It’s just two days before the Stage Debut Awards ceremony on Sunday, and I have to say, I’m excited about this year’s shortlist. The Stage Debut Awards, in association with Netflix, celebrate performers and creatives making standout professional and West End debuts across UK theatre, and this year’s nominations are packed with emerging LGBTQIA+ talent and shows with queer storylines.
Now, why does this matter? Well, representation in theatre isn’t just about seeing ourselves on stage, it’s about the next generation of queer artists knowing there’s a place for them in this industry. And it’s important that LGBTQ+ stories and characters get the recognition in high profile awards ceremonies like the Stage Debut Awards. When I look at this shortlist, I see artists who are not only making their debuts but doing so while telling authentically queer stories. That’s powerful.
Let me break down some of the nominees who caught my attention.
Best West End Debut Performer
Erin Kellyman is nominated for Evening All Afternoon at Donmar Warehouse. You might recognise her as the lesbian knight-in-training Jade from the Disney+ series Willow. Kellyman is openly gay, and seeing her transition from screen to stage with this kind of recognition is brilliant.
Dylan Malyn earned his nomination for To Kill a Mockingbird at Leeds Playhouse and on tour. It’s a classic text, but having openly queer performers bringing their perspective to these roles matters.
Then there’s Ruaridh Mollica for Clarkston at Trafalgar Theatre. Ruaridh identifies as queer and bisexual, and he’s spoken about how working on the 2024 film Sebastian, where he played a gay sex worker, helped him embrace his sexuality and come out publicly. Clarkston itself centres on two gay men navigating connection, loneliness, and queer identity in a small-town Idaho Costco. It’s the kind of story that explores the quiet, everyday experiences of queer life, and I’m here for it.
Best Performer In A Musical
James Spence is nominated for Thespians at Mercury Theatre, Colchester. The show features a same-sex queer love story between the characters Atlas and Thespis (played by Spence). Musical theatre has always had a special relationship with the queer community, and seeing that love story take centre stage is exactly what we need more of.
Sheridan Townsley earned recognition for Sing Street at Lyric Hammersmith. Reviewers have noted that the unfolding relationship between Conor (played by Townsley) and bandmate Barry carries a distinct, tender queer subtext. Sometimes the most powerful queer stories are the ones told between the lines.
Best Writer
This category particularly excites me because these are the storytellers shaping the future of queer theatre.
Leo Drayton is nominated for Dynolwaith at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. Leo is a trans man who writes “for the other trans and queer people who still feel alone.” He’s excited for “the future of trans storytelling.” Dynolwaithtells the personal coming-of-age story of a young trans man named Jac, following him through five formative years in his late teens as he realises he is trans and begins his transition. This is the kind of authentic, lived-experience storytelling that transforms how we understand each other.
Danielle Phillips, a queer, neurodiverse actor and writer, is nominated for Children of the Night at Cast, Doncaster. The show centres on 1990s working-class female friendship, club culture in Doncaster, and a historic local cluster of heterosexual HIV cases. It’s a reminder that queer history intersects with so many other stories, and we need writers like Danielle to bring those connections to light.
Best Designer
Lev Govorovski and Ted Walliker earned their nomination for set and lighting design on RON at Riverside Studios. RON is described as an absurd, violent, genre-bending queer odyssey exploring the nature of unrequited love and the strange, sometimes destructive ways we try to prove love to one another. The design work on a show like this, one that pushes boundaries and explores the messier sides of queer experience, is crucial to making those stories land.
Best Composer, Lyricist or Book Writer
Jordan Luke Gage is nominated for Redcliffe at Southwark Playhouse Borough. Gage wrote and starred in this queer historical musical inspired by the true story of two men in 18th-century Bristol who faced execution for falling in love. Gage is gay and married his husband, Joey, in July 2025. There’s something particularly moving about an artist bringing a historical queer tragedy to the stage while living openly in his own love story.
Guido García Lueches and Sergio Antonio Maggiolo are nominated for Jeezus! at Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh and New Diorama Theatre. Jeezus! is a camp musical comedy about a young South American altar boy named Jesús who experiences a queer awakening while preparing for his First Communion. Sergio Antonio Maggiolo plays Jesús, guiding us through his own story, while his partner in life and theatre, Guido Garcia Lueches, plays pretty much everyone else. The fact that they’re life partners creating theatre together about queer awakening? That’s beautiful.
What this means
These artists are recognised alongside the likes of Sadie Sink, Noah Jupe, Brendan Gleeson, Tom Fletcher, Robert Aramayo and Ralph Fiennes, all of whom also appear on this year’s shortlist. Previous winners of the awards who have gone on to have glittering careers in theatre include Rob Madge, Jack Wolfe, Rachel Zegler, Sam Tutty and Grace Hodgett Young.
What strikes me about this year’s nominations is the breadth of queer storytelling on display. We have historical dramas, contemporary comedies, musicals with queer subtext, and deeply personal trans narratives. We have artists at different stages of their journeys with their own identities, all making their mark on UK theatre.
The awards ceremony happens this Sunday, and regardless of who takes home the trophies, what matters is this: these artists are here, they’re creating, and they’re being recognised for it. The future of queer theatre looks bright, and I can’t wait to see where these debuts lead.