Michael Bond’s marmalade-loving bear will go up against a band of fairytale characters at the Olivier awards next month, as two musicals dominated the nominations announced on Thursday.
The frontrunners for London’s biggest theatre awards are Paddington: The Musical and Into the Woods, which each received 11 nominations. Paddington, which opened to five-star reviews at the Savoy theatre, is up for best new musical, best director (Luke Sheppard), best theatre choreographer (Ellen Kane) and best actor in a musical for the duo who play the lovable ursine hero. James Hameed provides the bear’s voice and is the remote puppeteer while Arti Shah dons the furry costume. Their co-stars Tom Edden, Amy Booth-Steel and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt are also nominated for their supporting roles. Gabriella Slade’s costumes, Tahra Zafar’s puppet designs, Tom Pye’s set, Ash J Woodward’s video, Gareth Owen’s sound and Matt Brind’s orchestrations and arrangements were all recognised.
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods, which mashes up the plots of several fairytales, has been a hit at the Bridge theatre. It is similarly in the running for best director (Jordan Fein), as well as best musical revival, best actor and actress in a musical (Jamie Parker and Katie Brayben respectively), best actor in a supporting role in a musical (with both Jo Foster and Oliver Savile nominated) and best actress in a supporting role in a musical (Kate Fleetwood). Adam Fisher’s sound, Aideen Malone’s lighting, Roland Horvath’s video and Tom Scutt’s set and costume designs were all nominated.
A second Sondheim musical, the great US composer’s swansong Here We Are, staged at the National Theatre, is competing for best new musical alongside Paddington, Shucked at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which transferred from Chichester Festival theatre to the West End. Two of Here We Are’s stars, Jane Krakowski and Tracie Bennett, received nominations.
One of last year’s most talked about musicals, Evita, will take on Into the Woods for best musical revival, with competition from the Almeida’s American Psycho and The Producers which is at the Garrick theatre. Rachel Zegler, whose performance as Evita including singing from the Palladium’s balcony to nightly crowds outside, received a nomination for best actress in a musical as did Brayben, Krakowski, Jenna Russell (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry) and Danielle Fiamanya and Georgina Onuorah who shared a lead role in Brigadoon at Regent’s Park. Onuorah received a nomination in a second category, best actress in a supporting role in a musical, for Shucked at the same theatre.
The other nominees for best actor in a musical are Marc Antolin and Andy Nyman (both for The Producers) and Diego Andres Rodriguez for Evita. Trevor Ashley (The Producers) and Corbin Bleu (The Great Gatsby) are also shortlisted for best supporting actor in a musical.
The most nominated plays, with six each, are a star-studded version of Arthur Miller’s classic All My Sons, Jack Holden’s one-man show Kenrex and the transfer of the Broadway hit Stereophonic, about a rock band imploding, which in 2024 became the most nominated play in the history of the Tony awards. All My Sons, which closes at Wyndham’s theatre this weekend, was recognised in the best revival category alongside Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, which opened at the Old Vic weeks after the celebrated playwright’s death, Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier’s version of Chekhov’s The Seagull at the Barbican and Jamie Lloyd’s Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Much Ado’s Tom Hiddleston, who drew autograph-hunters around the block each night, will vie for best actor with Bryan Cranston (All My Sons), Sean Hayes (Good Night, Oscar), Holden (Kenrex) and David Shields (Punch). Hiddleston’s co-star Hayley Atwell was a notable omission from the nominees, as was audacious director Jamie Lloyd who staged both Evita and Much Ado About Nothing but missed out on a best director nod.
The award for best actress is between Cate Blanchett (The Seagull), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (All My Sons), Rosamund Pike (Inter Alia), Rosie Sheehy (Guess How Much I Love You?) and Julia McDermott for her solo performance in Weather Girl. Nominees for best actress in a supporting role are Isis Hainsworth (Arcadia), Julie Hesmondhalgh (Punch), Lucy Karczewski (Stereophonic), Hayley Squires (All My Sons) and Sophie Thompson (When We Are Married). Zachary Hart has two nominations for best actor in a supporting role, for his performance as the bassist in Stereophonic and the similarly guitar-wielding Medvedenko in The Seagull. Also nominated in that category are Hammed Animashaun (Dealer’s Choice), Paapa Essiedu (All My Sons) and Giles Terera (Oh, Mary!, which also gets a nod for best new entertainment or comedy play).
Joining Sheppard and Fein as the nominees for the Sir Peter Hall award for best director are Ed Stambollouian for Kenrex, Ivo van Hove for All My Sons and Lyndsey Turner for the Tudor drama 1536, written by Ava Pickett. 1536 is also up for best new play alongside legal drama Inter Alia by Suzie Miller, Kenrex by Holden and Stambollouian, and Punch by James Graham. Kenrex was a Sheffield Theatres transfer and Punch originated at Nottingham Playhouse.
One striking omission from the nominees was Conor McPherson’s five-star revival of his play The Weir, starring Brendan Gleeson. McPherson is currently filming a version of the play in Ireland with the cast from the revival. The Weir was an Olivier award winner in 1999.
The shortlist for best new dance production comprises Into the Hairy by Sharon Eyal for S-E-D, Mimi’s Shebeen by Alesandra Seutin and KVS, Random Taranto by María del Mar Suárez (La Chachi) and She’s Auspicious by Mythili Prakash. Three Royal Opera House productions, The Makropulos Case, Tosca and Die Walküre, are up for best new opera alongside Dead Man Walking by English National Opera.
The Olivier awards, which this year celebrate their 50th anniversary, are overseen by the Society of London Theatre. The winners are chosen by a team of industry figures, stage luminaries and theatre-loving members of the public. The ceremony will take place at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 12 April, hosted by actor and Celebrity Traitors finalist Nick Mohammed.
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