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The 2025 Stage Debut Award winners announced

Posted on | By Sian McBride

Following her award-winning turn in Romeo + Juliet on Broadway, Hollywood star, Rachel Zegler has added another accolade to her growing stage career, winning Best West End Debut Performer at The Stage Debut Awards. She picked up the win for her powerhouse turn as Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s recordbreaking Evita - the most talked about show of the summer. 

Her award was the only category decided by public vote, following in the footsteps of past winners Jodie Comer, Rose Ayling-Ellis and Jack Wolfe. She wasn’t the only star of the night, though: talent from across the UK and beyond were celebrated, from playwrights to principal performers. 

Highlights included Hilson Agbangbe (Wonder Boy, Bristol Old Vic) and Lucy Karczewski (Stereophonic, Duke of York’s Theatre) sharing Best Performer in a Play, while Leesa Tulley (Why Am I So Single? Garrick Theatre) wowed judges to win Best Musical Performer.



 

Behind the scenes, Richard Mylan took Best Director for Mumfighter, and Australian writer Yve Blake scored Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer for Fangirls at the Lyric Hammersmith. Hannah Schmidt impressed with her detailed work in not one, but two plays, to win Best Designer, and Mark Rosenblatt collected Best Creative West End Debut for his Olivier Award-winning play Giant. Meanwhile, Ava Pickett (1536, Almeida Theatre) and Milly Sweeney (Water Colour, Pitlochry Festival Theatre/Byre Theatre) shared the prize for Best Writer.

With live performances, surprise guests, and a strong showing from both regional and West End theatre, the night once again highlighted the depth of new talent across the UK stage.

The 2025 Stage Debut Award winners in full:

By Sian McBride