Radcliffe was named Best Actor, for his performance in Martin McDonagh’s play, The Cripple of Inishmaan, which is due to open on Broadway in April.
Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, won the Newcomer of the Year award for his West End debut in the revival of Jez Butterworth’s Mojo, a must-see for anyone who were left wanting more after a trip to the Harry Potter Experience.
The 25-year-old was inspired to make his stage debut after speaking to Radcliffe. “Dan has always said it’s a great thing to do and he absolutely loves it. Just watching him enjoy it told me it must be quite fun,” he told reporters from The Telegraph.
West End winners
The WhatsOnStage Awards, formerly known as the Theatregoers’ Choice Awards, are produced by WhatsOnStage.com, with the aim of recognising performers and productions of British theatre, with an emphasis on the West End.
The nominations and winners are usually selected by the theatre-going public’s votes, with the awards ceremony being held every year in February. This year, the ceremony was held at the Prince of Wales Theatre. This is the second time Daniel Radcliffe has won a WhatsOnStage award: he won the Newcomer award in 2008 for his performance in Equus.
Thanking Michael Grandage for his “inspirational direction”, Radcliffe went on to say that he was “deeply honoured to receive this prestigious award and I accept it on behalf of the whole cast who together helped make this production a truly joyous experience for me as an actor.”
Hairy Potter!
Radcliffe sported a shocking new hairstyle, which surprised many of his fans. Sporting shoulder-length brown hair extensions, he showed off the ‘new look’ for his character of Igor in the new adaptation of Frankenstein, directed by Paul McGuigan, co-starring James McAvoy and Jessica Brown Findlay.
Grandage’s play picked up a total of four awards on the night, including Best Director for his five-play season. Other winners included David Walliams, who won the Best Supporting Actor prize for his performance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The play itself won the award for Best Shakespearean Production.
Other winners
The Book of Mormon was another big winner, winning four awards, sweeping the musical categories, beating Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Once, winning the coveted Best New Musical award. It also won three out of the four acting prizes. Gavin Creel was named Best Actor in a Musical and Stephen Ashfield won Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, with Alexia Khadime winning Best Supporting Actress in a Musical.
Other winners include Scarlett Strallen, for her role in A Chorus Line, winning Best Actress in a Musical. The Audience, directed by Peter Morgan, won Best New Play, with Dame Helen Mirren being awarded best actress for her role as the Queen.