coward Theatre  | Shanay Holmes, The Bridges of Madison County, Menier Chocolate Factory

BEST MUSICAL PRODUCTION AWARD
Hamilton, Victoria Palace Theatre | Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre | TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, Aldwych Theatre

LGBTQ+ CHAMPION AWARD
Arun Blair-Mangat | Layton Williams | Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE

DISABILITY CHAMPION AWARD
Chris Fonseca | Rachel Nwokoro

BEST TEACHER OF PERFORMING ARTS AS A SUBJECT AWARD
David Blake, WAC Arts | Dollie Henry, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance | Kamara Gray, Urdang Academy/Artistry Youth Dance

BEST RECENT GRADUATE AWARD
Danielle Fiamanya, Guildford School of Acting | Stacy Abalogun, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art | Tonye Scott-Obene, Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Shirley Thompson OBE

For more information on the awards and a full list of nominees, follow this link.