Rosalind Eleazar and Luke Thallon win 2020 Clarence Derwent Awards

Rosalind Eleazar and Luke Thallon have have been announced as the winners of this year’s Clarence Derwent Awards.

Run by Equity, the annual awards celebrate the best supporting performances on the London stage.

Eleazar has won the supporting actress prize for her portrayal of Yelena in Ian Rickson’s Uncle Vanya at the Harold Pinter Theatre, while Thallon’s performance of Fritz/Leo in Leopoldstadt, at Wyndham’s Theatre, won him the supporting actor prize.

Both shows ran prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eleazar said: "Being in Uncle Vanya was such a special experience and the whole cast and crew were so supportive of one another, so to be the recipient of the 2020 Clarence Derwent award for this work is truly humbling. It has been an incredibly hard time for theatre and our run got cut short due to Covid, but we were lucky enough to be able to film it during lockdown and for it to be broadcast on the BBC, so I’m thankful that people are still able to watch it."

Thallon said Leopoldstadt was “filled with the kindest, most generous family of people you could ever imagine, captained by [producer] Sonia Friedman and [director] Patrick Marber, two vitally important creatives who have always supported young people and artists to put theatre and their craft first".

"It was a complete privilege to have been asked to do it and this makes it all even more special. Thank you,” he added.

Both will receive £500 and a year’s Equity membership.

The union has also announced the winners of its young and student member bursaries.

Carys McQueen and Joshua Piper have been given the 2020 Young Member Bursary, while Georgina Heriot, a student at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Inverness, and Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts student Alexander McGonagle have won the 2020 Student Member Bursary.