Black British Theatre Awards

The Black British Theatre Awards (BBTAS) are presented annually and recognise excellence among Black performers and creatives in the UK.

History
The BBTAS were first established in 2019 and created by Solange Urdang and Omar F. Okai.

After her award as Best Female Actor in a Musical in 2021, Lucy St Louis was the first Black female actress to be cast in the role of Christine Daee in the London production of The Phantom of the Opera. Following this, she joined the cast of Wicked as Glinda, making history with Alexia Khadime (Elphaba) as for the first time both leading roles were played by actors of color.

In 2022 the awards had great recognition, with public votes quadrupling since the previous year.

Voting System
Anyone can submit a nomination for each year's BBTAS, by completing an online form. Nominees must have lived in the UK for at least 3 years to be considered or be British Nationals and "of Black of African or Caribbean descent or of Mixed Ethnicity. Productions must have at least 50% of eligible performers. Each individual can only nominate once.

Ceremony
Through the years the awards ceremony has been hosted by big names of the theatre industry, such as Cynthia Erivo, Danny Sapani, Clint Dyer, Giles Terera and Layton Williams.

2019
These inaugural awards were held at The Old Finsbury Town Hall in Islington and hosted by Ore Oduba.

2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony was broadcast on Sky Arts on 25 October and took place at the Young Vic Theatre.

2021
The ceremony was held at The Old Finsbury Town Hall again and were hosted by Cynthia Erivo and Danny Sapani. Guest presenters included previous winners Miriam-Teak Lee and Layton Williams, as well as Jason Pennycooke, Dawn Hope and Matthew Xia.

2022
This award ceremony was held at the National Theatre and presented by Danny Sapani again.

2023
It was announced that the 2023 Awards will be held on 29 October and returning to the National Theatre, Lyttelton.

Drama

 * Best Play
 * Best Male Actor in a Play
 * Best Female Actor in a Play
 * Best Supporting Male Actor in a Play
 * Best Supporting Female Actor in a Play

Musical Theatre

 * Best Musical
 * Best Male Actor in a Musical
 * Best Female Actor in a Musical

Various

 * Best Director Award for a Play or a Musical
 * Best Producer
 * Best Choreographer
 * Best Dance Performance in a Dance Production
 * Best Use of Innovation and Technology
 * Light and Sound Recognition Award
 * Costume Design Recognition
 * Book and Lyrics Recognition
 * Musical Director Recognition
 * LGBTQ+ Champion Award
 * Disability Champion Award
 * Best Teacher of Performing Arts as a Subject
 * Best Recent Graduate Award
 * Lifetime Achievement Award

2019

 * Best Production for a Play - The Half God of Rainfall at Kiln Theatre
 * Best Male Actor in a Play - Arinzé Kene, Misty at Bush Theatre
 * Best Female Actor in a Play - Gloria Williams, Bullet Hole at Park Theatre
 * Best Supporting Male Actor in a Play - Lenny Henry, King Hedley II at Theatre Royal Stratford East
 * Best Supporting Female Actor in a Play - Michelle Greenidge, Nine Night at National Theatre
 * Best Director Award for a Play or a Musical - Lynette Linton, Sweat at Gielgud Theatre
 * Best Musical Production - Hamilton
 * Best Male Actor in a Musical - Layton Williams, Everybody's Talking About Jamie
 * Best Female Actor in a Musical - Sharon D Clarke, Caroline, Or Change at Playhouse Theatre
 * Best Supporting Male Actor in a Musical - Cavin Cornwall, Jesus Christ Superstar at Barbican Theatre
 * Best Supporting Female Actor in a Musical - Beverley Knight, Sylvia at The Old Vic
 * Best Choreographer - Shelley Maxwell for Equus
 * Best Opera Production - Porgy and Bess, ENO at the London Coliseum
 * Best Dance Production - Rite of Spring at the Sadler's Wells
 * Best Dance Performance in a Dance Production - Prentice Whitlow in Rite of Spring
 * Light and Sound Recognition - Tony Gayle
 * Set Design Recognition - Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey
 * Book and Lyrics Recognition - Debbie Tucker Green
 * Musical Director Recognition - Benjamin Kwasi Burrell
 * Recent Graduate - Amara Okereke; Arts Educational Schools
 * Best Teacher of Performing Arts as a Subject - Angeline Bell from The Urdang Academy
 * Lifetime Recognition - Sharon D Clarke

Sources:

2020

 * Best Play - Death of a Salesman, Young Vic
 * Best Male Actor in a Play - Valentine Olukoga for The Fishermen
 * Best Female Actor in a Play - Rakie Ayola for On Bear Ridge
 * Best Supporting Male Actor in a Play - Nari Blair-Mangat for Cyrano de Bergerac
 * Best Supporting Female Actor in a Play - Cherrelle Skeete for The High Table
 * Best Director Award for a Play or a Musical - Nadia Latif for Fairview
 * Best Musical - Thriller – Live
 * Best Male Actor in a Musical - Noah Thomasfor for Everybody's Talking About Jamie
 * Best Female Actor in a Musical - Miriam-Teak Lee for & Juliet
 * Best Supporting Male Actor in a Musical - Nicholas McLean for Wicked
 * Best Supporting Female Actor in a Musical - Nicole Raquel Dennis for Dear Evan Hansen

Source:

2021

 * Best Production Play - and breathe… at the Almeida Theatre
 * Best Male Actor in a Play - David Jonsson for and breathe…
 * Best Female Actor in a Play - Isabel Adomakoh Young for Romeo and Juliet
 * Best Supporting Male Actor in a Play - Andrew French for Romeo and Juliet
 * Best Supporting Female Actor in a Play - Aretha Ayeh for Romeo and Juliet
 * Best Director Award for a Play or a Musical - Miranda Cromwell for and breathe…
 * Best Musical Production - West End Musical Celebration at the Palace Theatre
 * Best Male Actor in a Musical - Ivano Turco for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella
 * Best Female Actor in a Musical - Lucy St. Louis for The Phantom of the Opera
 * Best Supporting Male Actor in a Musical - Caleb Roberts for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella
 * Best Supporting Female Actor in a Musical - Natasha May-Thomas for Carousel
 * Lifetime Achievement - Derek Griffiths

Source:

2022

 * Best Play - For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy at the Royal Court
 * Best Male Actor in a Play - Michael Fatogun for Foxes
 * Best Female Actor in a Play - Selina Jones for An unfinished man
 * Best Supporting Male Actor in a Play - Hayden Mampasi for Passionfruit
 * Best Supporting Female Actor in a Play - Sasha Frost for Folk
 * Outstanding Performance in a Play - Misha Duncan-Barry for My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored
 * Best Director - Ryan Calais Cameron and Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu,  For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy
 * Best Musical - Domitius, Conway Hall
 * Best Male Actor in a Musical - Michael Duke for Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical
 * Best Female Actor in a Musical - Courtney Stapleton for Beauty and the Beast
 * Best Supporting Male Actor in a Musical - Jordan Shaw for Les Misérables
 * Best Supporting Female Actor in a Musical - Nicolle Smartt, Domitius
 * Outstanding Performance in a Musical - Amara Okereke, My Fair Lady
 * Best Musical Director - Sean Green, Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical

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