Stage Debut Awards 2026: Sadie Sink, Brendan Gleeson and Noah Jupe among West End debut nominees
Sadie Sink, Brendan Gleeson and Noah Jupe are among the ten nominees for Best West End Debut Performer at the 2026 Stage Debut Awards, with the public invited to vote for that category from the announcement until 13 September WhatsOnStage.
The awards, in association with Netflix, recognise performers, writers and creatives making their first professional appearances in British theatre. The shortlist was revealed on 19 August. The winners will be announced at the ninth annual ceremony on 27 September at 8 Northumberland Avenue in London.
Sink, known to television audiences for Stranger Things, and Jupe, whose film credits include A Quiet Place and Honey Boy, are joined on the Best West End Debut Performer list by Levi Brown, Liv Hill, Cormac McAlinden, Ntombizodwa Ndlovu, Alistair Nwachukwu, Kate Phillips and Arti Shah. It is the only category decided by public vote; the rest are judged by a panel chaired by Sam Marlowe, chief critic of The Stage.
The Best Performer in a Play category — open to performers making their professional stage debuts in any British theatre, not only the West End — features Robert Aramayo, Zoë Armer, Noah Jupe (nominated in a second category), Assa Kanouté, Erin Kellyman, Dylan Malyn, Ruaridh Mollica and Amber van der Brugge.
Six performers are up for Best Performer in a Musical: Jess Douglas-Welsh, Jess Folley, Lydia Louise, Julianne Pundan, James Spence and Sheridan Townsley.
On the writing side, the Best Writer shortlist includes Chris Ashworth-Bennion, Georgie Dettmer, Hannah Doran, Leo Drayton, Fran Kranz, John Morton and Jack Nicholls.
For audiences, the Best West End Debut Performer category offers a rare chance to have a direct say in a theatre award. Voting is open to anyone online. The remaining categories reward first-time work across playwriting, performance in plays and performance in musicals — a snapshot of who is stepping onto a professional stage, or into a script, for the first time.
The ceremony on 27 September will announce winners across all categories. Until then, the public vote for Best West End Debut Performer remains open through 13 September.
