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LONDON — Jude Law and Rachel Weisz got the thumbs up from London theatergoers Sunday, winning top acting honors at the city's only stage awards decided by the public.
Law's "Hamlet" won him the best actor prize at the Whatsonstage awards, run by a major theater Web site. Weisz was named best actress for playing faded southern belle Blanche Dubois in "A Streetcar Named Desire."
A sellout production of "Waiting for Godot" starring theatrical knights — and "X-Men" co-stars — Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart was voted theater event of the year.
"For me it was not just the theater event of the year. It was the event of a lifetime," said Stewart, who returned to the stage several years ago after a TV and movie career that included the role of Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
Stewart, who also won a supporting actor prize for playing Claudius in "Hamlet" for the Royal Shakespeare Company, said he hoped to tackle other great Shakespearean roles such as the tragic title character in "King Lear."
Rowan Atkinson was named best actor in a musical for playing Fagin in "Oliver!" which also was voted best musical revival. The best actress in a musical prize went to Patina Miller for singing-nun show "Sister Act."
Camp Aussie extravaganza "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" was named best new musical.
The best play trophy went to Jez Butterworth's "Jerusalem," a raucous portrait of a modern-day English rogue, while the Donmar Warehouse's "Streetcar," starring Weisz, was named best revival.
Organizers said 46,000 people voted over the Internet for the awards.
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On the Net: http://www.whatsonstage.com
