Winners of The Stage Debut Awards 2026, in association with Netflix, were revealed tonight at a ceremony at 8 Northumberland Avenue, London, celebrating standout professional and West End debuts across UK theatre.
Sadie Sink scooped the prize for Best West End Debut Performer, the evening’s only public-voted category, for her performance in Romeo and Juliet at the Harold Pinter Theatre. Sink follows in the footsteps of previous winners including Rachel Zegler, Jodie Comer, Rose Ayling-Ellis, and Jack Wolfe.
Hosted by actor and comedian Hammed Animashaun, the ceremony featured two joint wins in performance categories. Julianne Pundan (Miss Saigon, Palace Theatre Manchester) and James Spence (Thespians, Mercury Theatre Colchester) shared Best Performer in a Musical. The Best Performer in a Play prize was shared by Robert Aramayo (Guess How Much I Love You?, Royal Court) and Zoë Armer (The Virgins, Soho Theatre).
Off-stage honors saw Tommaso Giacomin named Best Director for The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin at the New Diorama Theatre, while Georgie Dettmer won Best Writer for Are You Watching? at the Royal Court Theatre. Actor and writer Jordan Luke Gage won Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer for Redcliffe at Southwark Playhouse Borough, making his debut across all three creative roles.
Natalie Roar received Best Designer for her costume work on Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the National Theatre, and Ava Pickett took home Best Creative West End Debut for writing 1536 at the Ambassadors Theatre—just one year after winning Best Writer at the 2025 ceremony.
Category awards were presented by industry figures including Sting, Indhu Rubasingham, Matthew Xia, Tyrone Huntley, Marisha Wallace, and Michael Rishawn. Attendees were treated to performances from Tyrone Huntley, Avenue Q, the West End Theatre Choir, and a surprise performance from Sting alongside The Last Ship co-star Frances McNamee.
The ceremony marked the ninth edition of the awards since their inception in 2017, ahead of their 10th anniversary in 2027.
