James Graham, Janie Dee and Gary Kemp will be among those handing out the inaugural Great British Theatres Awards at Central Hall Westminster on Monday 2 November, with Marisha Wallace hosting the evening.
The awards are new this year. Theatres Trust, the national advisory public body for theatres, has launched them to mark its 50th anniversary, and they are produced by Green Room Ents Ltd in partnership with the Trust. Where most theatre prizes go to performers and productions, these are given to the buildings themselves, and to the organisations and people who keep them open and in use.
Nearly 200 nominations were received from across the UK, and the finalists were published in September across ten categories, among them Great New Build, Great Renovation, Great Amateur Theatre, Great Found Space and Great Green Theatre. From the category winners the judging panel will then choose a single venue to be named Great British Theatre 2026.
Marisha Wallace, twice nominated for an Olivier Award, was confirmed as host earlier this month. WhatsOnStage reports that she will be joined by a presenting line-up of James Graham, Janie Dee, Gary Kemp, Siobhan Redmond, Tobias Turley, Shanay Holmes, Hammed Animashaun and Zoë Armer.
Graham, the playwright behind Dear England, Quiz and This House, is to present the Great British Theatres Lifetime Achievement Award to Julie Hesmondhalgh. Theatres Trust chose her for her advocacy on behalf of local theatres, which has included campaigning for Oldham Coliseum and for Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre and Theatre while their futures were in doubt. Dee will hand over the Great Green Theatre Award, the category for venues leading on environmental sustainability.
Kemp, a founding member of Spandau Ballet, is joined among the presenters by the stage and screen actor Redmond and by Turley, the winner of ITV's Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream, who is currently appearing in High School Musical at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. Holmes, a co-founder of Musical Con, BAFTA nominee Animashaun and Armer, a recent winner at The Stage Debut Awards, complete the list.
Some of the shortlisted venues will provide the evening's performances. Keziah Ibe is to sing I Could Have Danced All Night from Chichester Festival Theatre's production of My Fair Lady, Chichester being a finalist in both the Great New Build and Great Green Theatre categories, while Polka Theatre, shortlisted for Great Community Connection and Great Public Space, will offer a preview of its new musical Peter Pan. Wallace is also due to perform. Rob Eckland is musical director for the night, and Ryan McLean and Melanie Demetriou will interpret the ceremony in British Sign Language.
The setting is the Great Hall of Methodist Central Hall, the domed building opposite Westminster Abbey that opened in 1912 and, in 1946, hosted the first General Assembly of the United Nations.
Doors open at 6pm on Monday 2 November 2026, with the ceremony running from 7pm to 9pm. Theatres Trust is selling tickets to the public at £25 each.
For more information, visit the official website.
Lead photo: Colin via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, resized.
