Jukebox musical fans tripping along to see Tina will particularly savour a rendition of one of her most popular songs “Simply the Best”.
However, despite living in an age where winning has become something beyond an obsession, when it comes to awards, the superlative is beginning to give way to tendencies that smack more of an egalitarian socialism than Trumpist elitism.
This week brought news of the Fringe Theatre Awards. The new venture is intended to highlight “the finest performers and creatives in UK Fringe theatre”. Surprisingly, given this billing, the list of 100 eligible venues does not stretch beyond the bounds of Greater London, which will not please those working hard on the fringes of cities up and down the rest of the United Kingdom.
Judging by the information on its stylish web site, the awards ceremony could last a week, since there appear to be no fewer than 42 categories, some predictable like New Play and Lead Performance split between plays and musicals, others further down the food chain literally include an award for Food and Drinks, not generally recognised as a fringe strength.
While British Theatre Guide wishes the Fringe Theatre Awards all the best and hopes that they will help to promote theatre in smaller venues, you do have to wonder whether yet another set of awards is really necessary.
Admittedly, this is the way that the world is going. The passing of George Foreman was a reminder that he was the heavyweight champion of the world. Now, in that realm, there appear to be no fewer than four worlds with potentially four world champions, and that is before Elon Musk relocates us to Mars.
The same is happening in the cinema, where the profusion of awards ceremonies in recent weeks has become almost farcical. No sooner do you discover that The Brutalist is the best movie of last year than it is overtaken by Conclave and then Anora.
How can any random member of the public looking for a good night out at the pictures or a Blu-ray/DVD purchase choose the best movie of last year when a whole series of experts pick something different each week? Similarly, there are almost unlimited numbers of best actors, best directors etc. to increase the confusion and uncertainty.
The same is now happening in UK Theatre, possibly to an even greater degree. Given the over-concentration on activities in London, few would disagree that there is considerable merit in having separate theatre awards in, for example, Manchester and Scotland. Similarly, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a real one-off that can justify its own celebrations of excellence, although whether it is necessary to have quite so many competing awards there could be up for debate.
More generally, theatre is now competing with boxing and the movies for the largest number of award ceremonies, not to mention categories, both of which seem to expand seemingly towards infinity.
The Oliviers are generally regarded by the public as the definitive awards, although that may offend fans of this week’s Critics’ Circle presentations or the more democratic WhatsOnStage equivalents. There are also Stage, pantomime and Offies, the last of which seems to be covering very similar ground to the Fringe Theatre Awards. Given the preponderance, those willing to seek them out can probably find several more.
Whether by accident or design, this means that large numbers of relatively talented theatre people can claim to be award winners every year, though some might question the validity of some of the lesser awards panels.
Indeed, perhaps we will soon reach the point where any disappointed actor / director / designer / ice cream vendor might create their own awards web site to recognise their own exclusive and extraordinary talents and bolster their CV?