'If I won alone, I'd have had to share it with her'

Anjana Vasan and Patsy Ferran were gobsmacked when both were named winner of our best actress award, they tell Nick Curtis

- Nick Curtis

ONE of the most touching moments at the Evening Standard's 67th Theatre Awards came when Patsy Ferran and Anjana Vasan were named joint winners of the Natasha Richardson award for best actress in association with Mithridate. Ferran had stepped in at late notice to play Blanche Dubois opposite Vasan as Stella in Rebecca Frecknall's production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida.

The result, thanks to their indivisible sister act, was theatrical dynamite.

The two actresses seemed briefly speechless as they took to the stage at Claridge's on Sunday, having gaped at each other as, during the announcement, it dawned on them that they were to share the award. I'd interviewed them both beforehand and asked each of them what winning would mean. "I'm mostly just excited to see Rebecca and Anjana again and celebrate a crazy time that kicked off a year ago," said Spanish-born Rada-trained Ferran, 33. She had only attended the ceremony once before, a decade ago - the year she made her London stage debut in Blithe Spirit and stole the limelight from the production's ostensible star, Angela Lansbury - and wandered around before dinner "fangirling" at the table placements for Stephen Sondheim and Shirley Bassey.

"I was surprised by the nomination because Stella is usually seen as a supporting role and the play is absolutely about Blanche," said Vasan, 36. "If I won, I would share that with Patsy. I wouldn't be able to take it as a singular win."

Singaporean but born in Chennai to Tamil Hindu parents, Vasan built her career in the UK after deciding to train in drama at the Royal Welsh College.