Two musicals dominate nominations while Tom Hiddleston and Bryan Cranston vie for best actor, with Cate Blanchett and Rosamund Pike up for best actress
Olivier awards 2026: full list of nominations
Michael Bond’s marmalade-loving bear will go up against a band of fairytale characters at the Olivier awards next month, as two musicals dominated the nominations announced on Thursday.
The frontrunners for London’s biggest theatre awards are Paddington: The Musical and Into the Woods, which each received 11 nominations. Paddington, which opened to five-star reviews at the Savoy theatre, is up for best new musical, best director (Luke Sheppard), best theatre choreographer (Ellen Kane) and best actor in a musical for the duo who play the lovable ursine hero. James Hameed provides the bear’s voice and is the remote puppeteer while Arti Shah dons the furry costume. Their co-stars Tom Edden, Amy Booth-Steel and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt are also nominated for their supporting roles. Gabriella Slade’s costumes, Tahra Zafar’s puppet designs, Tom Pye’s set, Ash J Woodward’s video, Gareth Owen’s sound and Matt Brind’s orchestrations and arrangements were all recognised.
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods, which mashes up the plots of several fairytales, has been a hit at the Bridge theatre. It is similarly in the running for best director (Jordan Fein), as well as best musical revival, best actor and actress in a musical (Jamie Parker and Katie Brayben respectively), best actor in a supporting role in a musical (with both Jo Foster and Oliver Savile nominated) and best actress in a supporting role in a musical (Kate Fleetwood). Adam Fisher’s sound, Aideen Malone’s lighting, Roland Horvath’s video and Tom Scutt’s set and costume designs were all nominated.
