Cornwall lands big win on national stage as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button wins 3 awards.

After a decade of support for artists and creatives in the region, Hall for Cornwall today celebrate awards success as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and its creator, Cornishman Jethro Compton, scooped 3 gongs at the Olivier Awards in London last night, including Best New Musical.

Commenting on the news, Creative Director and CEO at HfC, Julien Boast, said

“Congratulations to Jethro Compton and the Benjamin Button team. This is a huge win for the creative community in Cornwall and for a great HfC friend”. 

Hall for Cornwall provides support and opportunities for 400 Cornwall-based artists every year. In 2025 this has included working with o-region to present a near sell-out run of their Michael Morpurgo adaption The White Horse at The Regal in Redruth, whilst providing space for musician Matthew Thomason to develop new Cornish language work inspired by Tennyson’s The Lady Of Shalott. Speaking about the importance of supporting artists in Cornwall, Julien Boast said

“We live in uncertain times, and forging new work is tough. By galvanising artists through support and partnerships, our Husa Artist Development programmes enable shining stars of our creative sector like Jethro, and so many others, to make a sizeable impact on the life and economy of Cornwall.”

Underlining the wider benefits of such headline news, Boast continued

“I believe this win will be an inspiration to emerging and young Cornish artists: getting new work made can be a long road, but we’re here for you every step of the way, thanks to a passionate team and the vital support of our funders, donors and sponsors.

In 2017, Jethro Compton received seed funding for developing ‘The Cornwall Musical’ (Benjamin Button’s working title) through HfC’s Creation Space programme before receiving mentoring and support from the HfC team over a number of years. Paying tribute in his acceptance speech, Jethro Compton said

“Thank you to everyone who has supported this journey over the last eight years...thank you to Hall for Cornwall”.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is currently playing at Ambassadors Theatre in London’s West End.

In a continued push to unearth new Cornish musical theatre talent, HfC will this summer partner with Falmouth University on an intensive summer school for 11-18 year-olds culminating in a production of Disney’s Newsies Jr.

Photo credit: Marc Brenner