Last week I attended my very first Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall. Hosted by the divine Beverly Knight and Billy Porter, it was a whirl being among the oh-so glitzy cream of the crop celebrating the very best in British theatre. With the news of its wins (and I really mean one certain show) finally setting in, I wanted to express my main takeaways from this year’s ceremony.
Benjamin Button makes waves
I rooted for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button all the way and made no secret about it, so it’s an understatement to say being in the room as each of its three wins was announced left me over the moon (and the sea):
- Best New Musical
- Best Actor in a Musical for John Dagleish
- Outstanding Musical Contribution
You can read my reviews, watch my reaction on TikTok and scroll through every other social media post to see my sheer adoration for the show on display with no shame, but I want to highlight why these wins are important not just for the show, but the industry as a whole.
In light of last year’s Best New Musical winner Operation Mincemeat and the year prior Standing at the Sky’s Edge, that two homegrown shows staged at Southwark Playhouse and another in the Sheffield Crucible before transferring won the most prestigious award in British theatre back to back showcases the importance of off-West End and regional houses for crafting new work.
Plus considering some (not all) shows of questionable quality have been express delivered to large in-demand West End houses while others of objectively higher quality have been forced to settle with shorter runs in smaller venues, these wins show the best pieces of work take a matter of time and patience to become the best versions of themselves and find their audience.
Titanique’s heart goes on!
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the night was Titanique scoring two Oliviers, mainly Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. Beating out the likes of John Caird’s adaptation of Spirited Away and the National Theatre’s Ballet Shoes, Titanique felt like a classic underdog in the wider climate of the West End. There’s something vindicating about the panelists understanding what the show was doing for it to be given the highest honour, even moreso following negative reception to recent TV performances. On top of that, Layton Williams deservedly won Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his standout performance as the Iceberg.
Giant wins big
Set to transfer to the Harold Pinter Theatre this month, Mark Rosenblatt’s thought-provoking Giant won three Larrys:
- Best New Play
- Best Leading Actor for John Lithgow
- Best Supporting Actor for Elliott Levey
Winning possibly the tightest competition in recent memory in the top two categories, I’m so excited to finally see it after hearing all the buzz during its Royal Court run.
Romola Garai wins – but for which play?
Having been nominated twice in the same category, the question on people’s lips wasn’t whether Romola Garai would win Best Supporting Actress, but rather for which show. With many anticipating she’d win for her acclaimed performance in Giant, instead she won for her utterly captivating turn as one of five Annies in The Years.
Speaking of The Years, Eline Arbo (the only woman nominated in her category) scored Best Director, a much deserved win for her empathetic and gripping examination into one woman’s life.
You get an Olivier! You get an Olivier!
My main takeaway from this year’s Olivier ceremony is many shows getting a Larry instead of one massive sweep like some recent ceremonies. Considering the tough competition in some categories, it was lovely seeing current shows or ones set to transfer leave saying they’re an Olivier winner thanks to the hard work put in onstage and backstage.
Backstage we had Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs win Best Lighting Design for their beautiful work in Oliver!, the perfect swan song for Constable’s incredible career before her retirement. Gabriella Slade won Best Costume Design for her dazzling work in Starlight Express. Meanwhile Christopher Wheeldon won Best Choreography for MJ The Musical.
In the acting categories, Imelda Staunton won Best Actress in a Musical for her larger than life yet honest performance as Dolly Levi in the Palladium’s bombastic summer revival of Hello Dolly. Maimuna Memon earned Natasha, Pierre and Great Comet of 1812 a win for her heartwrenching turn as Sonya – if there is a transfer, I won’t be surprise if we see her returning.
All of the above is all the more heartfelt as many were up against the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s revival of Fiddler on the Roof which garnered a whopping 13 nominations, tying with Hamilton for the most in Olivier history. Winning three for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Set Design and Best Sound Design this will no doubt create buzz surrounding Fiddler’s upcoming remount at the Barbican and UK tour, as well as Fein’s upcoming revival of Into The Woods at the Bridge Theatre designed by winner Tom Scutt.
Performances
Luke Sheppard’s revival of Starlight Express went with the titular song by Jeevan Braich and Jade Marvin. Having already done a camp ensemble heavy number with Light at the End of the Tunnel at the Royal Variety Show, it was nice seeing a more subdued one that put individual performer’s emotional range on display.
Speaking of individual talent, Simon Lipkin’s Reviewing the Situation was an easy highlight. Having seen Oliver! a couple of days prior to the ceremony and found Lipkin’s performance to be a career defining tour de force, it felt amazing seeing his comedic chops on full display that proved why he deserved his nomination.
Fiddler on the Roof went for the iconic Bottle Dance that closed act one. It would’ve been easy to go the traditional route with, well, Tradition, but I felt this number highlighted the community theme that shone throughout the production, as well as Julia Cheng’s stunning choreography evoking Jerome Robbin’s work with its own twist.
Why Am I So Single? celebrated its Best New Musical nomination with their TikTok friendly bop 8 Dates. Meanwhile MJ the Musical with Beat It highlighting Tony winner Myles Frost’s talent, having recently departed from the West End production.
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 did a surprise medley starting with the hedonistic electropop number Balaga followed by the soul-wrenching ballad Sonya Alone, no doubt show off nominees Jamie Muscato and Maimuna Memon as well as the musicians nominated for Outstanding Musical Contribution (full disclosure, I would have been fine with it winning that).
Of course let’s get to my personal favourite, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with act one finale Shippin’ Out – a raucous way to ironically open act two of the awards. As the show often used When ‘Ere She Looked at Me and A Little Life for promotions, it was refreshing seeing them pick another equally gorgeous song that put the talented actor-muso ensemble on full display (like literally every single song in the show) and prove why it absolutely deserved Outstanding Musical Contribution.
As for what finished? A celebration of Les Miz’s 40th anniversary (which ironically didn’t win the previously titled Musical of the Year when it was nominated – that went to Me and My Girl). Starting off with Cameron Mackintosh via video acknowledging the show’s achievements as the world’s longest running musical, he announced the show would finally be licensed for amateur productions in the UK.
From there, former Fantines Lucie Jones and Rachelle Ann Go and former Eponines Nathania Ong and Shan Ako sang a gorgeous mashup of I Dreamed a Dream and On My Own. Afterwards we had Bradley Jaden’s stunning rendition of Stars (probably because we didn’t need Bring Him Home for the umpteenth time). With the recent arena tour going worldwide, I wonder what else will be in store for the show’s milestone birthday…
And that’s been my thoughts on the 2025 Olivier awards which I felt like was a solid one for a great year in British theatre. Among the 20 categories I’d predicted, I managed to get 18 of them right, so that probably explains why, but the tight competition in some categories should speak for itself of just how great it was.
As for 2026? Judging what’s recently opened and what we have coming up, I’m already umming and ahhing about my predictions. All I’ll say is please broadcast the entire Olivier ceremony live because not everyone can afford a ticket or VPN just to watch them.
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