Sarah Snook, Nicole Scherzinger & All The Winners At The Olivier Awards 2024

Screen actors treading the boards is nothing new, but it really came to light in the 2024 Olivier Awards nominations. Sex and the City’s Sarah Jessica Parker, Succession’s Sarah Snook, Happy Valley’s James Norton, Doctor Who’s David Tennant and pop star Nicole Scherzinger were all nominated for prizes at the prestigious theatre awards at this most prestigious of awards. But who came out tops?

Hit musical Sunset Boulevard was up for the most Olivier Awards, with 11 nominations, including Scherzinger for Best Actress in a Musical – and they walked away with a whopping seven prizes. Meanwhile, Dear England, James Graham’s play about Gareth Southgate, scooped up nine nominations (winning two), while one-person plays Sarah Snook for The Picture of Dorian Gray, Andrew Scott for Vanya and Sheridan Smith for Shirley Valentine were all recognised, too.

Here are the Olivier Awards nominations in full – plus all the winners.

Hannah Waddingham presents at the Olivier Awards 2024 © Pamela Raith Photography

Olivier Awards Winners 2024

Best Actress

• Laura Donnelly for The Hills Of California
• Sophie Okonedo for Medea
• Sarah Jessica Parker for Plaza Suite
• Sheridan Smith for Shirley Valentine
• Sarah Snook for The Picture Of Dorian Gray – WINNER

Best Actor

• Joseph Fiennes for Dear England
• Mark Gatiss for The Motive And The Cue – WINNER
• James Norton for A Little Life
• Andrew Scott for Vanya
• David Tennant for Macbeth

Best Actor In A Supporting Role

• Will Close for Dear England at the National Theatre & Olivier and Prince Edward theatre – WINNER
• Paul Hilton for An Enemy of the People at the Duke of York’s theatre
• Giles Terera for Clyde’s at the Donmar Warehouse
• Luke Thompson for A Little Life at the Harold Pinter theatre & Savoy theatre
• Zubin Varla for A Little Life at the Harold Pinter theatre & Savoy theatre

Best Actress In A Supporting Role

• Lorraine Ashbourne for Till the Stars Come Down at the National Theatre Dorfman
• Priyanga Burford for An Enemy of the People at the Duke of York’s theatre
• Haydn Gwynne for When Winston Went to War With the Wireless at the Donmar Warehouse – WINNER
• Gina McKee for Dear England at the National Theatre Olivier & Prince Edward Theatre
• Tanya Reynolds for A Mirror at the Almeida Theatre and Trafalgar theatre

Best New Play

• Dear England – WINNER
• The Hills Of California
• The Motive And The Cue
• Till The Stars Come Down

Best Actress In A Musical

• Natasha Hodgson for Operation Mincemeat
• Caissie Levy for Next To Normal
• Nicole Scherzinger for Sunset Boulevard – WINNER
• Marisha Wallace for Guys & Dolls

Best Actor In A Musical

• David Cumming for Operation Mincemeat
• Tom Francis for Sunset Boulevard – WINNER
• Daniel Mays for Guys & Dolls
• Charlie Stemp for Crazy For You

Best Actress In A Supporting Role In A Musical

• Grace Hodgett Young for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Zoë Roberts for Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune theatre
• Amy Trigg for The Little Big Things at @sohoplace – WINNER
• Eleanor Worthington-Cox for Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse

Best Actor In A Supporting Role In A Musical

• Jak Malone for Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune theatre – WINNER
• Cedric Neal for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• David Thaxton for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Jack Wolfe for Next to Normal at the Donmar Warehouse

Best New Musical

• The Little Big Things
• Next To Normal
• Operation Mincemeat – WINNER
• A Strange Loop

Sir Peter Hall Award For Best Director

• Stephen Daldry & Justin Martin for Stranger Things: The First Shadow
• Rupert Goold for Dear England
• Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Boulevard – WINNER
• Sam Mendes for The Motive And The Cue

Best Revival

• The Effect by Lucy Prebbletelton
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell
• Vanya by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Simon Stephens – WINNER

Best Musical Revival

• Groundhog Day, music & lyrics by Tim Minchin, book by Danny Rubin
• Guys & Dolls, music & lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling & Abe Burrows
• Hadestown, music, lyrics & book by Anaïs Mitchell
• Sunset Boulevard, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics & book by Don Black & Christopher Hampton – WINNER

The Royal Albert Hall auditorium © Pamela Raith Photography

Noël Coward Award For Best New Entertainment Or Comedy Play

• Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, adapted by Tom Basden at the Lyric Hammersmith and Theatre Royal Haymarket
• Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim at the Gielgud theatre
• Stranger Things: The First Shadow by Kate Trefry at the Phoenix theatre – WINNER
• Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial, adapted by Liv Hennessy at the Ambassadors theatre

Best Family Show

• Bluey’s Big Play by Joe Brumm at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall
• Dinosaur World Live by Derek Bond at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre – WINNER
• The House With Chicken Legs, book by Sophie Anderson, adapted by Oliver Lansley at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
• The Smeds and the Smoos, book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, adapted by Tall Stories at the Lyric theatre

Gillian Lynne Award For Best Theatre Choreographer

• Fabian Aloise for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre
• Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf for Dear England at the National Theatre Olivier & Prince Edward theatre
• Arlene Phillips with James Cousins for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre – WINNER
• Mark Smith for The Little Big Things at @sohoplace
• Susan Stroman for Crazy for You at the Gillian Lynne theatre

Best Costume Design

• Bunny Christie and Deborah Andrews for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Ryan Dawson Laight for La Cage Aux Folles at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
• Hugh Durrant for Peter Pan at The London Palladium
• Marg Horwell for The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Theatre Royal Haymarket – WINNER

Best Sound Design

• Paul Arditti for Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix theatre
• Dan Balfour and Tom Gibbons for Dear England at the National Theatre Olivier & Prince Edward theatre
• Adam Fisher for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre – WINNER
• Gareth Fry for Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse

Outstanding Musical Contribution

• Tom Brady for musical supervision and arrangements and Charlie Rosen for orchestrations for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Matt Brind for musical supervision, arrangements and orchestrations for Just for One Day at The Old Vic
• Steve Sidwell for orchestrations and Joe Bunker for musical direction for Operation Mincemeat at the Fortune theatre
• Alan Williams for musical supervision and musical direction for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre – WINNER

Best Set Design

• Miriam Buether for Set Design and 59 Productions for video design for Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix theatre
• Bunny Christie for set design for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Es Devlin for set design and Ash J Woodward for video design for Dear England at the National Theatre – Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• Soutra Gilmour for set design and Nathan Amzi and Joe Ransom for video design for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre

Best Lighting Design

• Jon Clark for Dear England at the National Theatre Olivier and Prince Edward theatre
• Jon Clark for Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the Phoenix theatre
• Paule Constable for Guys and Dolls at the Bridge theatre
• Jack Knowles for Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy theatre – WINNER

Best New Opera Production

• Blue by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum
• Innocence by the Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House – WINNER
• Picture a Day Like This by the Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House Linbury theatre
• The Rhinegold by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum

Outstanding Achievement In Opera

• Antonio Pappano for his role as Musical Director of the Royal Opera House – WINNER
• Belarus Free Theatre Company for King Stakh’s Wild Hunt at the Barbican theatre
• Marina Abramović for her concept and design of 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at the London Coliseum

Best New Dance Production

• Broken Chord by Gregory Maqoma and Thuthuka Sibisi at Sadler’s Wells
• The Rite of Spring by Seeta Patel at Sadler’s Wells
• La Ruta by Gabriela Carrizo, part of Nederlands Dans Theater – NDT 1 at Sadler’s Wells – WINNER
• Time Spell by Michelle Dorrance, Jillian Meyers and Tiler Peck at Sadler’s Wells

Outstanding Achievement In Dance

• Isabela Coracy for her performance in NINA: By Whatever Means, part of Ballet Black: Pioneers at the Barbican theatre – WINNER
• Jonzi D for his artistic direction of Breakin’ Convention 2023: International festival of hip-hop dance theatre at Sadler’s Wells
• Rhiannon Faith for her community focused conception of Lay Down Your Burdens at The Pit at Barbican

Outstanding Achievement In Affiliate Theatre

• Blue Mist by Mohamed-Zain Dada at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court theatre
• A Playlist for The Revolution by AJ Yi at the Bush theatre
• Sleepova by Matilda Feyişayo Ibini at the Bush theatre – WINNER
• The Swell by Isley Lynn at the Orange Tree theatre
• The Time Machine: A Comedy by Steven Canny and John Nicholson at the Park theatre

When Are The Olivier Awards?

The 2024 Olivier Awards ceremony took place on 14 April at the Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Hannah Waddingham. You can catch up with all the highlights on the London Theatre YouTube channel.