Great British Theatre Awards Category Guidelines

Entry guidelines for each category in the Great British Theatres Awards.

You may also want to check the FAQs before making a nomination.

Great New Build

This award is open to two types of projects – brand new theatre buildings and new extensions to existing theatres, such as an additional studio, a new education building or a new foyer space. To be eligible for this award, the project should have been completed within the past five years.

Your 500-word entry should demonstrate what makes your nominated theatre a great new building. You may want to highlight any notable design features, explain how the building achieves excellence in accessibility and sustainability, and describe what the building contributes to its local area and the theatre sector ecosystem.

You can also submit a PDF of supporting evidence (up to 6 A4 pages), such as photos, plans, links to relevant website articles and social media posts. If your theatre is shortlisted, we will be in touch for further information, including high resolution photographs.

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Great Renovation

This award is open to any existing building that has recently undergone a retrofit or refurbishment project. This could be a project that has adapted an existing theatre to better meet the needs of modern and future audiences and productions, but it could also be a project to bring a former theatre building back into use as a live performance space. To be eligible for this award, the project should have been completed within the past five years.

Your 500-word entry should demonstrate what makes your nominated theatre a great renovation. You may want to highlight any notable design features, explain how the building has been adapted to achieve excellence in accessibility and sustainability, and describe what the building contributes to its local area and the theatre sector ecosystem.

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Great Amateur Theatre

This award is open to any amateur theatre building that has recently undergone a retrofit or refurbishment project to better meet the needs of modern and future audiences and productions. To be eligible for this award, the project should have been completed within the past five years.

Your 500-word entry should demonstrate what makes your nominated theatre a great amateur theatre. You may want to highlight any notable design features, explain how the building has been adapted to achieve excellence in accessibility and sustainability, and describe what the building contributes to its local area.

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Great Found Space

This award is open to any live performance venue created in a found or repurposed space, rather than a traditional or purpose-built theatre. The definition of this is broad, encompassing theatres in disused retail units and abandoned buildings or theatres created in adapted churches, barns or boats – or any other type of structure. To be eligible for this award, the space should have opened or been repurposed for live performances within the past five years.

Your 500-word entry should demonstrate what makes your nominated venue a great found space. You may want to highlight any notable features of the space, what challenges have been overcome in returning the building to public use and what the space now contributes both to its local area and to the theatre sector ecosystem.

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Great Community Connection

This award is open to any theatre that is going above and beyond to opens its doors and offer a warm welcome to everyone. This could be by making adaptations to the building to remove physical barriers, but it could equally be through programming and outreach work that are breaking down social and economic barriers.

In your 500-word entry, please tell us what your nominated theatre has done to create a great community connection. You may want to include some facts and figures on increased engagement, but we would also love to hear some testimonials from your community members.

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Great Use of Space

This award is open to any theatre that is making great use of a space or spaces in its building. It could be temporary or permanent, on a grand scale or a just a small corner used imaginatively. We know that space is often at a premium in theatre buildings, so we want to highlight how theatres are creatively making use of what they have to meet the needs of their team, their audiences or their artists.

In your 500-word entry, please tell us more about this great space, what needs it is fulfilling and how it came to be used in this way. You may want to provide some facts and figures on how it is used, but we would also love to know whose idea it was and what reactions there have been to this great use of space.

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Great Placemaking Partner

This award is open to any local authority that truly values culture and is investing in cultural infrastructure to meaningfully benefit its local community. Local authorities are by far the biggest investor in culture in Great Britain, so their role in supporting theatres to thrive deserves recognition. Nominations can be made by the local authority itself or from theatres or other organisations / individuals who appreciate the contribution the council has made.

In your 500-word entry, please tell us what makes the nominated local authority a great placemaking partner, including what it has done to support the performing arts and great theatre buildings, how it builds great relationships and what impact this has had on the local community. You may want to include some facts and figures on investment and engagement, but we would also love to know about the key people who have been responsible for steering the great placemaking partnership.

You can also submit a PDF of supporting evidence (up to 6 A4 pages), such as photos, links to relevant website articles and social media posts. If the local authority is shortlisted, we will be in touch for further information, including high resolution photographs.

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Great Green Theatre

This award is open to any theatre that is putting environmental sustainability at the heart of its building. This could be through changes to the theatre building itself or the way it is operated or how it puts on its performances. The climate emergency is one of the biggest challenges facing the sector right now, so we want to highlight the great work happening to make theatres greener.

In your 500-word entry, please tell us what makes the nominated theatre a great green theatre. You may want to include facts and figures on how much energy your green initiatives are saving and how the work follows best practice set out in the Theatre Green Book.

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Great Public Space

This award is open to any theatre with a great space beyond its auditorium that is well-loved and well-used by its community or a specific user group. We know that theatres are so much more than their auditoria, so this is an opportunity to shine a light on how your theatre is using its building to provide a place for the community to gather. This could be a café that is being used as a warm space, a rehearsal room that hosts regular meetings for new parents or the courtyard outside the theatre that provides lunchtime entertainment to local workers.

In your 500-word entry, please tell us what makes the nominated part of the theatre a great public space. You may want to include facts and figures on how many people are using the space, but we’d also love to hear testimonials from members of your community who love the space.

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Great British Theatres Shining Star

This award is open to any individual or group of individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to a theatre building within their community. This could be a local community group that has tirelessly campaigned to save a theatre building from closure or demolition, or an individual who has been the driving force behind seeing a new theatre built or an existing building adapted for the community. Nominations can be made by the individual or organisations themselves or by anyone else who knows what a difference they have made.

In your 500-word entry, please tell us what makes the nominated person or group a shining star. You may want to highlight any significant successes they have been responsible for, but we would also love to hear about anything else that shows their passion and dedication.

You can also submit a PDF of supporting evidence (up to 6 A4 pages), such as photos, links to relevant website articles and social media posts. If your Shining Star is shortlisted, we will be in touch for further information, including high resolution photographs.

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