The Olivier Awards 2023 Reactions
After last year's ceremony was a true feast to remind us that theatre is back after the pandemic, this year's reminded us that it is here to stay, and more to business as usual.
Weird to think that the pandemic was 3 years ago - feels like another lifetime ago doesn't it? *starts touching wood to prevent any jinxes...*
So without further ado, let's react to the big winners shall we?
And I feel that this is a truly eclectic mix of nominees this year, made up of those who have not just made a splash in the heart of Shaftesbury Avenue, but also all across London.
Take the big winner for example. That smash played at the Barbican Centre - the wonderful My Neighbour Totoro!
The adorable forest spirit managed to sweep 5 out of its 9 nominations; and I think there are 2 points to make that are particularly interesting.
- The majority of its wins are in the Creative categories: Best Director, Best Set Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design, and also Best Costume Design, which was particularly for Basil Twist's masterful puppetry
- This was the first big winner which, in my collective consciousness, was not up for Best Play or Best Musical. In fact, it was in for Best Entertainment & Comedy Play, which it of course won, beating My Son's A Queer, But What Can You Do (brilliant for Rob Madge though to get nominated!)
Best of all, if you didn't get a chance to see Totoro the first time, it is returning to the Barbican later this year!
I was quite impressed, when the nominees came out, that I had seen quite a few of the nominated productions, more than perhaps usual anyway... And next big winner falls into that category too.
Sticking with plays first and foremost, I could not be happier for team Prima Facie!
Ok, technically I saw the NT Live screening of this one, but come on, still counts! This riveting and important 1-woman show won Best Play, as well as Best Actress for its star, the incredible Jodie Comer. She was the favourite to win, but deservedly so. She is also going with the show to New York for its Broadway transfer, so I am definitely wishing everyone in team Prima Facie "Break A Leg"!
The other big winner in the Plat department was the Almeida's production of A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Rebecca Frecknall (Cabaret), and starring Patsy Ferran. It picked up Best Revival, Best Actor for Paul Mescal, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Anjana Vasan, who played Stella. The show has just transferred to the Phoenix Theatre, although good luck getting a ticket if you are unwilling to spend £200 a pop...!
In terms of the musicals, it was a pretty even spread between three different shows, them being Standing at the Sky's Edge, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma, and Tammy Faye
Standing at the Sky's Edge winning Best Musical (as well as Best Original Score or New Orchestrations) is a triumph for the power of local theatre. If you haven't heard of this one before, it is set in Sheffield's Park Hill flats over a period of 60 years. After being a hit at the Sheffield Crucible, it transferred to the National, being showered in love from fans and critics alike.
It has, just this morning, announced a West End transfer to the Gillian Lynne Theatre from February 2024. I will defo be trying to get a ticket to this one.
It was no surprise whatsoever that the Young Vic's revival of Oklahoma won Best Musical Revival, it being the clear favourite. What I was also so please to see was Arthur Darvill winning Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Curly. The only one I was gutted it didn't win was Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical, as Marisha Wallace was nominated for her performance as Ado Annie - she was one of my favourite performances in the whole of last year if you remember.
Said trophy went to Beverley Knight, her first win out of two previous nominations, for playing Emmeline Pankhurst in Sylvia at the Old Vic. Their performance on the night was brilliant to be fair, and Beverley has become a staple in the West End for a while now. So woop woop!
The final one to highlight winning 2 awards was Tammy Faye at the Almeida, winning Best Actress in a Musical for Katie Brayben, and Zubin Varla (Fun Home) winning Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical. And it turns out, even more remarkably, Brayben did the entire run pregnant!
For the first time this year, the award for Theatre Choreographer was named in honour of Dame Gillian Lynne
And I am THRILLED to say it was won by Matt Cole for his choreography for Newsies! This was their only nomination too, so it is doubly-satisfying!
One point though, how DARE the broadcast not air this bit, and give the viewers at home chance to recognise why Dame Gillian got to have her name on this award! Just saying!
It wouldn't be the Oliviers without some amazing performances, and we got one from almost every nominated musical in the Best Musical and Best Musical Revival categories
This is with the exception of both My Fair Lady, and for Chichester's Rodger's & Hammerstein's South Pacific; they could have easily made them work if you ask me, especially for My Fair Lady, as a last hurrah after finishing their tour.
Oddly enough though, we had some performances from some that made neither category. Newsies was triumphant, given the fact they won the Choreography Award; The Book of Mormon celebrated its 10th Anniversary in the West End; and Grease closed the show, paying tribute to Arlene Phillips, who won the Special Award. And the original number, written by Pippa Clearly, sang at the opening by host Hannah Waddingham, along with members of casts of several West End shows.
This year's Olivers was a little like a selection box - a bit of everything
Even then, it couldn't get everything from this year's London season in. I, for example, would have loved to see Regents Park's Legally Blonde get a nod or two. But even with the lucky nominees, it shows to me that theatre evolving deserves to be celebrated.
New stories; local stories; stories championing new voices, and those who we haven't heard before; stories we think we know, being told an such an entirely new way, we realise we didn't really know them in the first place.
And I hope that this continues into the 2024 awards - let's see what happens shall we?
.png)
Comments
Post a Comment