The WhatsOnStage Awards, founded in 2001 as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are a fan-driven set of awards organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com, based on a popular vote recognising performers and productions of English theatre, with an emphasis on London's West End theatre.
The results of the 2005 Whatsonstage Awards were: [1]
| Category | Winner | % of Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Best Actress in a Play | Diana Rigg – Suddenly Last Summer at the Albery | 23% |
| Best Actor in a Play | Christian Slater – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest at the Gielgud | 29% |
| Best Supporting Actress in a Play | Judi Dench – All's Well That Ends Well , RSC at the Gielgud | 40% |
| Best Supporting Actor in a Play | Samuel Barnett – The History Boys at the NT Lyttelton | 32% |
| Best Actress in a Musical | Maria Friedman – The Woman in White at the Palace | 32% |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Nathan Lane – The Producers at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane | 32% |
| Best Supporting Actress in a Musical | Angela Christian – The Woman in White at the Palace | 37% |
| Best Supporting Actor in a Musical | Michael Crawford – The Woman in White at the Palace | 37% |
| Best Solo Performance | Caroline O’Connor – Bombshells at the Arts | 26% |
| Best Ensemble Performance | Sweeney Todd – at Trafalgar Studios & the New Ambassadors | 34% |
| Best Takeover in a Role | Anita Dobson – Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Shaftesbury | 37% |
| Best New Play | Festen , adapted by David Eldridge – at the Almeida & Lyric | 27% |
| Best New Comedy | The History Boys by Alan Bennett – at the NT Lyttelton | 43% |
| Best New Musical | The Producers by Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan – at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane | 43% |
| The Samuel French Best Play Revival | One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – at the Gielgud | 36% |
| Best Musical Revival | Sweeney Todd – at Trafalgar Studios & New Ambassadors | 33% |
| Best Shakespearean Production | Hamlet – at the Old Vic | 25% |
| The London Calling Best Director | Trevor Nunn – Hamlet at the Old Vic & The Woman in White at the Palace | 33% |
| Best Set Designer | William Dudley – The Woman in White at the Palace | 36% |
| Best Choreographer | Susan Stroman – The Producers at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane | 44% |
| The MS London Newcomer of the Year | Samuel Barnett – The History Boys at the NT Lyttelton | 35% |
| Best Overall Fringe Production | Fully Committed – at the Menier Chocolate Factory | 25% |
| Best Regional Production | Starlight Express – on tour | 35% |
| The Planet Hollywood Theatre Event of the Year | Nathan Lane’s last-minute replacement of Richard Dreyfuss in The Producers | 35% |