Tony Awards 2018: Andrew Garfield dedicates win to 'LGBTQ people who have died for the right to love'

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Miranda Bryant11 June 2018

JK Rowling today said she was overjoyed after the Harry Potter stage show won big at the Tony Awards in New York, capping a stellar night for West End productions and their British stars.

Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, which started at the Palace Theatre in the West End, won six awards, including best play and best director, while the National Theatre’s revival of Angels In America picked up three.

That play’s star Andrew Garfield, 34, was named best actor, while fellow Briton Glenda Jackson, 82, won best actress for the Broadway run of Three Tall Women by Edward Albee.

Rowling, who wrote the story on which the Potter play is based, said: “I’m overjoyed for everyone involved in this production, which was one of the happiest creative experiences of my life. This is a very happy Monday morning.”

The biggest winner of the night was The Band’s Visit, a musical set in Israel, which scooped 10 awards.

Last night’s ceremony at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan was a politically charged event. Robert De Niro, 74, swore on stage while introducing a performance by Bruce Springsteen. “I’m going to say one thing, f*** Trump,” he said, prompting a standing ovation. “It’s no longer down with Trump, it’s f*** Trump.”

The ceremony also featured a performance of Seasons Of Love from musical Rent by pupils from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed when a former student opened fire on Valentine’s Day. Melody Herzfeld, a teacher from the school, was honoured with an education award. British actress Carey Mulligan presented an award, while stars on the red carpet included Claire Danes, who posed with husband Hugh Dancy, and Kerry Washington.

Garfield, who plays Prior Walter, a gay man with Aids, in Angels In America, dedicated his award to the “countless LGBTQ people who have fought and died for the right to live and love as we are created to”. He beat fellow Britons Tom Hollander, Harry Potter actor Jamie Parker and Mark Rylance, as well as US star Denzel Washington.

Jackson, the former MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, praised her female co-stars in Three Tall Women, which was her first appearance on Broadway in three decades. “It’s such a thrill because it’s very unusual to work with other actresses,” she said. “Usually there’s only one woman’s part and if you’ve got it there are no other actresses to act to. So to be on stage with actresses of the calibre of Laurie [Metcalf] and Alison [Pill] is such a treat.”

John Tiffany was so elated after winning best director for Harry Potter — beating fellow British directors Marianne Elliott, for Angels In America, and Patrick Marber, for Travesties — that he invited the auditorium to sing Happy Birthday to his boyfriend David. He said later: “I knew that today would end up being about Harry Potter ... When am I going to get the chance to get the whole of Radio City Music Hall to sing Happy Birthday to my boyfriend?” The Cursed Child also picked up best scenic design, lighting, costumes and sound.

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