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The Guardian
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Olivier awards 2025: complete list of nominations
Best new musicalThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button, music and lyrics by Darren Clark, book and lyrics by Jethro Compton at Ambassadors theatre MJ the Musical, book by Lynn Nottage at Prince Edward theatre Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, music, lyrics and book by Dave Malloy at Donmar Warehouse Why Am I So Single?, music, lyrics and book by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss at Garrick theatre Best set designJon Bausor for set design, Toby Olié and Daisy Beattie for puppetry design and Satoshi Kuriyama for projection design for Spirited Away at London Coliseum Frankie Bradshaw for set design for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier Es Devlin for set design for Coriolanus at National Theatre – Olivier Tom Scutt for set design for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Best lighting designPaule Constable and Ben Jacobs for Oliver! at Gielgud theatre Howard Hudson for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse Howard Hudson for Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park theatre Aideen Malone for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Best new opera productionDuke Bluebeard's Castle by English National Opera at London Coliseum Festen by the Royal Opera at Royal Opera House L'Olimpiade by Irish National Opera and the Royal Opera at Royal Opera House The Tales of Hoffmann by the Royal Opera at Royal Opera House Outstanding achievement in operaAigul Akhmetshina for her performance in Carmen at Royal Opera House Allan Clayton for his performance in Festen at Royal Opera House Jung Young-doo for his direction of Lear at Barbican theatre Best family showBrainiac Live at Marylebone theatre Maddie Moate's Very Curious Christmas at Apollo theatre The Nutcracker at Polka theatre Rough Magic at Shakespeare's Globe – Sam Wanamaker Playhouse Best new production in affiliate theatreAnimal Farm at Theatre Royal Stratford East by George Orwell, adapted by Tatty Hennessy Boys on the Verge of Tears by Sam Grabiner at Soho theatre English by Sanaz Toossi at Kiln theatre Now, I See by Lanre Malaolu at Theatre Royal Stratford East What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander at Marylebone theatre Best new dance productionAssembly Hall by Kidd Pivot, Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young at Sadler's Wells Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner by the National Ballet of Canada at Sadler's Wells Theatre of Dreams by Hofesh Shechter Company at Sadler's Wells An Untitled Love by A.I.M by Kyle Abraham at Sadler's Wells Outstanding achievement in danceSarah Chun for her performance in Three Short Ballets at Royal Opera House – Linbury theatre Tom Visser for his lighting design of Angels' Atlas as part of Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner at Sadler's Wells Eva Yerbabuena for her performance in Yerbagüena at Sadler's Wells Best actor in a supporting roleJorge Bosch for Kyoto at @sohoplace Tom Edden for Waiting for Godot at Theatre Royal Haymarket Elliot Levey for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre Ben Whishaw for Bluets at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre Best actress in a supporting roleSharon D Clarke for The Importance of Being Earnest at National Theatre – Lyttelton Romola Garai for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre Romola Garai for The Years at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre Gina McKee for The Years at Almeida Theatre and Harold Pinter theatre Best theatre choreographerMatthew Bourne for Oliver! at Gielgud theatre Julia Cheng for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Hofesh Shechter for Oedipus at the Old Vic Christopher Wheeldon for MJ the Musical at Prince Edward theatre Best costume designHugh Durrant for Robin Hood at the London Palladium Sachiko Nakahara for Spirited Away at London Coliseum Tom Scutt for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Gabriella Slade for Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park theatre Best sound designNick Lidster for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Christopher Shutt for Oedipus at the Old Vic Thijs van Vuure for The Years at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre Koichi Yamamoto for Spirited Away at London Coliseum Outstanding musical contributionMark Aspinall for musical supervision and additional orchestrations for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Darren Clark for music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements and Mark Aspinall for musical direction, music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors theatre Dave Malloy for orchestrations and Nicholas Skilbeck for musical supervision for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse Asaf Zohar for compositions and Gavin Sutherland for dance arrangements and orchestration for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier Best actress in a supporting role in a musicalLiv Andrusier for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Amy Di Bartolomeo for The Devil Wears Prada at Dominion theatre Beverley Klein for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Maimuna Memon for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse Best actor in a supporting role in a musicalAndy Nyman for Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium Raphael Papo for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Layton Williams for Titanique at Criterion theatre Tom Xander for Mean Girls at Savoy theatre Best new entertainment or comedy playBallet Shoes adapted by Kendall Feaver at National Theatre – Olivier Inside No 9 Stage/Fright by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith at Wyndham's theatre Spirited Away adapted by John Caird and co-adapted by Maoko Imai at London Coliseum Titanique by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli at Criterion theatre Best directorEline Arbo for The Years at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre Jordan Fein for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Nicholas Hytner for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre Robert Icke for Oedipus at Wyndham's theatre Best actressHeather Agyepong for Shifters at Duke of York's theatre Lesley Manville for Oedipus at Wyndham's theatre Rosie Sheehy for Machinal at the Old Vic Meera Syal for A Tupperware of Ashes at National Theatre – Dorfman Indira Varma for Oedipus at the Old Vic Best actorAdrien Brody for The Fear of 13 at Donmar Warehouse Billy Crudup for Harry Clarke at Ambassadors theatre Paapa Essiedu for Death of England: Delroy at @sohoplace John Lithgow for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre Mark Strong for Oedipus at Wyndham's theatre Best revivalThe Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde at National Theatre – Lyttelton Machinal by Sophie Treadwell at the Old Vic Oedipus by Robert Icke at Wyndham's theatre Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett at Theatre Royal Haymarket Best musical revivalFiddler on the Roof, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Hello, Dolly!, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart at the London Palladium Oliver!, book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, new material and revisions by Cameron Mackintosh at Gielgud theatre Starlight Express, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Richard Stilgoe at Troubadour Wembley Park theatre Best actor in a musicalJohn Dagleish for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors theatre Adam Dannheisser for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Myles Frost for MJ the Musical at Prince Edward theatre Simon Lipkin for Oliver! at Gielgud theatre Jamie Muscato for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse Best actress in a musicalChumisa Dornford-May for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse Lauren Drew for Titanique at Criterion theatre Clare Foster for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors theatre Lara Pulver for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent's Park Open Air theatre Imelda Staunton for Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium Best new playThe Fear of 13 by Lindsey Ferrentino at Donmar Warehouse Giant by Mark Rosenblatt at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre Kyoto by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson at @sohoplace Shifters by Benedict Lombe at Duke of York's theatre The Years adapted by Eline Arbo, in an English version by Stephanie Bain at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre
The Guardian
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Why aren't there Oscars for what we do?' Choreographer Ellen Kane lets rip
Ellen Kane is on a roll. When we speak, the choreographer and movement director has two shows running, Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre, and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at the Donmar. She has just finished Why Am I So Single?, the follow-up from the writers of Six, the smash hit about Henry VIII's wives, and she's in rehearsals for the revival of Dear England, James Graham's funny and stirring depiction of Gareth Southgate's tenure as England manager. If you watched all those shows in a row, you would have no idea the same person had a hand in them all, such is the art of the movement director, a job that many may not even realise exists. But it's an essential one. 'Outside actually directing a scene, everything that moves on the stage is usually done by me,' says Kane, chatting backstage at the National. That means any dance, obviously, but also scene transitions, characters getting from A to B, and working with actors on how they connect with the audience. She helps make visible a character's emotional experience. 'So that we, the audience, can feel it,' she says. 'I love to feel. I can watch something and appreciate it, 'Oh that's beautiful.' But do I leave moved?' What is striking about those shows is how caught up audiences are in their energy – and part of Kane's job is to shape that energetic arc, to make sitting in the theatre a visceral experience, as well as an intellectual one. In Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 the characters are at crisis point, tackling love, infidelity and the meaning of life. 'Huge topics of human existence,' says Kane, 'so the vibration of the person dealing with those things is large, right? We're not just going to tell you about it, because that's not how we live those experiences.' She doesn't work by giving the performers exercises or moves to do, but by dissecting the text. 'I adore finding the right energy for each beat, the sharp turns and corners you can take.' On Dear England, one daunting job was to help actors morph into well-known footballers. Kane didn't work much with Joseph Fiennes on his impressive Gareth Southgate. 'Joe did that himself,' she says (Gwilym Lee will take on the mantle in the revival). But to hone the squad – Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford et al – she and co-movement director Hannes Langolf studied hours and hours of footage of the players, analysing mannerisms and tics. She brought in footballer Lee Dixon to teach them about penalties, drills and formations, and absorbed all of that into the show, generating the spirit of a match without ever passing a ball. 'Rupert Goold, the director, is a huge fan of football and he said, 'Let's bring in the ball.' And I was like, 'Ooh, that's so dodge!'' She laughs and cringes. 'Because you'll never replicate the real thing. If there's no ball, all they can feel is the tension in the situation, and our job is to heighten the tension.' Choreography in theatre and film is an underappreciated art. Alongside movement director Polly Bennett, Kane is working with Equity to set up a choreographers' network and tackle their low profile in the industry. 'You know,' she says, 'why aren't there Oscars for choreography? Why aren't there Baftas? Why aren't we being credited?' Kane's work on the film of Matilda the Musical is all over social media, for example (sample comments: 'The choreography for Matilda is AMAZING'; 'THIS MUSICAL WAS TOO SICK YALL GOTTA WATCH IT'), but her name is rarely attached. They are wrangling with IMDb over getting a proper credit on films, rather than being lost among the 'additional crew' at the bottom of the page. Not that Kane is out for glory. She's just passionate about what she does, even if she never really planned this career. Growing up in (pre-gentrification) Hackney, London, there was the odd after-school dance class and a randomly chosen dance GCSE, but when dancers from Lewisham College came to perform at her school, she recalls: 'I was just so moved by it. I was, like, 'I've got to do that!'' She went to Lewisham, which in the 1990s ran an inspiring dance course, full of late starters who'd never done a ballet class, many of whom have gone on to influential careers. That course is no more, and Kane laments that the decimation of the arts in schools will leave no pathway for others like her to get into the industry. 'There are not many working-class people at this level. Now there will be even fewer. How do we get there if there is no exposure, no access?' You can't argue it's a superfluous subject, she says. 'Dance changed the trajectory of my life. It has to be valid.' When she went into dance training, Kane was adamant she would never do musical theatre. She performed contemporary dance with Richard Alston's company and others. But she began choreographing as assistant to Peter Darling on Billy Elliot, and now at 50 she's really hitting her stride, with two big musicals coming up, Nanny McPhee and Paddington. 'I'm just loving my life,' she says, 'and grateful that I'm given the opportunity to make these stories come alive.' Ballet Shoes is at the National Theatre, London, until 22 February; Dear England, is at the same venue, 10 March-24 May.
Telegraph
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Unicorn, review: this threesome comedy is more thoughtful than titillating
Rubs eyes in disbelief: here's a rare sighting of that mythologised species – the new, well-made, West End play. A boon for the Garrick, which last subjected us to the iffy musical Why Am I So Single?. That show was much ado about modern dating – and in part valuably asked what a 'new' kind of relationship might look like. Mike Bartlett's intricately entertaining latest also foregrounds thoughts on how we might be tempted to escape the conformism of everyday coupledom (the title, Unicorn, alludes to the practice of 'unicorn hunting', whereby a heterosexual couple bring a third partner into the mix). But oh the difference in sophistication, wit and insight. You can see why the names involved signed up – with Stephen Mangan and Nicola Walker (the on-screen married couple in the BBC's critic-dividing The Split) reuniting to play restless husband and wife Nick and Polly, Erin Doherty (Princess Anne in The Crown) playing the interloper Kate, and James Macdonald (fresh from a superb Waiting for Godot) directing. Bartlett is in a line with Harold Pinter in making every word count. Just as Pinter got berated for narrowing his attention to a triangular relationship in Betrayal, some might wonder what happened to the zeitgeist-tapping Bartlett who speculated on our monarchy (King Charles III), broached Brexit Britain (Albion) or foresaw the return of Trump (The 47 th). This is closer in spirit to Cock (2009), his tale of homosexual certainties smartly tested, albeit this ménage à trois is steeped in an acid understanding of ageing and mortality. And here the piece sets craved companionship in the context of forbidding, even apocalyptic times. The prurient should avoid this. There's some kissing, some tentative caressing, but that's about the size of it. The cherishably British, recognisably awkward tone is set early on by Mangan's Nick, a doctor, doubtfully contemplating his crotch, while sat on a sofa, and offering: 'Well, I could probably manage to get the blood down there if you were desperate?' Amid our laughter, Walker – eminently persuasive as his other half, such is their bickering familiarity and residual chemistry – registers comic disbelief and fierce pain, as facially expressive as her character - a poet and teacher as well as wife and mother – is loquacious. In contrast to recent misfiring screen-stars on stage, they're a dream team – every shifty look, pause and understated gesture hits home. Helping them to probe the ramifications of their 'throupledom', almost ad teasing nauseam, Doherty as the youthful catalyst Kate exudes a wisdom beyond her years alongside a self-possession that also feels generationally distinct. In an evening that takes pleasure in deferring consummation – there are various twists and leaps in narrative – before a subtle, stirring denouement, she has some of the best lines, conjuring a brave new world of interpersonal paradigms. I wasn't wild about Miriam Buether's design – which more resembles a glorified tent than a boudoir of possibilities (no great sets appeal) – but, as the play implies, you can't have everything. Recommended: for smug/wilting marrieds, singletons and the plain curious.
