Matilda and Ghost battle for What's On Stage awards

Matilda and Ghost battle for What's On Stage awards

West End musicals Matilda and Ghost will go head to head at the annual Whatsonstage.com Awards with nine nominations each.

Both shows are directed by Matthew Warchus, who is up for best director.

Much Ado About Nothing - with former Doctor Who stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate - is nominated for theatre event of the year.

The nominations were announced at London's Cafe de Paris on Friday. The winners will be revealed in February.

Comedian Tim Minchin, who wrote Matilda's songs, described the nominations as "very flattering".

He said: "From the late Roald Dahl to the tweaks that were made in the final week, it has been such a long journey making what we think is a really well-told story that makes people feel happy and sad. We're very proud of it."

Ghost The Musical's Caissie Levy said: "We've been so embraced by the audiences and the fans have been so devoted - the show is really unique."

Josie Rourke's production of Much Ado About Nothing at Wyndham's Theatre transported Shakespeare's comedy to sun-drenched 1980s Gibraltar.

It goes up against Jeremy Herrin's period production of the same play, which opened a week earlier at the Globe, for best Shakespearean production.

Other theatre event of the year hopefuls include the RSC's 50th anniversary season and theatre re-opening, the Bush Theatre's 66 Books and The Phantom of the Opera's 25th anniversary.

Elsewhere in the 26 award categories, Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones are up for best actress and best actor for the Broadway transfer of Driving Miss Daisy.

The Donmar Warehouse's revival of Anna Christie and the National Theatre's One Man, Two Guvnors have five nominations each. Danny Boyle's Frankenstein at the National has four, with Boyle up for best director.

Matilda and Ghost battle for What's On Stage awards