James Graham’s play Dear England led the pack with nine nods.

By Molly Moss

Published: Wednesday, 13 March 2024 at 12:51 PM

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The nominations have been unveiled for this year’s Olivier Awards, which celebrate the biggest achievements in British theatre. 

David Tennant received a nomination for his turn as Macbeth, Sarah Jessica Parker for Plaza Suite and Sarah Snook for The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Other nominated performers include Nicole Scherzinger, Joseph Fiennes, Andrew Scott and James Norton.

Dear England by James Graham led the pack with nine nods, while Sunset Boulevard is the most nominated musical with 11 nods.

The Olivier Awards will take place on 14th April at Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Hannah Waddingham.

Read on for the full list of Oliver Awards 2024 nominees.

Olivier Awards nominations 2024: Full list

Noël Coward award for best new entertainment or comedy play

• Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, adapted by Tom Basden at the Lyric Hammersmith and Theatre Royal Haymarket
• Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim at the Gielgud theatre
• Stranger Things: The First Shadow by Kate Trefry at the Phoenix theatre
• Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial, adapted by Liv Hennessy at the Ambassadors theatre

Best family show

• Bluey’s Big Play by Joe Brumm at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall
• Dinosaur World Live by Derek Bond at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
• The House With Chicken Legs, book by Sophie Anderson, adapted by Oliver Lansley at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
• The Smeds and the Smoos, book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, adapted by Tall Stories at the Lyric theatre

Gillian Lynne award for best theatre choreographer

• Fabian Aloise for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf for Dear England at the National Theatre – Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• Arlene Phillips with James Cousins for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Mark Smith for The Little Big Things at @sohoplace
• Susan Stroman for Crazy for You at the Gillian Lynne theatre

Best costume design

• Bunny Christie and Deborah Andrews for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Ryan Dawson Laight for La Cage Aux Folles at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
• Hugh Durrant for Peter Pan at The London Palladium
• Marg Horwell for The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

Best revival

• The Effect by Lucy Prebble at the National Theatre – Lyttelton
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare at the Donmar Warehouse
• Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell at the Duke of York’s theatre
• Vanya by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Simon Stephens at the Duke of York’s theatre

Best musical revival

• Groundhog Day, music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, book by Danny Rubin at The Old Vic
• Guys and Dolls, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows at the Bridge theatre
• Hadestown, music, lyrics and book by Anaïs Mitchell at the Lyric theatre
• Sunset Boulevard, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton at the Savoy theatre

Best sound design

• Paul Arditti for Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix theatre
• Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons for Dear England at the National Theatre – Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• Adam Fisher for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Gareth Fry for Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse

Outstanding musical contribution

• Tom Brady for musical supervision and arrangements and Charlie Rosen for orchestrations for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Matt Brind for musical supervision, arrangements and orchestrations for Just for One Day at The Old Vic
• Steve Sidwell for orchestrations and Joe Bunker for musical direction for Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune theatre
• Alan Williams for musical supervision and musical direction for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre

Best actor in a supporting role

• Will Close for Dear England at the National Theatre – Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• Paul Hilton for An Enemy of the People at the Duke of York’s theatre
• Giles Terera for Clyde’s at the Donmar Warehouse
• Luke Thompson for A Little Life at the Harold Pinter theatre & Savoy theatre
• Zubin Varla for A Little Life at the Harold Pinter theatre & Savoy theatre

Best actress in a supporting role

• Lorraine Ashbourne for Till the Stars Come Down at the National Theatre – Dorfman
• Priyanga Burford for An Enemy of the People at the Duke of York’s theatre
• Haydn Gwynne for When Winston Went to War With the Wireless at the Donmar Warehouse
• Gina McKee for Dear England at the National Theatre – Olivier
• Tanya Reynolds for A Mirror at the Almeida Theatre and Trafalgar theatre

Best set design

• Miriam Buether for Set Design and 59 Productions for video design for Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix theatre
• Bunny Christie for set design for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Es Devlin for set design and Ash J Woodward for video design for Dear England at the National Theatre – Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• Soutra Gilmour for set design and Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom for video design for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre

Best lighting design

• Jon Clark for Dear England at the National Theatre – Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• Jon Clark for Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix theatre
• Paule Constable for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Jack Knowles for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre

Best actress in a supporting role in a musical

• Grace Hodgett Young for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Zoë Roberts for Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune theatre
• Amy Trigg for The Little Big Things at @sohoplace
• Eleanor Worthington-Cox for Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse

Best actor in a supporting role in a musical

• Jak Malone for Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune theatre
• Cedric Neal for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• David Thaxton for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Jack Wolfe for Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse

Best new opera production

• Blue by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum
• Innocence by the Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House
• Picture a Day Like This by the Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House – Linbury theatre
• The Rhinegold by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum

Outstanding achievement in opera

• Antonio Pappano for his role as Musical Director of the Royal Opera House
• Belarus Free Theatre Company for King Stakh’s Wild Hunt at the Barbican theatre
• Marina Abramović for her concept and design of 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at the London Coliseum

Best actor in a musical

• David Cumming for Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune theatre
• Tom Francis for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Daniel Mays for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Charlie Stemp for Crazy for You at the Gillian Lynne theatre

Photo by Nicky J Sims/Getty Images for ABA

Best actress in a musical

• Natasha Hodgson for Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune theatre
• Caissie Levy for Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse
• Nicole Scherzinger for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Marisha Wallace for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre

Best new dance production

• Broken Chord by Gregory Maqoma and Thuthuka Sibisi at Sadler’s Wells
• The Rite of Spring by Seeta Patel at Sadler’s Wells
• La Ruta by Gabriela Carrizo, part of Nederlands Dans Theater – NDT 1 at Sadler’s Wells
• Time Spell by Michelle Dorrance, Jillian Meyers and Tiler Peck, part of Turn It Out With Tiler Peck and Friends at Sadler’s Wells

Outstanding achievement in dance

• Isabela Coracy for her performance in NINA: By Whatever Means, part of Ballet Black: Pioneers at the Barbican theatre
• Jonzi D for his artistic direction of Breakin’ Convention 2023 International festival of hip-hop Dance theatre at Sadler’s Wells
• Rhiannon Faith for her community focused conception of Lay Down Your Burdens at The Pit at Barbican

Outstanding achievement in affiliate theatre

• Blue Mist by Mohamed-Zain Dada at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court theatre
• A Playlist for The Revolution by AJ Yi at the Bush theatre
• Sleepova by Matilda Feyişayo at the Bush theatre
• The Swell by Isley Lynn at the Orange Tree theatre
• The Time Machine: A Comedy by Steven Canny and John Nicholson at the Park theatre

Sir Peter Hall award for best director

• Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin for Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix theatre
• Rupert Goold for Dear England at the National Theatre – Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Sam Mendes for The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre – Lyttelton and Noël Coward theatre

Best actress

• Laura Donnelly for The Hills of California at the Harold Pinter theatre
• Sophie Okonedo for Medea at @sohoplace
• Sarah Jessica Parker for Plaza Suite at the Savoy theatre
• Sheridan Smith for Shirley Valentine at the Duke of York’s theatre
• Sarah Snook for The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

Best actor

• Joseph Fiennes for Dear England at the National Theatre – Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• Mark Gatiss for The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre – Lyttelton and Noël Coward theatre
• James Norton for A Little Life at the Harold Pinter theatre & Savoy theatre
• Andrew Scott for Vanya at the Duke of York’s theatre
• David Tennant for Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse

Best new play

• Dear England by James Graham at the National Theatre – Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• The Hills of California by Jez Butterworth at the Harold Pinter theatre
• The Motive and the Cue by Jack Thorne at the National Theatre – Lyttelton and Noël Coward theatre
• Till the Stars Come Down by Beth Steel at the National Theatre – Dorfman

Best new musical

• The Little Big Things, music by Nick Butcher, lyrics by Nick Butcher and Tom Ling, book by Joe White at @sohoplace
• Next to Normal, music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey at the Donmar Warehouse
• Operation Mincemeat, music, lyrics and book by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson and Zoë Roberts at the Fortune theatre
• A Strange Loop, music, lyrics and book by Michael R Jackson at the Barbican theatre

The Olivier Awards will take place on 14th April 2024 at the Royal Albert Hall. Looking for something to watch? Visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.

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