FALSTAFF AWARDS 2008: Winners Announced

PlayShakespeare.com is pleased to announce the nominees and winners for the annual Falstaff Awards for 2008. With PlayShakespeare.com's international reach, reviewers worldwide have come together to honor the best in Shakespeare for the year of 2008. The Falstaff Awards recognize extraordinary achievement in the areas of Best Play, Best Director, Best Performance by a Male or Female Actor, among other performance and technical categories.

This year's winners include Patrick Stewart for his performance in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Hamlet (which also won  Best Play and Best Director Awards) and two awards for Derek Jacobi for his performance in Twelfth Night at the Donmar and the Lear Award for Lifetime Achievment.

The Royal Shakespeare Company fared very well this year with 8 awards and 18 nominations, including Best Play and Best Director Awards for Hamlet—more than any other theatre. Regional Tony-award wining theatre Oregon Shakespeare Festival garnered 12 award nominations in nearly every performance category.

Also honored was the publication Speaking of the Moor by Emily Bartel. Bartel's creative and innovative ideas on Othello, Titus Andronicus and the history of the Moors of Spain garnered her the Best Book Award.

The complete list of nominees and winners can be found at:
http://www.playshakespeare.com/falstaff