The 26th WhatsOnStage Awards took place at the London Palladium last night, and one fuzzy Peruvian bear stole the show. Paddington The Musical picked up a record-equalling nine awards, matching the all-time best set by Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Miss Saigon. That's nine wins for a show that only opened last year. If you haven't booked yet, now might be the time.

Voted for entirely by theatregoers (the only major UK theatre awards to work this way), the WhatsOnStage Awards are a reliable snapshot of what audiences actually love. And this year, the voters made their feelings very clear.

Paddington The Musical: Nine WhatsOnStage Awards Wins

Paddington The Musical at the Savoy Theatre took home Best New Musical, Best Direction for Luke Sheppard, Best Set Design, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Design, Best Wigs, Hair and Make-Up, Best Musical Supervision, Best Casting Direction, and Best Professional Debut for Timi Akinyosade. Nine awards from a single production is a staggering achievement, and it cements the show as the West End's biggest new arrival.

The creative team swept almost every technical category going. Tom Pye's set design, Gabriella Slade and Tahra Zafar's costumes (Zafar designed the bear himself), and Gareth Owen's sound design were all singled out by voters. For families and first-time theatregoers looking for a safe bet, this is about as endorsed as a West End show gets.

Evita and Rachel Zegler Win Five Awards

Evita claimed five awards from its run at the London Palladium, including Best Musical Revival and Best Choreography for Fabian Aloise. The production also won Best Lighting, Best Video Design, and Best Performer in a Musical for Rachel Zegler, who made her West End debut in the title role last summer. Zegler picked up a sixth award on top of that, winning Best Concert Event for her solo show at the Palladium.

Jamie Lloyd's stripped-back staging divided some critics but clearly won over audiences. The video design award went to Lloyd himself alongside Nick Ward and David Anderson, and Jon Clark's lighting helped shape what became one of the most talked-about revivals in years.

Richard II Leads the Play Categories

On the straight play side, Richard II at the Bridge Theatre took two prizes: Best Play Revival and Best Performer in a Play for Jonathan Bailey. Bailey's performance has been one of the most discussed of the season, and voters clearly agreed.

The Best New Play award went to The Comedy About Spies at the Noel Coward Theatre, created by Mischief, the team behind The Play That Goes Wrong. Henry Lewis and Henry Shields continue to prove they're among the sharpest comic writers working in British theatre. If you're a fan of their style, The Play That Goes Wrong is still running in the West End and delivers the same blend of physical comedy and perfectly timed chaos.

Best West End Show: Les Misérables in Its 40th Year

In its 40th year, Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre won the coveted Best West End Show award. It's a remarkable milestone for a production that has been running continuously since 1985. The fact that audiences are still voting it their favourite says something about the power of this show. If you've never seen it, or if it's been a while, there's a reason it keeps winning awards four decades in.

The Best West End Show shortlist also featured some of London's strongest current shows: Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre, Oliver! at the Gielgud Theatre, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Wicked at Apollo Victoria Theatre, and Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune Theatre were all nominated. That's a seriously competitive field.

Supporting Performances and Best Takeover

Amber Davies won Best Supporting Performer in a Musical for The Great Gatsby, while Stephen Fry took Best Supporting Performer in a Play for The Importance of Being Earnest. Both were the only wins for their respective multi-nominated productions.

Emma Kingston won Best Takeover for stepping into the role of Elphaba in Wicked. The Takeover category always highlights performers who bring something fresh to established roles, and Kingston was up against strong competition including Karis Anderson in Moulin Rouge! and Stevie Doc in The Devil Wears Prada.

Beyond the West End: Regional, Studio and New Categories

Beyond the West End, 13 Going on 30 The Musical won Best Regional Production from its run at Manchester Opera House, while Young Frankenstein at Hope Mill Theatre took Best Studio Production.

A brand new category this year, Best Child Performance, was awarded to the young cast of The Land of the Living at the National Theatre. Platon Filatov, Darcy Tosun, Anton Vehring and Artie Wilkinson-Hunt shared the prize, which was introduced in association with Go Live Theatre.

Playwright James Graham received the Services to UK Theatre award. In the past year alone, his new play Punch played on both sides of the Atlantic, Boys From the Blackstuff was staged at the National Theatre, Make It Happen debuted at Dundee Rep and the Edinburgh International Festival, and a TV adaptation of Dear England went into production at the BBC.

Book Tickets for the WhatsOnStage Awards Winners

If this year's WhatsOnStage Awards have given you a nudge to book something, several of the winning and nominated shows are available on tickadoo right now. Paddington The Musical is the obvious headline, but Les Misérables, Wicked, Hadestown, Oliver!, Cabaret, Hercules at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and Titanique at the Criterion Theatre are all booking now.

Award season tends to push demand up, so if there's a show on this list you've been meaning to see, it's worth getting in sooner rather than later. Midweek performances often have the best availability, and joining tickadoo's free membership means you'll earn rewards on every booking, whether that's your next West End show or a future trip.