Last night the winners were announced for the 61st Evening Standard Theatre Awards, in a star studded gala at the Old Vic Theatre, co-hosted by the owner of the Evening Standard Evgeny Lebedev with Judi Dench and Ian McKellen, and presented by Rob Brydon.
In recent years the awards have proved somewhat controversial with several members of the judging panel walking out when a best actress award was given to Helen Mirren despite their voting for a less high-profile candidate. It seemed things were rigged to create the most glamorous event possible, generating red-carpet photographs to promote the newspaper rather than rewarding excellence.