Mendes bows out with best director award

Director Sam Mendes' swansong season at London's Donmar Warehouse today earned him one of the most prestigious awards in British theatre when he was named best director at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for his farewell productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya.

It was the second time Mendes has won an Evening Standard award - in 1992 his production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice was named best comedy. Mendes bowed out this year after a decade as artistic director at the the Donmar, where he famously tempted Nicole Kidman to bare all in The Blue Room.

His final Donmar productions triumphed again when actor Simon Russell Beale was named best actor for his roles as Vanya in the Chekhov play and Malvolio in Twelfth Night.

Gwyneth Paltrow had been nominated for best actress for her critically acclaimed role in Proof at the Donmar. But the Hollywood actress, who beat the likes of Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett to win an Oscar for Shakespeare In Love in 1999, lost out to Clare Higgins who won best actress award for her role in Vincent In Brixton.

The stage version of The Full Monty beat Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bollywood extravaganza, Bombay Dreams, to gain the title of best musical, while the best play award went to Caryl Churchill's A Number.

Jake Gyllenhaal was named outstanding newcomer for his role in This Is Our Youth, in which he played alongside Star Wars actor Hayden Christensen.

The full list of winners

Best Play: A Number by Caryl Churchill

Best Actor: Simon Russell Beale for Vanya in Uncle Vanya and Malvolio in Twelfth Night

Best Actress: Clare Higgins for Ursula Loyer in Vincent In Brixton

The Carlton Television Award for Best Musical: The Full Monty

The Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director: Sam Mendes for Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night

Best Stage Designer: Ian MacNeil for A Number and Plasticine The Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright: Vassily Sigarev for Plasticine

Outstanding Newcomer: Jake Gyllenhaal for This Is Our Youth

Special Award: The Globe Season of Cupid and Psyche 2002

The full list of nominations

Best Play The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh for the RSC at The Pit, then The Garrick
A Number by Caryl Churchill at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs
The York Realist by Peter Gill at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, then Strand

Best Actor

Daniel Craig for A Number at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs T
om Georgeson for Frozen at the Royal National Theatre's Cottesloe
imon Russell Beale for Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night

Best Actress

Clare Higgins for Vincent in Brixton at the Royal National Theatre's Cottesloe, then Wyndham's
Helen McCrory for Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse
Gwyneth Paltrow for Proof at the Donmar Warehouse

Best Director

Tim Carroll for Twelfth Night at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Dominic Cooke for Plasticine at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs
Sam Mendes for Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night

Best Designer

Stephen Brimson Lewis for Much Ado About Nothing for the RSC at the Haymarket Theatre Royal
Bill Dudley for The Coast of Utopia at the Royal National Theatre's Olivier
Ian MacNeil for Plasticine and A Number at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs

Best Musical

Bombay Dreams at the Apollo Victoria
The Full Monty at the Prince of Wales
My One and Only at the Piccadilly

Outstanding Newcomer

Jake Gyllenhaal for This is Our Youth at the Garrick
Jochum Ten Haaf for Vincent in Brixton at the Royal National Theatre's Cottesloe, then Wyndham's
Alison Pargeter for Damsels in Distress at the Duchess

Most Promising Playwright

Charlotte Eilenberg for The Lucky Ones at the Hampstead Theatre
Anthony Neilson for Stitching at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs
Vassily Sigarev for Plasticine at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs