South Bank Sky Arts award winners announced

Photo credit: Sky Arts

The recipients of the 2020 South Bank Sky Arts awards have been announced today.

Sheffield Crucible scooped the Theatre prize for musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge, which will return to the theatre for another run when social distancing rules are relaxed. It has a book by Chris Bush and music by Richard Hawley.

The Comedy prize went to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, the Opera award was won by The Royal Opera for Katya Kabanova and Northern Ballet received the Dance award for Victoria.

National treasure Ian McKellen picked up the Outstanding Achievement Award and said: "I am very happy and honoured to be in the company of the nominees for this tricky year's South Bank Sky Arts awards…The closure of theatres in response to an outside threat to the country, is not unprecedented. When another plague reached London 450 years ago, the theatres were closed and Shakespeare's company was out of work.

"No furlough. His response to one lockdown was to write Macbeth, Antony & Cleopatra and King Lear. I hope during our lockdowns that playwrights have been busy writing plays. More, I hope others have been planning and imagining future productions."

The awards ceremony can be viewed on Sky Arts at 8pm on Sunday 20 December.