Olivier Awards – The Ceremony

BY ALEX KINGSTON

Tuesday 11th April 2023

After much anticipation, theatreland came together on Sunday, 2^nd April to celebrate the West End’s biggest achievements over this past year. It was a joyous occasion, with many celebrating how far the theatre industry had come since the pandemic. Theatre was among the worst-affected industries, so to see it come back with such a vengeance is truly awe-inspiring. There have been so many incredible productions on display throughout 2022 and 2023, and I certainly do not envy the voting panel who had the difficult task of choosing their favourites. It must be said that the West End has provided its audience with an embarrassment of riches!

There were numerous celebrities in attendance, many of whom were nominated for their lauded West End performances. Among the star-studded line-up was Jodie Comer, who walked into the Royal Albert Hall to chants from her adoring fans. Comer ultimately won Best Actress for her West End debut as Tessa in Prima Facie, a role she will be reprising on Broadway later this month. A fellow celebrity winner came in the form of Paul Mescal, who won Best Actor for his portrayal of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. Mescal has gone from strength to strength these past few months, having been nominated for an Academy Award earlier this year. This year was also notable for its celebrity host, Hannah Waddingham, who is best known for her role in the comedy series Ted Lasso. In what was her first-ever hosting gig, she excelled in the role, helping us navigate through the various performances and speeches.

One of the most triumphant victories of the night was Oklahoma winning Best Musical Revival! This new production of Oklahoma completely reimagined the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical, transforming it into a brand-new show without changing one word of dialogue. It’s a striking achievement and was very much deserving of this award. It was a bonus to see Arthur Darvill win for his leading performance in the show, especially considering that this was among the most competitive categories of the night. A Streetcar Named Desire also received a well-deserved win for Best Revival, a production that also sought to revisit the original text and give it new life. Streetcar star Anjana Vasan won Best Supporting Actress in a Play for her stand-out performance as Stella; a prediction I had made several weeks ago, and I am pleased to say it turned out true. It was also gratifying to see Paul Mescal earn a win for his West End stage debut; having won both an Olivier and a BAFTA TV Award, he is now just one award away from receiving the Triple Crown of acting!

There were however some surprises that I had not anticipated, as there always are at these award ceremonies. I had previously predicted some awards for My Neighbour Totoro, though the production ultimately did even better than I had expected. It was largely a clean sweep, winning six of the nine awards that it was nominated for and becoming one of the most awarded shows in theatre history. Totoro won every single production award, with the one exception of choreography. Another surprise was the aforementioned win for Arthur Darvill, as I had previously expected Alon Moni Aboutboul to win for The Band’s Visit. Although The Band’s Visit did very well at the Tony Awards in New York, it, unfortunately, went home empty-handed on Sunday night, which may highlight the discrepancy between these two award bodies. On the flip side, Oklahoma’s Marisha Wallace was considered the favourite for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, though this award was ultimately given to Beverley Knight for her work in Sylvia. Though these wins may have been a surprise, they are all still highly deserving of the recognition they have been given!

It’s difficult to pick highlights, but one of the more memorable moments of the evening was playwright Tom Morton-Smith’s speech after having received the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play on behalf of My Neighbour Totoro. He explained that the play had been written as a gift to his unborn daughter during his wife’s pregnancy, though tragically their child was stillborn. Despite this heartbreak, Morton-Smith subsequently chose to keep his daughter’s memory alive with the play and kept on working to put it onstage in spite of his grief. I am sure many will be inspired by Morton-Smith’s endeavours to preserve his daughter’s legacy, and this is clearly a well-earned award. Another high point was a cameo from actor and comedian Tim Minchin, who entered the stage to present an award, bringing some good-natured banter to the ceremony. If Hannah Waddingham chooses not to host next year, then Minchin would be a worthy replacement!

The evening was peppered with musical theatre performances, with most of the nominated shows having their moment in the spotlight to show off their talents. Among the most impressive was The Band’s Visit, who performed the musical number ‘Omar Sharif,’ with Olivier nominee Miri Mesika delivering a solo. Mesika’s vocals were outstanding, and quite possibly some of the best that we heard throughout the night. A special mention must also be awarded to Beverley Knight who performed in, not one, but two separate musical numbers! She first took to the stage as a sassy nun for Sister Act, before transforming into leading suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst for Sylvia a mere hour later. The fact that Knight had the stamina to perform in two of the main musical performances is extremely impressive and is one of the many reasons one might consider her worthy for an Olivier Award. Both Sister Act and Sylvia gave excellent performances, with the former using the occasion to announce an exciting return to the West End early next year!

And that brings us to the end of yet another Olivier Awards! It was a fantastic ceremony to commemorate an incredible year of theatre, and everyone involved is worthy of high praise. Looking forward, we can only hope that 2024 will live up to the high bar set by 2023!

A full list of this year’s winners can be found below:

Best New Play – Prime Facie

Best New Musical – Standing at the Sky’s Edge

Best Revival – A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Musical Revival – Oklahoma

Best Entertainment or Comedy Play – My Neighbour Totoro

Best Family Show – Hey Duggee

Best Actor – Paul Mescal as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Actress – Jodie Comer as Tessa in Prima facie

Best Actor in a Musical – Arthur Darvill as Curly McLain in Oklahoma

Best Actress in a Musical – Katie Brayben as Tammy Faye Messner in Tammy Faye

Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Will Keen as Vladimir Putin in Patriots

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Anjana Vasan as Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Zubin Varla as Jerry Falwell in Tammy Faye

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Beverley Knight as Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia

Best Director – Phelim McDermott for My Neighbour Totoro

Best Theatre Choreographer – Matt Cole for Newsies

Best Set Design – Tom Pye for My Neighbour Totoro

Best Costume Design – Kimie Nakano for My Neighbour Totoro

Best Lighting Design – Jessica Hung Han Hun for My Neighbour Totoro

Best Sound Design – Tony Gayle for My Neighbour Totoro

Best Original Score or New Orchestrations – Tom Deering for orchestrating and Richard Hawley for scoring and lyricising Standing at the Sky’s Edge

Best New Dance Production – Traplord by Ivan Michael Blackstock

Outstanding Achievement in Dance – Dickson Mbi for choreographing Enowate

Best New Opera Production – Alcina, Royal Opera

Outstanding Achievement in Opera – William Kentridge for conceiving and directing Sybil

Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre – The P Word

Special Recognition Award – Derek Jacobi and Arlene Phillips