Paddington: The Musical tops Olivier Awards on 50th anniversary

LONDON: The 2026 Laurence Olivier Awards were held at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Sunday, marking the 50th anniversary of what is regarded as British theatre’s top honour. The awards recognise achievement across theatre, musicals, opera and dance.

The ceremony was hosted by comedian Nick Mohammed and reflected a year of expansive storytelling and technical accomplishment, with productions competing in a broad and crowded field.

Going into the event, Paddington: The Musical and Into the Woods led the nominations with 11 each. By the end of the night, Paddington: The Musical had emerged as the leading winner, taking seven awards, including Best New Musical and Best Director for Luke Sheppard.

The production also performed strongly in the acting categories. James Hameed and Arti Shah shared the Best Actor in a Musical award, while Tom Edden and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt won in the supporting performance categories.

In the play categories, Punch won Best New Play. Julie Hesmondhalgh also received Best Supporting Actress, adding to the production’s strong showing during the evening.

All My Sons was named Best Revival, while Paapa Essiedu won Best Supporting Actor. Into the Woods, which had been among the most nominated productions before the ceremony, won Best Musical Revival.

Among the individual performance honours, Rosamund Pike won Best Actress for Inter Alia, while Jack Holden took Best Actor for Kenrex. In musical theatre, Rachel Zegler was named Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Evita.

The event also recognised contributions beyond the main competitive categories. Veteran performer Elaine Paige received special recognition for her contribution to the industry.

Honours in opera and dance were also presented during the ceremony, underlining the range of London’s stage scene as the Olivier Awards reached their 50-year milestone.