The critically acclaimed smash-hit Paddington The Musical triumphed, winning nine awards and equalling the record for the most wins in WhatsOnStage Award history with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Miss Saigon – and the most for any new msucial.

The production won Best New Musical; Best Professional Debut Performance for Timi Akinyosade; Best Direction for Luke Sheppard; Best Set Design for Tom Pye; Best Costume Design for Gabriella Slade and Tahra Zafar – the latter, who designed the bear; Best Sound Design for Gareth Owen; Best Wigs, Hair and Make-Up Design for Campbell Young Associates; Best Musical Supervision/Direction for Matt Brind; and Best Casting Direction for Natalie Gallacher CDG for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting, Nick Hockaday and Annabelle Davis.

Evita was the recipient of five Awards – Best Musical Revival, Best Choreography for Fabian Aloise, Best Lighting for Jon Clark, Best Video Design for Jamie Lloyd, Nick Ward and David Anderson, and Rachel Zegler winning Best Performer in a Musical. 

With the year very much dominated by the big musicals, Richard II at Bridge Theatre leads the straight play categories with two wins – Jonathan Bailey win Best Performer in a Play and the production, Best Play Revival. Taking the Best New Play Award are WhatsOnStage Award favourites Mischief for The Comedy About Spies by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields.