The winners have been unveiled for this year’s Olivier Awards with Mastercard, British theatre’s biggest night, which took place this evening (Sunday 10 April) at the Royal Albert Hall in London, hosted by Jason Manford.
The biggest winner of the night was Cabaret, a revival of the 1966 Kander and Ebb musical which has transformed the West End’s Playhouse Theatre into the ‘Kit Kat Club’ to critical acclaim. The show won seven of the eleven categories it was nominated in, including the Magic Radio Best Musical Revival. Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as the Emcee and Best Actress in a Musical went to Jessie Buckley as Sally Bowles, with Liza Sadovy and Elliot Levey awarded in the supporting categories for their roles as Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz. Rebecca Frecknall was crowned Best Director, and Nick Lidster won the d&b audiotechnik Award for Best Sound Design.
The 7 actors who play the tiger in Life of Pi
With five wins (including Best New Play) is Life Of Pi, Lolita Chakrabarti’s stage adaptation of the bestselling novel which began life in Sheffield in 2019 and is currently playing at the Wyndham’s Theatre. Hiran Abeysekera won Best Actor for his central performance as Pi, and – in an historic first for the Olivier Awards – the seven performers who play ‘Richard Parker’, the puppet tiger – Fred Davis, Daisy Franks, Romina Hytten, Tom Larkin, Habib Nasib Nader, Tom Stacy and Scarlet Wilderink – were collectively awarded Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The production also picked up awards for set and lighting design.
Sheila Atim was named Best Actress for her role in Constellations, a Donmar Warehouse production of Nick Payne’s play which ran at the Vaudeville Theatre starring four rotating casts. Constellations also won in the Cunard Best Revival category.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role was won by Liz Carr, who played Dr Emma Brookner (based on a real-life US physician who was among the first to recognise the 1980s AIDs epidemic) in a revival of Larry Kramer’s play The Normal Heart at the National Theatre.
The coveted Mastercard Best New Musical award was given to Back To The Future – The Musical, a new stage adaptation of the hit 1985 sci-fi film currently playing at the Adelphi Theatre.
Back to the Future in performance at the Olivier Awards
The Noël Coward/Geoffrey Johnson Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play went to Pride And Prejudice* (*sort of), a comedic, all-female retelling of the Jane Austen classic first seen in Glasgow.
Wolf Witch Giant Fairy, a family-friendly ‘folk opera’ collaboration between the Royal Opera and Little Bulb, won Best Family Show.
Elsewhere, renowned Broadway costume designer Catherine Zuber was awarded Best Costume Design for her work on Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Kathleen Marshall won Best Theatre Choreography for Anything Goes (which she also directed) and Simon Hale received the award for Best Original Score or New Orchestrations for Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical.
The award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre (representing the smaller London venues) went to Old Bridge at the Bush Theatre, a 2020 Papatango New Writing Prize-winning play by Igor Memic.
The star-studded Olivier Awards ceremony featured performances from all nine nominated musicals; Anything Goes, Back To The Future – The Musical, Cabaret, The Drifters Girl, Frozen, Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Spring Awakening – plus a performance from Life Of Pi.
The show culminated in a special musical tribute to legendary theatre composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who died last year aged 91. This was performed by a group of swings and understudies from tonight’s performing companies (in recognition of all that the swings, understudies, standbys, and alternates of the West End have done to keep our theatres open) along with the next generation in the form of a choir from performing arts school ArtsEd.
Full list of winners
Cunard Best Revival
Constellations – Donmar Warehouse at Vaudeville Theatre
Noël Coward/Geoffrey Johnson Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play
Pride And Prejudice* (*sort of) at Criterion Theatre
Magic Radio Best Musical Revival
Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Best Costume Design
Catherine Zuber for Moulin Rouge! The Musical at Piccadilly Theatre
d&b audiotechnik Award for Best Sound Design
Nick Lidster for Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Best Original Score or New Orchestrations
Get Up Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical – Orchestrator: Simon Hale at Lyric Theatre
Best Theatre Choreographer
Kathleen Marshall for Anything Goes at Barbican Theatre
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Fred Davis, Daisy Franks, Romina Hytten, Tom Larkin, Habib Nasib Nader, Tom Stacy and Scarlet Wilderink – the 7 actors who play the Tiger for Life Of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Liz Carr for The Normal Heart at National Theatre – Olivier
Blue-I Theatre Technology Award for Best Set Design
Tim Hatley for Design and Nick Barnes & Finn Caldwell for Puppets for Life Of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
White Light Award for Best Lighting Design
Tim Lutkin and Andrzej Goulding for Life Of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
Best Actress In A Supporting Role In A Musical
Liza Sadovy for Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Best Actor In A Supporting Role In A Musical
Elliot Levey for Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Outstanding Achievement In Opera
Peter Whelan and the Irish Baroque Orchestra for Bajazet at Royal Opera House – Linbury Theatre
Best New Opera Production
Jenůfa by Royal Opera at Royal Opera House
Best Actor In A Musical
Eddie Redmayne for Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Best Actress In A Musical
Jessie Buckley for Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Outstanding Achievement In Dance
Arielle Smith for her choreography of Jolly Folly in Reunion by English National Ballet at Sadler’s Wells
Best New Dance Production
Revisor by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young / Kidd Pivot at Sadler’s Wells
Best Actress
Sheila Atim for Constellations – Donmar Warehouse at Vaudeville Theatre
Best Actor
Hiran Abeysekera for Life Of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director
Rebecca Frecknall for Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre
Old Bridge at Bush Theatre
Best Family Show
Wolf Witch Giant Fairy at Royal Opera House – Linbury Theatre
Best New Play
Life Of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
Mastercard Best New Musical
Back To The Future – The Musical at Adelphi Theatre
