Olivier Awards nominations: shocks, surprises and thrills from today’s news

The Olivier Award nominations are in! In no surprise to anyone, Sunset Boulevard has led the pack, closely followed by Dear England and Guys and Dolls. After chewing through the full shortlist, some happy surprises sprang out to us – read some of our thoughts below:

Haydn Gwynne 

One of the most poignant moments for the nominations was the nod for Haydn Gwynne for her performance in When Winston Went to War with the Wireless, which opened at the Donmar Warehouse this summer. Jack Thorne’s play would mark Gwynne’s final stage turn as she passed away not long after it closed, so an Olivier nomination feels like a fitting way to celebrate one of the greatest talents on our stages for a number of decades.

Lovely mentions

Which brings us on to some of the loveliest mentions of the awards – and the best part of the Oliviers is seeing rising star talent being recognised in a miriad of ways. Amy Trigg, one of the best aspects of The Little Big Things, was nominated, alongside the likes of Tom Francis (braving the Strand show after show with his live capture!) and WhatsOnStage Award winner Grace Hodgett Young for Sunset Boulevard. Seeing choreographer Fabian Aloise recognised for his innovative work on Sunset Boulevard was equally joyful.

Beth Steel’s Till the Stars Come Down nomination for Best New Play was also exciting – we expect there’s more life for the show to come in what has been a mammoth year for the National Theatre – receiving 15 nominations across its various shows.

Then, seeing homegrown shows like Operation Mincemeat get a considerable amount of praise feels like an excellent point for the musical’s journey – in a category of equally groundbreaking shows – A Strange Loop, Next to Normal and The Little Big Things. 

Shocks

Categories can only have four or five nominees, so it’s inevitable that some fan and critical favourites don’t get a mention – them’s the breaks, so to speak. Guys and Dolls got a mega tally of nine nods – marking the Bridge Theatre’s first foray into the Oliviers – but it was a bit sad that Celinde Schoenmaker wasn’t present for her exquisite Sarah Brown, while Nick Hytner was absent for his direction given his mastermind efforts in immersing audiences in the neon-lit New York. Absent too was The Witches, a hugely revered musical that has earned a wad of love from critics across the board – it left empty handed, as did Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) – although that show may be saving itself for its West End run, kicking off next month.

Video Design 

Interestingly, three of the shows nominated for Best Set Design – Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Sunset Boulevard and Dear England – featured a mention of their video designers. The huge strides made in video are starting to really make a difference in the West End, and, in the case of these nominees, all in wildly different ways. We can only imagine that growing as time progresses!

Eligibility 

Some of the biggest surprises aren’t necessarily who is nominated, but often where they’re nominated. For example – Stranger Things: The First Shadow, a new play, has been positioned in the Best Entertainment or Comedy category, alongside the likes of Accidental Death of an Anarchist – a revival of an existing Dario Fo play, and Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, a musical revue, shoulder-to-shoulder with verbatim theatre piece Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial. 

At the same time, we were never quite sure whether Hadestown would count as a new musical (given it had rewrites and new scenes compared to its previous run), but has landed in the revival category with the likes of Sunset Boulevard and Guys and Dolls. This pragmatism by producers and the awards themselves may throw up some unexpected results, but it does mean more of the best shows get recognised and celebrated on a huge platform.