Producers wins best musical!

Mel Brooks' hit show The Producers has been voted Best Musical at the Critics Circle Theatre Awards.

The comedy, which opened in the West End in November last year, has been a huge success and is expected to reap more glory at this year's Laurence Olivier Awards.

Since opening with British comic Lee Evans and acclaimed actor Nathan Lane, it has proved a huge hit with critics and audiences alike.

Two other popular musicals, Sir Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins and Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White, failed to pick up any awards at today's annual ceremony, voted for by critics.

Instead Alan Bennett's The History Boys at the National Theatre won Best New Play, while its star Richard Griffiths was voted Best Actor.

Victoria Hamilton won Best Actress for Suddenly Last Summer, while the award for Best Shakespearean Performance was won by Paul Rhys for Measure for Measure, at the National Theatre.

Other awards included Rufus Norris for Best Director for Festen at the Almeida, Rebecca Lenkiewicz for Most Promising Playwright for The Night Season, Christopher Oram for Best Designer for Suddenly Last Summer and Eddie Redmayne for Most Promising Newcomer (other than a playwright).

The awards were presented by theatre critics at a ceremony in London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane.