- Sunset Boulevard leads nominations
- Dear England secures nine nods
- Star-studded nominee list
Nominations are led by the musical revival of Sunset Boulevard, which stars Nicole Scherzinger, and Dear England, a drama based on the life of England manager Gareth Southgate, is in close second.
The 2018 Olivier Awards nominations are led by Hollywood celebrities, a Pussycat Doll, and a successful play based on Gareth Southgate.
In addition to Sarah Jessica Parker, Sarah Snook, and Nicole Scherzinger, the 2024 nominees include Andrew Scott, David Tennant, and James Norton.
Scherzinger, who headlines Pussycat Dolls and is a singer, is among the nominees for the helm of the revival of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Sunset Boulevard. With a total of eleven nominations, this production leads the Olivier Awards.
Dear England, an account of Southgate and the men’s football team’s voyage through the 2022 World Cup is followed with nine nominations. Among these are awards for Best New Play and Best Actor, both of which are given to Joseph Fiennes for his performance as the manager.
The sports drama, a fabricated narrative of the team’s triumphs and tribulations, also garnered nominations in the supporting actress and actor categories for Gina McKee’s performance as team psychologist Pippa Grange and Will Close’s portrayal of Harry Kane, respectively.
Oscar Isaac Fiennes, protagonist of the television series The Handmaid’s Tale, is up against Mark Gatiss of Sherlock and Andrew Scott of All Of Us Strangers for the best actor award, Norton of Happy Valley for his role in A Little Life, David Tennant of Doctor Who in Macbeth, and Andrew Scott of Vanya.
Parker is among the star-studded nominees for best actress for Plaza Suite, in which she co-stars with her spouse, Matthew Broderick. She is nominated alongside Sex And The City.
Additionally, Succession actress Snook is recognised in this category for her performance in the one-woman adaptation of The Picture Of Dorian Grey, in which she portrays 26 roles.
In addition to Cilla star Sheridan Smith for Shirley Valentine, other nominees for the award include Laura Donnelly for The Hills of California from The Fall and Sophie Okonedo for Hotel Rwanda from Medea.
In Sunset Boulevard, Scherzinger portrays a renowned Hollywood actress who is declining and spiralling into mental illness. She was nominated for the award for Best Actress in a Musical.
In Guys & Dolls, she encounters competition from Natasha Hodgson, Caissie Levy, and Celebrity Big Brother star Marisha Wallace, among others. In Operation Mincemeat, she faces Natasha Hodgson.
Co-star Tom Francis of Scherzinger’s Sunset Boulevard is also nominated for the male prize, which also includes David Cumming of Operation Mincemeat, Daniel Mays of Guys & Dolls, and Charlie Stemp of Crazy For You.
In the best musical revival category, the production competes alongside Tim Minchin’s Groundhog Day, Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown, and Frank Loesser’s Guys & Dolls.
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A posthumous nomination for best actress in a supporting role was also extended to the late Haydn Gwynne in recognition of her performance in When Winston Went to War With The Wireless.
Several of the National Theatre’s productions received the most nominations across all categories; in particular, Dear England, The Motive And The Cue, Till The Stars Come Down, and The Effect were all acknowledged in multiple categories.
Nominations were fierce “during an extraordinary year for theatre, with significantly more productions than last year,” according to the event’s organisers.
The annual awards ceremony is held at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday, April 14.
