Scarlet April 11th, 2022
The Royal Albert hall opened its doors and welcomed in the biggest British theatre celebration of the year, the Olivier Awards 2022! After missing a year due to the pandemic, the ceremony pulled out all the stops on Sunday night.
Hosted by Jason Manford, who immediately broke the ice and created a cheerful atmosphere thanks to his material gained from the Oscar ceremony "I'm a comedian, and this is an awards ceremony, and those two things have not gone down well together lately". Manford managed to keep the ball rolling from start to finish and was a needed asset to the Olivier's after a year of egg-shells for the theatre industry.
Cabaret made the Royal Albert Hall stage their home, bagging seven of their 11 Olivier Award nominations, with Redmayne taking home the Best Actor in a Musical award. His acceptance speech had him reflecting on the time he performed Cabaret as a kid in school and it was the thing that fueled his passion for theatre - and for that Cabaret, we thank you!
Life of Pi received nine nominations and went on to take home five of them including Best New Play and the show's star Abeysekera receiving the Best Actor award. In his acceptance speech he payed tribute to his home country Sri Lanka and was overwhelmed to win the award.
A DeLorean was spotted parked outside the Royal Albert Hall (who knows what year it just came from), but one thing that's for sure is it will be driving home with an Olivier Award for Best New Musical. Colin Ingram, who accepted the nights most competitive category award claimed he wasn't expecting it! It goes to show that eight years of work definitely pays off.
The revival of Constellations celebrated Sheila Atim who won Best Actress. Her acceptance speech reflected on the adversity the theatre industry went through in the last couple of years and how we've all managed to pull through and face it head on. A speech very well said.
Anything Goes, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical didn't go home empty handed. Catherine Zuber accepted the award for Best Costume Design in Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Kathleen Marshall took home the award for Best Theatre Choregrapher for Anything Goes and Simon Hale received the award for Best Original Score or Orchestration for Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical.
Frozen, Cinderella and 2:22 A Ghost Story just missed out on their awards but it won't slow down their success or sell-out performances.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Best Revival - Constellations
Best Entertainment or Comedy Play - Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)
Best Musical Revival - Cabaret
Best Costume Design - Catherine Zuber, Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Sound Design - Nick Lidster, Cabaret
Best Original Score or New Orchestration - Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical - Simon Hale
Best Theatre Choreographer - Kathleen Marshall, Anything Goes
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - 7 Actors Who Played the Tiger, Life of Pi
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Liz Carr, The Normal Heart
Best Set Design - Tim Hatley for Design and Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell for Puppets, Life of Pi
Best Lighting Design - Tim Lutkin and Andrzej Goulding, Life of Pi
Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical - Liza Sadovy, Cabaret
Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical - Elliot Levey, Cabaret
Outstanding Achievement in Opera - Peter Whelan and the Irish Baroque Orchestra for Bajazet Irish National Opera and Royal Opera
Best New Opera Production - Jenufa, by Royal Opera
Best Actor in a Musical - Eddie Redmayne, Cabaret
Best Actress in a Musical - Jessie Buckley, Cabaret
Outstanding Achievement in Dance - Arielle Smith for her choreography of Jolly Folly in Reunion by English National Ballet
Best New Dance Production - Revisor by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young/Kidd Pivot
Best Actress - Sheila Atim, Constellations
Best Actor - Hiran Abeysekera, Life of Pi
Best Director - Rebecca Frecknall, Cabaret
Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre - Old Bridge, Bush Theatre
Best Family Show - Wolf Witch Giant Fairy
Best New Play - Life of Pi
Best New Musical - Back To The Future - The Musical
