The famous faces in The Savoy ballroom on Sunday night were enough to make anyone a bit giddy. I was lucky to join stars Judi Dench, Anna Wintour, Bill Nighy, Damian Lewis, Ian McKellen, Colin Firth and Danny Boyle to celebrate the capital’s best theatre, at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2012.

Compere James Corden opened the ceremony with a cheeky song called “For the love of awards”, reminding us that he has a tip-top singing voice as well as plenty of wit. The night had some serious moments too: double award-winner Nicholas Hytner spoke passionately in support of public funding for the arts, and Judi Dench was moved by a special award.

THE BIG WINNERS

Judi Dench

Everyone’s favourite Bond matriarch was awarded the Moscow Art Theatre Golden Seagull Award, a golden bird-shaped broach that signifies her achievements in bringing London theatre to the world’s attention. “I’ll never take it off,” she declared.

Danny Boyle

After he got the Queen to jump out of a helicopter (or so it seemed) in the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, it’s fitting that Danny Boyle’s extraordinary £27 million production should get special recognition. He and his team scooped up the Beyond Theatre Award for pushing the boundaries of theatre with the ceremony, which was arguably the best – and certainly the biggest – performance of the year.

Nicholas Hytner

The director of the National Theatre picked up the Best Director award for setting the little-known Shakespeare play Timon of Athens in modern times. Hytner also won the Lebedev Special Award in recognition of his ten-year leadership of the National Theatre, which has seen him bring War Horse and One Man, Two Guvnors to the stage.

One to watch – Matthew Tennyson

Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Hardy won the Outstanding Newcomer Award in their early days, so it’s worth keeping your eye on young actor Matthew Tennyson who won this year’s prize for his role in Making Noise Quietly at the Donmar Warehouse.

PLAYS TO SEE

The Judas Kiss

The Judas Kiss, a play about Oscar Wilde was on everyone’s lips at the awards, despite not being nominated. It received glowing praise from National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner, who described Rupert Everett’s performance as one of the best on the London stage for years.

Constellations

Writer Nick Payne won the award for Best Play for Constellations, becoming the youngest person to the category at just 29. It’s a tender story of love, awkwardness and string theory, using physics as a metaphor for life.

Sweeney Todd

Named Best Musical at the awards, this tale of a homicidal barber could convince even those allergic to musical theatre to burst into song. Stephen Sondheim’s score for Sweeney Todd is delicious in its complexity, and leading duo Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton are musical royalty.

Have you seen any of the award-winners? Or have you seen some theatre recently that deserves an award?

The Queen attended the comedy show with Prince Philip, their grandson Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn. She avoided attracting attention from the royal box, instead entered the foyer unannounced shortly before curtain up and sat among the rest of the audience, many of whom reportedly saw our monarch “giggling through the performance”, according to the Official London Theatre website. I’m so pleased she’s been able to see this show: I’ve been recommending it to everyone I know for ages! It’s a real hit, and I’m sure her Majesty thought the same.

And I bring news of an extension at the Royal Court: In Basildon has received rave reviews, and will now play until 5 April. The story of a working-class man on his death bed, In Basildon explores the complications of inheritance and the myth of place. It’s directed by Dominic Cooke, and stars Linda Bassett, who is known for her TV appearances in Larkrise To Candleford and Grandma’s House.

Next up, a new solo show at the Trafalgar Studios. Chris Larner’s award-winning An Instinct For Kindness plays at the Trafalgar Studios for three weeks this spring. The play takes on the contentious topic of assisted suicide, telling the story of Larner’s 2010 journey to the Switzerland Dignitas clinic with his chronically ill ex-wife. The Fringe First Award-winning show plays from 10 April to 28 April, following a critically acclaimed run at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Independent described An Instinct For Kindness as, “Intensely moving, at times overwhelming”.

London Theatre Casting News:

• Carley Stenson, currently playing Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, will take over from Kimberley Walsh as Princess Fiona in Shrek from 21 May
• Jason Manford is to play competing barber Pirelli in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd for four weeks this summer, taking over from Robert Burt while the original star is on holiday (2-27 Jul)
•  Jonathan Ansell of G4 will lead the cast of A Tale Of Two Cities when it opens at the Charing Cross Theatre in April
• Finally, Simon Paisley Day will return to the London stage this summer, playing Petruchio in The Taming Of The Shrew at Shakespeare’s Globe, opposite Samantha Spiro

It’s been an interesting year for West End musicals. 2011 has seen huge success stories like Matilda and Crazy For You transfer to the West End, as well as The Wizard of Oz, Shrek and Ghost The Musical.

How can 2012 top that? Well, if the rumours are true, we could be in for some pretty exciting new musicals for the Olympic year. There are whispers of Bridget Jones’ Diary The Musical (with the ever-brilliant Sheridan Smith as the lead); murmurs of Viva Forever The Musical (Spice Girls songs and Jennifer Saunders writing – what more could you want?!); hints about a musical version of The Bodyguard, complete with Whitney Houston’s songs; and suggestions of a Wind In The Willows musical too…

While I love rumours as much as the next person, my tips for 2012 are all based on facts. These shows are definitely coming, and you should be getting excited about them!

1. Master Class, Vaudeville Theatre, from 21 Jan
Tyne Daly has already wowed Broadway audiences with her performance as Maria Callas in Master Class. Next month, she’s heading to London to do the same. I can’t wait.

2. Singin’ In the Rain, Palace Theatre, from 4 Feb
One of my favourite films of all time, it’ll be great to see Singin’ In The Rain on the London stage in February. Particularly with star dancer Adam Cooper in the lead role, and Scarlett Strallen as Kathy.

3. Sweeney Todd, Adelphi Theatre, from 10 Mar
I’m thrilled that Michael Ball is heading back to the West End. He’s such a fantastic singer, and an all-round musical superstar. Sweeney Todd has already had rave reviews from Chichester; I’m so excited about seeing this show when it comes to London in the spring

4. Top Hat, Aldwych Theatre, from 19 Apr
I was a big fan of Tom Chambers when he was on Strictly Come Dancing, so I can’t wait to see him in Top Hat in the West End. My parents have already seen this show on tour, and promise that we’re in for a real treat when it comes to the Aldwych next year. And there’s another one of those Strallen sisters to look out for! (Summer, this time.)

5. Wah! Wah! Girls, Peacock Theatre, from 24 May
Just while you were thinking that all I was going to recommend for 2012 were revivals and transfers, I give you a sparkling new musical from Sadler’s Wells, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Kneehigh. It’s East London meets Bollywood, and part of the exciting World Stages London collaboration for 2012.

6. Porgy And Bess, London Coliseum, from 11 Jul
Finally for summertime (when else?!), the Cape Town Opera comes to the London Coliseum to mark 75 years since George Gershwin’s death. This vibrant, physical production of Porgy And Bess shifts the action to apartheid-era Soweto, with all the classical-jazz-opera musical combinations as strong as ever. It should be a real spectacle.

What musicals are you looking forward to seeing in 2012? Let us know in the comments below…

He’s won an Oscar, 8 Tony Awards, multiple Grammys and a Pulitzer Prize. And this year, he turns 80.

London’s theatreland has responded to the great man’s milestone birthday with a host of special shows in his honour. This summer, if you’re a Sondheim fan in London, you’re in luck!

Here’s just some of the Sondheim you can see in London now and in the coming months:

• Assassins at the Union Theatre from 30 Jun-24 Jul

Sondheim’s multi-Tony award-winning show Assassins uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-style portrayal of the historical figures who tried to assassinate Presidents of the United States.

• Classic Moments – Hidden Treasures at the Jermyn Street Theatre from 6-24 Jul

As well as rarely performed gems from his major musicals such as Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods, this show features treasures from Sondheim’s less familiar shows such as Anyone Can Whistle and Evening Primrose.

• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Village Underground, 3-6 Aug

Fifty of the country’s most talented youngsters take to a converted warehouse in London’s East End to perform Sondheim’s horror-opera, Sweeney Todd. The National Youth Music Theatre’s latest show is led by director Martin Constantine, whose previous credits include English National Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.

• Into The Woods at Regents Park Open Air Theatre 6 Aug-11 Sep

Into The Woods weaves together the stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, with a tale about a baker and his wife and their quest to begin a family. Hannah Waddingham, Jenna Russell and Helen Dallimore star.

• Prom 19: Sondheim at 80 at the Royal Albert Hall on 31 Jul

On the bill are excerpts from horror-opera Sweeney Todd, the Ingmar Bergman-inspired A Little Night Music and the fairy-tale compendium of Into the Woods, as well as excerpts from Company and Sunday in the Park with George. The cast includes Bryn Terfel, Maria Friedman, Simon Russell Beale and Julian Ovenden.

• Passion at the Donmar Warehouse from 10 Sep-27 Nov

The Donmar’s birthday offering is Passion, set in 19th-century Italy, all about obsession, beauty, power, manipulation, illness, and love. And stars Elena Roger, Scarlett Strallen and David Thaxton.

• Sondheim at 80 at the Donmar Warehouse from 16 Sep-7 Nov

The Donmar hosts a range of Sondheim-inspired events, including an evening with the man himself, a conversation with Michael Grandage and Sam Mendes about staging Sondheim at the Donmar, and concert performances of Company and Merrily We Roll Along.

Have you spotted any more Sondheim celebrations planned for London in 2010? Let us know.