Lyrical Muse

London theatre’s biggest night is taking shape. The Olivier Awards have unveiled the full list of nominees for 2026, and this year’s lineup reflects a season rich with ambitious revivals, bold new writing and star-studded performances.

Leading the pack are two crowd-pleasing musicals — Into the Woods (The Bridge Theatre) and Paddington: The Musical (Savoy Theatre) — which dominate the nominations with an impressive 11 nods each, setting up one of the most competitive races in recent Olivier memory.

The Arthur Miller revival All My Sons, new drama Kenrex, and Broadway transfer Stereophonic each collected six nominations, highlighting the strength of this year’s dramatic offerings. The acting fields are stacked with heavyweight talent as well, with Cate Blanchett, Rosamund Pike, Bryan Cranston, and Tom Hiddleston among the prominent nominees recognized for their standout performances on the London stage.

The ceremony also carries special significance this year. The Olivier Awards celebrate their 50th anniversary on April 12 at the Royal Albert Hall, where host Nick Mohammed will preside over a night honoring the best of British theatre. The event will broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer, with additional coverage on BBC Radio 2.

The full list of nominees of the 2026 Olivier awards can be found below:

Best New Musical

• Here We Are
• Paddington: The Musical
• Shucked
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Best Musical Revival

• American Psycho
• Evita
• Into the Woods
• The Producers

Best New Play

• 1536 by Ava Pickett
• Inter Alia by Suzie Miller
• Kenrex by Jack Holden and Ed Stambollouian
• Punch by James Graham

Best Revival

• All My Sons by Arthur Miller
• Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
• The Seagull by Anton Chekhov (adapted by Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier)

Noël Coward Award (for best new entertainment or comedy play)

• The Comedy About Spies by Henry Lewis and Henry Shields
• Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe
• Oh, Mary! by Cole Escola
• Paranormal Activity by Levi Holloway

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett for The Seagull
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste for All My Sons
• Julia McDermott for Weather Girl
• Rosamund Pike for Inter Alia
• Rosie Sheehy for Guess How Much I Love You?

Best Actor

• Bryan Cranston for All My Sons
• Sean Hayes for Good Night, Oscar
• Tom Hiddleston for Much Ado About Nothing
• Jack Holden for Kenrex
• David Shields for Punch

Best Actor in a Musical

• Marc Antolin for The Producers
• James Hameed and Arti Shah for Paddington: The Musical
• Andy Nyman for The Producers
• Jamie Parker for Into the Woods
• Diego Andres Rodriguez for Evita

Best Actress in a Musical

• Katie Brayben for Into the Woods
• Danielle Fiamanya and Georgina Onuorah for Brigadoon
• Jane Krakowski for Here We Are
• Jenna Russell for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
• Rachel Zegler for Evita

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Isis Hainsworth for Arcadia
• Julie Hesmondhalgh for Punch
• Lucy Karczewski for Stereophonic
• Hayley Squires for All My Sons
• Sophie Thompson for When We Are Married

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Hammed Animashaun for Dealer’s Choice
• Paapa Essiedu for All My Sons
• Zachary Hart for The Seagull
• Zachary Hart for Stereophonic
• Giles Terera for Oh, Mary!

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• Trevor Ashley for The Producers
• Corbin Bleu for The Great Gatsby – A New Musical
• Tom Edden for Paddington: The Musical
• Jo Foster for Into the Woods
• Oliver Savile for Into the Woods

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• Tracie Bennett for Here We Are
• Amy Booth-Steel for Paddington: The Musical
• Kate Fleetwood for Into the Woods
• Victoria Hamilton-Barritt for Paddington: The Musical
• Georgina Onuorah for Shucked

Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director

• Jordan Fein for Into the Woods at Bridge theatre
• Luke Sheppard for Paddington: The Musical at Savoy theatre
• Ed Stambollouian for Kenrex at the Other Palace
• Lyndsey Turner for 1536 at Almeida theatre
• Ivo van Hove for All My Sons at Wyndham’s theatre

Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer

• Fabian Aloise for Evita
• Ellen Kane for Paddington: The Musical
• Drew McOnie for Brigadoon
• Lynne Page for American Psycho

Best Costume Design

• Enver Chakartash for Stereophonic
• Linda Cho for The Great Gatsby – A New Musical
• Tom Scutt for Into the Woods
• Gabriella Slade (costume design) and Tahra Zafar (Paddington design) for Paddington: The Musical

Best Set Design

• Paul Tate dePoo III (scenic and projection design) for The Great Gatsby – A New Musical
• Tom Pye (set design) and Ash J Woodward (video design) for Paddington: The Musical
• Tom Scutt for Into the Woods
• David Zinn for Stereophonic

Best Lighting Design

• Robbie Butler for Punch
• Jon Clark for Evita
• Aideen Malone (lighting design) and Roland Horvath (video design) for Into the Woods
• Joshua Pharo for Kenrex

Best Sound Design

• Adam Fisher for Into the Woods
• Gareth Owen for Paddington: The Musical
• Ryan Rumery for Stereophonic
• Giles Thomas for Kenrex

Outstanding Musical Contribution

• Matt Brind (orchestrations and arrangements) for Paddington: The Musical
• Will Butler (original songs and orchestrations) and Justin Craig (orchestrations) for Stereophonic
• John Patrick Elliott (composition) for Kenrex
• Chris Fenwick (musical supervision and arrangements) and Sean Hayes (live piano performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue) for Good Night, Oscar

Best Family Show

• The Boy at the Back of the Class (adapted by Nick Ahad)
• The Boy With Wings (adapted by Arvind Ethan David)
• The Firework-Maker’s Daughter (adapted by Jude Christian)
• The Three Little Pigs

Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre

• Ben and Imo by Mark Ravenhill
• The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
• The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs by Iman Qureshi
• Miss Myrtle’s Garden by Danny James King
• The Shitheads by Jack Nicholls

Best New Dance Production

• Into the Hairy by Sharon Eyal for S-E-D
• Mimi’s Shebeen by Alesandra Seutin and KVS
• Random Taranto by María del Mar Suárez (La Chachi) as part of Dance Umbrella: Change Tempo
• She’s Auspicious by Mythili Prakash

Best New Opera Production

• Dead Man Walking
• The Makropulos Case
• Tosca
• Die Walküre

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