Inside the 2026 Olivier Awards

Critic Matt Wolf goes behind the scenes at the biggest night in London theatre: the Olivier Awards, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Summary

• The biggest winner at this year's Olivier Awards was Paddington The Musical
• Other winners on the night included Rosamund Pike and Rachel Zegler
• There were performances from Paddington The Musical; The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry; The Phantom of the Opera; Wicked and more

I don’t think anyone would deny that we inhabit often troubling times. But for three interval-free hours at Sunday night’s (12 April) Olivier Awards with Cunard, which was celebrating 50 years of excellence in London theatre, the Royal Albert Hall seemed like the safest, most inclusive place to be.

That had a lot to do, of course, with the semi-sweep accomplished to no one’s surprise by Paddington the Musical. The breakout hit of this or any season won seven Oliviers, starting with the top prize for Best Musical along with Best Director (Luke Sheppard) and trophies in three out of the four musical theatre acting categories. On that front, it missed out only on Best Actress in a Musical, which went, as expected, to Evita’s astounding Rachel Zegler – one of two awards (choreography was the other) won by Jamie Lloyd’s transfixing revival of the iconic Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice title.

But even as Paddington as a show preaches tolerance and societal engagement, so did those awarded for their work on it. “Paddington reminds us to be welcoming, inquisitive, and, most importantly, kind,” said an impassioned James Hameed, one of the dual winners for Best Actor in a Musical in a category whose result was a foregone conclusion: who would dare deny a prize to the two people – Arti Shah being the other – who bring the ursine Peruvian immigrant of the title to stage life? (It was sweet, as well, to hear Hameed admit to keeping his participation in the venture secret for years, right up until the reveal of the bear at the show’s first preview last November.)

Shah, who marked her stage debut with this musical, might have been surprised to find herself accepting an award in the category of Best Actor, but the entirely lovely takeaway from her speech was a shout-out to inclusion: “Mummy is going to keep making you proud,” she called from the stage to her nine-year-old son in the audience, “and I’m going to keep showing you that being different is a good thing.”

Variations on an ongoing theme of generosity of spirit were sounded by those involved with Punch, which took Best Play for James Graham – a recipient of the same prize two years ago for Dear England – and Best Supporting Actress in a Play for Julie Hesmondhalgh. “In this world that is continually characterised by division, violence, conflict, and hate,” her play, the Lancashire actress went on to say, “showed us a different way, led by hope, compassion, forgiveness, and love”. Small wonder that by the time he got to the stage, Graham himself was a teary as Sonia Friedman, Paddington’s exultant co-producer, would also be soon after: the evening remained emotionally charged throughout.

High spirits were sounded elsewhere for the sheer fact of longevity. Elaine Paige, now 78, took the occasion of her special award to acknowledge perhaps “getting to the wrong end of the line” as she looked back on a musical theatre heyday that is now behind her. What’s made it all worthwhile, one felt, was the ongoing support of her audience. “Maybe they won’t keep showing up but you did,” said Paige, clearly moved, “so I thank you very much for that”. The speech was a class act from the British musical theatre’s “first lady” who seemed as astonished as anyone else at “the most remarkable adventure” that has been her career.

If Paddington ruled, there were surprises elsewhere. It was hard not to share the unbridled delight of Jack Holden, who took the actor in a play prize for Kenrex over mighty competition from the likes of Bryan Cranston (All My Sons) and Tony winner Sean Hayes (Good Night, Oscar). “It was definitely me, wasn’t it?” asked an incredulous Holden, just as Best Actress in a Play winner Rosamund Pike (Inter Alia) seemed visibly stirred at having returned so fully in triumph to the theatre, having not done a play in 14 years.

And in a closely contested race for musical revival between Evita and Into The Woods, the Bridge Theatre’s galvanic reassessment of the 1987 Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine title emerged triumphant – poetic justice, perhaps, for that same show's original Broadway production having lost the Best Musical Tony back in the day to The Phantom of the Opera. The latter's 40th anniversary in the West End got this year’s Oliviers off to a properly commemorative start, just as the 20th anniversary in the West End of Wicked brought the ceremony to a close. News broke during the evening of the autumn transfer of Into The Woods to the Noël Coward Theatre, while there are rumblings of a New York iteration of Jordan Fein’s emotionally transporting production, as well.

In keeping with the Ted Lasso connection to the Oliviers, Nick Mohammed proved a genial follow-on from Hannah Waddingham in previous years, some early issues with the auto-cue quickly smoothed over as he hit his stride. On that front, Ian McKellen brought down the house, confessing that he couldn’t read his auto-cue at all; that left fellow presenter Helen Mirren to do those honours for him, the two having been onetime sparring partners on Broadway in Strindberg’s Dance of Death.

Quibbles and questions? You might have thought Zegler’s speech would acknowledge the presence in the house of the original Eva Perón – Ms. Paige – and I for one was hopeful for the likes of Arcadia and The Weir, the second of which got no nominations whatsoever. But charitable impulses prevailed throughout, alongside good fun, too. As Cole Escola cheekily said upon winning the Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play prize for Oh, Mary!: “I want to thank my amazing husband – who doesn’t exist.”

Discover the full list of winners.

Photo credit: Olivier Awards. (Courtesy of TTG). Inset: Paddington, Punch, Into The Woods production imagery, (Courtesy of productions)