The Stage 100 Awards were launched in 2010 to run alongside the annual Stage 100 list. In this year's awards, the Chichester Festival Theatre was awarded regional theatre of the year (a good choice with Singin in the Rain and Sweeney Todd both transferring to the West End), The Bush was recognised as London theatre of the year and the Jermyn Street Theatre was chosen as fringe theatre of the year. Additionally, the National Theatre was named producer of the year for its work away from its South Bank base (including War Horse and One Man, Two Guvnors) and The Musical Theatre Academy was named school of the year.
We're particularly pelased for Jermyn Street Theatre which we have supported for a number of years now. The Stage said of them "For audiences, the best on the fringe offers new discoveries - whether they are long-forgotten plays in need of resuscitation or new experiments in theatre-making. Jermyn Street demonstrated a talent for both these things in 2011". I'm not sure I agree that 2011 was their "comeback year" in that 2010 saw the fine production of The Two-Character Play and there were some real gems, but it is clear that, under Gene David Kirk's artistic hand, this theatre has become a real power house of the London fringe.