Actors Sir Derek Jacobi and Kristin Scott Thomas, director Mike Leigh and the musical Mary Poppins are all in the running for the 51st Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
The shortlist, unveiled today, has 18 nominations for awards, which will be presented at a ceremony at the Savoy hotel on 28 November, hosted by writer and broadcaster Ned Sherrin.
The National Theatre, which has dominated the shortlist in recent years, has one contender this time. Covent Garden studio theatre the Donmar has three nominations and there are three for Don Carlos, directed by Donmar chief Michael Grandage, which transferred to the West End from Sheffield.
The Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director will be contested by Sir Richard Eyre for Mary Poppins and Hedda Gabler, Jonathan Kent for As You Desire Me and Grandage for Don Carlos and Grand Hotel.
Sir Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins is also nominated for Best Musical, competing with The Big Life and Stephen Daldry's Billy Elliot.
The Charles Wintour Award for most promising playwright comes with £30,000 donated jointly by Lord Rothermere, chairman of the Daily Mail and General Trust, publisher of the Evening Standard, and Anna Wintour, daughter of the former Evening Standard editor, who instigated the awards.
This year's nominees are Nell Leyshon for her moving rural drama Comfort Me With Apples at the Hampstead Theatre, Ryan Craig for What We Did To Weinstein at the Menier Chocolate Factory and Simon Mendes da Costa for Losing Louis, also at the Hampstead Theatre.
