Helen Mirren's 'The Audience' Queen Performance Wins Standard Award

Dame Helen Mirren has once again been lauded for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, this time for her turn in West End production, The Audience. The 68 year-old star was named best actress at the 59th London Evening Standard Theatre Awards at the weekend's awards ceremony.

At the glamorous London event hosted by Homeland star Damian Lewis, Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear were the surprise joint winners in the Best Actor category after judges apparently found it impossible to pick one over the other.

Meanwhile, Lucy Kirkwood's US-China relations production Chimerica was awarded Best Play, the Award for Comedy went to David Walliams, Dame Maggie Smith picked up the Theatre Icon Award and Richard Eyre was named Best Director for Ghosts.

_ _ __ Rory Kinnear Was Namd Joint Best Actor For His Portrayal Of Iago In 'Othello.'

The editor of the Evening Standard, Sarah Sands, said: "We, like the rest of the world, have been dazzled by the talent on show. It feels important for London's paper to celebrate this significant sector that spills over into other areas of cultural life."