The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time proved to be as big a hit with the Olivier Award judges as with the public, winning an astounding seven of the eight awards it was nominated for at Theatreland’s most prestigious award ceremony.
In collecting the awards for Best New Play, Best Director (Marianne Elliott), Best Actor (Luke Treadaway), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Nicola Walker), Best Sound Design (Ian Dickinson and Adrian Sutton), Best Lighting Design (Paule Constable) and Best Set Design (Bunny Christie and Finn Ross), the National Theatre production tied with last year’s big winner Matilda The Musical as the recipient of the most Olivier Awards ever in one night.
The acclaimed stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s multimillion copy-selling novel only missed out in the category of Best Theatre Choreography, where Bill Deamer’s work on Top Hat, which also won Best New Musical and Best Costume Design (Jon Morrell), caught the voters’ eyes.
Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton, former co-presenters of the Olivier Awards, collected the awards for Best Actor and Actress in a Musical for their memorable performances as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and his pie-making accomplice in Sweeney Todd, which also won the prize for Best Musical Revival.
Dame Helen Mirren once again won an award for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, adding the Olivier Award for Best Actress, won for her performance in The Audience, to her Oscar for her performance in The Queen. One of Mirren’s co-stars in the production that explores the secret meetings between the monarch and her Prime Ministers during her 60 year reign, Richard McCabe, won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Award.
In the publicly voted BBC Radio 2 Audience Award, which this year received 65,000 votes, Billy Elliot The Musical, shortlisted for the award for the last three years, finally got its hands on the coveted statuette.
Other theatrical winners on the night included US star Leigh Zimmerman (Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical), Goodnight Mister Tom (Best Entertainment and Family), Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Best Revival) and the entire season at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court (Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre).
Christopher Wheeldon’s Aeternum was the star of the dance categories, winning the Best New Dance Production Award itself, while also being one of the pieces that gave Royal Ballet principal dancer Marianela Nunez the opportunity to shine enough to receive the Outstanding Achievement in Dance Award. The opera awards were split between Einstein On The Beach (Best New Opera Production) and American tenor Bryan Hymel (Outstanding Achievement in Opera).
Presented by Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville and two-time Olivier Award winner Sheridan Smith, the 37th Olivier Awards with MasterCard also featured a selection of remarkable performances from Broadway star Idina Menzel, Glee’s Matthew Morrison, Matilda The Musical composer Tim Minchin, the cast of Cats and many of this year’s nominated productions. You can watch highlights from 22:15 tonight on ITV or on ITV Player following the show.
Full list of winners:
Best Revival
Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Apollo theatre)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Richard McCabe for The Audience (Gielgud theatre)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nicola Walker for The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (National Theatre, Cottesloe)
White Light Award for Lighting Design
Paule Constable for The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (National Theatre, Cottesloe)
Best Sound Design
Ian Dickinson and Adrian Sutton for The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (National Theatre, Cottesloe)
Best Costume Design
Jon Morrell for Top Hat (Aldwych theatre)
XL Video Award for Best Set Design
Bunny Christie and Finn Ross for The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (National Theatre, Cottesloe)
Best Entertainment and Family
Goodnight Mister Tom (Phoenix theatre)
BBC Radio 2 Audience Award
Billy Elliot The Musical (Victoria Palace theatre)
Best New Dance Production
Aeternum, by the Royal Ballet, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon (Royal Opera House)
Outstanding Achievement in Dance
Marianela Núñez for Aeternum, Diana & Actaeon and Viscera, by the Royal Ballet (Royal Opera House)
Best Actor
Luke Treadaway for The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (National Theatre, Cottesloe)
Best Actress
Helen Mirren for The Audience (Gielgud theatre)
Best Director
Marianne Elliott for The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (National Theatre, Cottesloe)
Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre
The season of new writing at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
Best New Opera Production
Einstein On The Beach by Robert Wilson and Philip Glass with choreography by Lucinda Childs (Barbican theatre)
Outstanding Achievement in Opera
Bryan Hymel for his performance in Les Troyens, Robert Le Diable and Rusalka (Royal Opera House)
Autograph Sound Award for Best Theatre Choreographer
Bill Deamer for Top Hat (Aldwych theatre)
Best Musical Revival
Sweeney Todd (Adelphi theatre)
Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical
Leigh Zimmerman for A Chorus Line (London Palladium)
Best Actor in a Musical
Michael Ball for Sweeney Todd (Adelphi theatre)
Best Actress in a Musical
Imelda Staunton for Sweeney Todd (Adelphi theatre)
Best New Musical
Top Hat (Aldwych theatre)
MasterCard Best New Play
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time (National Theatre, Cottesloe)
Special Awards
Michael Frayn
Gillian Lynne