Cate Blanchett - Cate Blanchett In Contention For Best Actress Award At Evening Standard Theatre Awards

Cate Blanchett In Contention For Best Actress Award At Evening Standard Theatre Awards

Australian actress Cate Blanchett is one of four names on the shortlist for the Best Actress Award at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for her in Big and Small, her first stage role in more than 13 years.

The Oscar-winner has tough competition though, with Eileen Atkins (in All That Fall), Laurie Metcalf (in Long Day's Journey Into Night) and Hattie Morahan (in A Doll's House) all competing for the top acting gong, which will be awarded during the glitzy ceremony on November 25th held at London's Savoy Hotel. Her nomination for the award comes just days after she received an honorary doctorate from Sydney University for her services to the arts over the weekend.

Blanchett's role as Lotte in the production of German playwright Botho Strauss’ 1983 play at London's Barbican theatre has been met with mass applause since it returned to the West End earlier this year, with the Guardian calling Blanchett's performance "one of the most dazzlingly uninhibited performances I've ever seen" when it debuted this April. 

Whilst it has been quite some time since she graced the stage, Blanchett is by no means a newcomer to theatre acting, with the celebrated actress gaining her start in the acting business by performing in the theatres of her native Australia.