Spotlight Prize 2023 Winners Announcement

Teddy Moore of The Lir and Shannon Watson of The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland win this year's Spotlight Prize

Since the 1950s, The Spotlight Prize has been an exciting opportunity for graduates to perform in front of an audience of industry professionals. And the decision about who got awarded this year’s Spotlight Prize couldn’t have been tougher for our expert panel of judges, with 20 talented finalists all performing wonderfully at the London showcase on Tuesday 18 July 2023. 

After much deliberation, the winners were announced, and we're delighted to reveal that Teddy Moore of The Lir has won the prize for Best Actor (Stage), and Shannon Watson of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has won the prize for Best Actor (Screen).

The two winners walked away with £2000 each and our most heartfelt congratulations.

For their winning stage piece, Teddy chose Andre’s Mother by Terrence McNally. They said, “I wanted to use the opportunity of being able to do any pieces I liked as a fun little ’conceptual project’ to convince myself this isn’t a competition but a chance to be creative.” 

Teddy performed the monologue in front of an audience of casting directors, agents, and judges Dorothy Atkinson, Heather Basten, Juliet Cowan, former Spotlight Prize winner Rosalind Eleazar, Tracy Ifeachor, Theo Park, Olivia Scott-Webb, Amit Shah, Rachel Sheridan and Nathan Toth.

Teddy Moore on stage at the Spotlight Prize showcase

For her winning screen performance, Shannon performed Suzie’s monologue from The Girlfriend Experience by Alecky Blythe. She said, “I love how despite everything [Suzie] has been through, the monologue shows how she’s still soft and can see the best in everyone. I thought that would be quite beautiful and childlike to play.”

Shannon’s screen performance was directed by Paulette Randall MBE and was chosen as the winner by a judging panel of casting directors Nicky Bligh, Olivia Brittain, Denise Chamian, Kate Dowd, Victor Jenkins, Kirsty Kinnear, Sarah Leung, Frank Moiselle, Susan Shopmaker and Meredith Tucker.

Shannon Watson collecting her prize at the Spotlight Prize showcase

Spotlight’s Managing Director, Matt Hood, had this to say about the winners: “Huge congratulations to Teddy Moore for winning the Spotlight Prize for Stage, and Shannon Watson for winning the Spotlight Prize for Screen. Both judging panels were so impressed with the quality of all the stage performances on the evening, as well as screen performances, which made selecting two winners hard. They should be incredibly proud of their achievements in another outstanding year. We're delighted to have been able to support each of the 20 nominees in building long-lasting relationships with our industry, and here at Spotlight, we look forward to following their careers.”

Teddy and Shannon join a prestigious list of previous winners, including Rosalind Eleazar (who was a judge at this year's awards), Jodie Whittaker, Faye Marsay, Rhiannon Clements, Kurt Egyiawan, Mimi Mdiweni, Jim Broadbent and Dame Judi Dench.

Congratulations Teddy, Shannon, and all 20 of this year's finalists. We look forward to seeing where your talent takes you next!

Find out more about the Spotlight Prize.

Photo credit: Joanna Nicole Photography