Paddington The Musical sweeps the 2026 Olivier Awards with seven wins

13 Apr 2026 11:55

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Paddington The Musical sweeps the 2026 Olivier Awards with seven wins

Olivier Awards 2026 Winners Images Credit Kashfi Khan

The winners of the Olivier Awards 2026 with Cunard were announced on Sunday evening at a ceremony held at London’s Royal Albert Hall and hosted by Nick Mohammed.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Olivier Awards honoured excellence across London’s theatre industry, with highlights airing on BBC Two and now available to watch on BBC iPlayer, News.Az reports, citing Theatre Weekly.

The night’s biggest winner was Paddington The Musical, which secured seven awards including the coveted Cunard Best New Musical.

The production won Best Actor in a Musical for James Hameed and Arti Shah for their joint portrayal of Paddington, alongside supporting performance wins for Tom Edden and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt.

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Creative accolades for Paddington The Musical included the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director for Luke Sheppard, Best Set Design for Tom Pye and Ash J Woodward, and Best Costume Design for Gabriella Slade and Tahra Zafar.

Two awards each were claimed by Evita and Into The Woods. Rachel Zegler received Best Actress in a Musical for Evita, with Fabian Aloise winning Best Theatre Choreographer.

Into The Woods was named Best Musical Revival, while Aideen Malone and Roland Horvath won Best Lighting Design.Three plays also received two awards apiece. All My Sons won Best Revival, with Paapa Essiedu taking Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Punch was awarded Best New Play, with Julie Hesmondhalgh winning Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

The Best Actress award went to Rosamund Pike for her performance in Inter Alia, following the West End opening of the production earlier this week.

Dame Elaine Paige was honoured with a Special Award during the ceremony and marked the occasion with a video tribute, before being presented with her statuette by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, who also read a celebratory message from Her Majesty The Queen.

Industry Recognition Awards at this year’s ceremony were presented to Betty Laine OBE, Linda Tolhurst and David Wood OBE, acknowledging their significant and lasting contributions to the British theatre industry.

Outstanding Contribution honours were also celebrated, with Sir Wayne McGregor recognised for Outstanding Contribution to Dance and Danielle de Niese receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Opera award, both of which were presented at the Olivier Awards with Cunard Tea Party held last month.

Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre Co-CEOs Claire Walker and Hannah Essex said: “This year’s Olivier Awards with Cunard were a showstopping celebration of the best of British theatre and we are thrilled to have been able to mark the awards’ 50th anniversary in such style. Massive congratulation to all of our phenomenal winners and nominees. Their creativity and talent is the reason why the UK is the best place in the world to make and see theatre.”

Katie McAlister, President of Cunard, said: “Cunard’s connection to theatre, arts and culture has been part of our rich history for 185 years. It’s a privilege to be the headline partner of the Olivier Awards in its 50th year as these awards truly celebrate the very best of British theatre and its global impact, from the talent on stage to the creativity behind the scenes.”

The ceremony featured performances celebrating milestone anniversaries of The Phantom Of The Opera and Wicked, alongside appearances from nominated productions including Paddington The Musical, Shucked, Evita and Into The Woods.