A host of stars took centre stage for the Olivier Awards 2024 as the glittering event honoured the best in the business from performance to production
WORDS: ISOBEL PANKHURST PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES, REX/SHUTTERSTOCK, AP
CLASS ACTS
It was the biggest night of the year for UK theatre on Sunday 14 April, with the casts and crews of the best West End shows descending on London’s Royal Albert Hall for the 2024 Olivier Awards.
The biggest winner of the night was the Sunset Boulevard musical revival, which received seven prizes – meaning it now ties with Cabaret, Matilda and Hamilton for the most awards in a single night. Both leading actors Nicole Scherzinger and Tom Francis took home gongs for their roles in the musical, as did director Jamie Lloyd.
Taking to the stage to accept her Best Actress In A Musical award, Nicole, who attended the ceremony with her fiancé, former rugby star Thom Evans, said, “I always really wanted to be a singer and do musicals and I dreamed of so many roles that I wanted to do. And honestly this role, Norma Desmond, was not one of those roles. But God works in mysterious ways,” she laughed. “Because it’s honestly one of the ballsiest and bravest things I’ve ever done and I’ve had an incomparable director Jamie Lloyd to thank for that.”
Not one for a low-key entrance, Nicole had arrived at the ceremony in a flowing black satin gown, which required the help of two assistants to help lift as she was photographed on her way into the bash. It seems LBDs were the theme of the night as fellow winners Sarah Snook and Arlene Phillips along with nominees Sheridan Smith and Tanya Reynolds also wore stylish black outfits on the event’s green carpet.
Succession star Sarah took home the award for Best Actress for her role in The Picture Of Dorian Gray, in which she portrayed all of the play’s 26 characters. And former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene and her colleague James Cousins received the Best Theatre Choreographer for their work on Guys & Dolls.
Accepting the prize, Arlene quipped, “This is hysterical, I’m now 80 and it’s my first Olivier Award” before going on to thank James for his help, recalling that he had to “crawl around” to demonstrate dance moves as she was unable to do so.
The ceremony took a bittersweet turn when the late actress Haydn Gwynne was announced as the winner of the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the play When Winston Went To War With The Wireless. Haydn sadly passe
