Stars honoured for roles in Shakespeare tragedy

The pair, who played Iago and Othello, respectively, in the Shakespearean tragedy, saw off competition from Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was nominated for his role in A Season in the Congo.

But Kinnear lost out in the race for most promising playwright to Rachel De-lahay, who won for her drama about immigration and multicultural London, Routes.

Dame Helen Mirren won best actress for her performance as the Queen in The Audience by Peter Morgan.

Lucy Kirkwood’s Chimerica was best play, Little Britain star David Walliams won the comedy award for his performance as Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hollywood star Kevin Spacey, artistic director of the Old Vic, was given a special award for his contribution to British theatre.