On Broadway - UK-originated productions and creatives received 13 prizes at this year’s Tony Awards. Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which premiered in London in December 2023, was this year’s biggest winner at a ceremony held in New York’s Radio City Music Hall. It won awards including best sound design and a special award for its illusions and technical effects team, with Miriam Buether taking home the prize for best scenic design of a play for the show.
Sunset Boulevard, directed by Jamie Lloyd, picked up three prizes, including best revival of a musical and a best actress gong for Nicole Scherzinger, while performer Jak Malone took home best featured actor in a musical for Operation Mincemeat.
SOLT and UK Theatre co-chief executive, Claire Walker said: "This year’s Tony Awards have been a brilliant showcase for the creativity and talent that make the UK a global leader in theatre. We are delighted to see so many shows produced and developed in the UK find a home on Broadway. Congratulations to our colleagues at the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing for hosting such a wonderful celebration of theatre and to all of the winners and nominees."
Going North - Next year's Brit Awards are to be held in Manchester - the first time the ceremony has taken place outside London since the awards began in 1977. The ceremony will be held at the Co-op Live arena on Saturday 28 February. A two-year deal means that the 2027 ceremony, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Brit Awards, will also be held at the same venue.
It is the second major music ceremony to announce plans to leave London. Last month the BPI, which represents the British music industry and runs the Brit Awards, also revealed that this year's Mercury Prize will be held in Newcastle in September after 32 years in the capital.
Dr Jo Twist, CEO of the BPI, said: "We've had a fantastic history in London for nearly 50 years, and we just feel that now is the time to make a bold leap into other parts of the UK to the fans. Manchester has such a rich musical heritage and it has a fantastic ecosystem of support there on the ground, including lots of amazing grassroots venues." Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham described the move as "a massive coup" for the area.
Fringe Matters - The programme for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been launched, including 3,352 shows across 265 venues. Comedy, music, dance, children's shows, magic and cabaret will all be part of the arts festival, which runs from August 1 to 25. Show themes for 2025 include the apocalypse, rave culture, disability and sexuality. New venues this year include Hibs' Easter Road stadium.
Portobello Town Hall will also host acts for the first time, with a mini-festival to celebrate Palestinian art and culture, called Welcome to the Fringe, Palestine. The Famous Spiegeltent - a Belgian wood and canvas, mirrored venue dating back to the 19th century - will return to its traditional festival home in St Andrew Square. Another of the distinctive tents will set up in a car park at the Gyle Shopping centre, where an Italian company will present a circus show.
Crowd Control - Glastonbury Festival has sold "a few thousand less tickets" this year in an attempt to ease the build-up of heavy crowds, organiser Emily Eavis has said. This year's event is sold out but will not use its full 210,000 capacity. "It'll be interesting just to see how that affects the dynamics on site," Eavis said, adding that she wants to see if the reduction "can make an impact on some of the busier times".
She revealed they have also created more room for the audience at the Other Stage, the festival's second-biggest arena. The Shangri-La nightlife area will also have more room after the festival bought extra land, she said.
In Recovery - Sir Rod Stewart has cancelled a string of concerts in the US as he recovers from flu, ahead of his Glastonbury legends set later this month. The 80-year-old rocker is due to play the teatime slot on Sunday, 29 June - 23 years after he last appeared at the Somerset festival.
(Jim Evans)
10 June 2025
