The Evening Standard, London’s most iconic news brand, and TikTok, the leading destination for short-form video content, have announced the winners of the Evening Standard Future Theatre Fund, created in partnership with the National Youth Theatre to support the next generation of theatre makers.
The twelve recipients were revealed last night during a virtual ceremony at the iconic Apollo Theatre, hosted by West End stars Aimie Atkinson and Layton Williams. Aimee starred in the hit show Six and is the current lead in Pretty Woman: The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre while Layton famously featured as the title character in the hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
The fund awards ten recent graduates from the UK’s top drama schools and nominees from theatre programmes working across different disciplines. Two additional recipients were selected for the TikTok Breakout Award – a first of its kind award to support those who may not have received formal training in drama to begin their career in theatre. The TikTok Breakout Awards were received by Ewan Fellows and Jesse Chuku, who submitted nominations on TikTok through the #TikTokBreakoutStar challenge.. All the deserving winners, representing the very best of future British theatre makers, will receive £10,000 pounds each as well as mentoring to help their careers progress.
Each recipient of the fund underwent a rigorous selection process, led by a panel of experts including icons of British theatre Andrew Lloyd Webber, Helen McCrory and Kwame Kwei-Armah alongside Nancy Durrant, Arts Editor of the Evening Standard; Rich Waterworth, General Manager of TikTok UK; and Paul Roseby, Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre, who chaired the panel.
The twelve winners are as follows:
Musical Theatre – Beth Hinton-Lever
Musical Theatre – Emily Aboud
Acting – Adam Fenton
Acting – Selina Jones
Directing/Theatre Making – Omar Bynon
Directing/Theatre Making – Jamie Hale
Visual Design – Caitlin Mawhinney
Visual Design – Nikki Charlesworth
Audio Design – Francesca Amewudah-Rivers
Audio Design – Nicola Chang
TikTok Breakout – Ewan Fellows
Tiktok Breakout – Jesse Chuku
Emily Sheffield, Editor of the Evening Standard, commented: “Congratulations to all the recipients — we are so proud to be supporting some of the emerging talent that will form the heart of theatre in London’s West End and beyond. This initiative is a crucial investment in our cultural capital that has taken such a beating in this last year in the pandemic, and we cannot wait for all our theatres to reopen.”
Evgeny Lebedev, Proprietor of the Evening Standard, added: “I am in awe of this new generation of creatives who have faced significant obstacles to launch their careers in theatre. I congratulate the recipients and look forward to seeing their work in the future.”
Rich Waterworth, General Manager, UK & EU at TikTok, said: "It's been our privilege that TikTok has become a creative outlet for so many over the last year. As one of the judges I've loved watching the many incredible applicants, and we were all seriously impressed by the raw talent, passion and drive the winners showed as they work to become a success in the industry. We hope the Fund can help support a sector that makes a vital contribution to the social and cultural fabric of the nation, at a time when we need the next generation of theatre makers more than ever."
