← MickeyJoTheatre
MickeyJoTheatre
Mickey-Jo's reaction to the OLIVIER AWARDS | what Mickey-Jo thought of the 2026 winners, performances, and more...
00:36:22
Loading summary
Transcript24 lines
- [00:01]
A
Immersing yourself in all things soccer ahead of this summer's World Cup. I'm Alex Abnos, senior sports Editor from the Guardian. Whether you're a soccer beginner or you know the game inside and out, we've got you covered from one of the fastest growing soccer newsrooms. The Guardian brings you in depth World cup coverage that gets into the winners and losers on and off the pitch. Read, watch and listen as our journalists connect the dots between the games, the cultures and this political moment. We'll have daily newsletters throughout the tournament, a global perspective and a squad of Americans, including me, on the ground with the U.S. national team. Plus, if you want to test your soccer knowledge, try on the Ball. It's a game in the Guardian app and it's really, really fun. And if you're into stuff like this,
- [00:40]
B
well, I think the problem is if you give footballers an inch, they will take a mile. Is it too much when it's this close? It's a bit much. It's a bit too real. Maybe you could just talk with a slight delay.
- [00:50]
A
Be sure to listen to our Football Weekly podcast for on the Move Expert analysis, the Guardian bringing you the whole picture on soccer. Search Guardian Soccer for more A Better Help ad.
- [01:01]
B
Hold on one second. I just need to. What if you had a room where no one interrupts, no notifications, no expectations, just space to talk with BetterHelp Therapy happens in a space that's yours. Visit betterhelp.com randompodcast for 10% off your first month of online therapy. Acast powers the world's best Podcasts Here's a show that we recommend. Do you like being educated on things that entertain but don't matter? Well, then you need to be listening to the Podcast with Knox and Jamie. Every Wednesday we put together an episode dedicated to delightful idiocy to give your brain a break from all the serious and important stuff. Whether we're deep diving a classic movie, dissecting the true meanings behind the newest slang, or dunking on our own listeners for their bad takes or cringy stories, we always approach our topics with humor and just a little bit of side eye. And we end every episode with recommendations on all the best new movies, books, TV shows or music. To find out more, just search up the Podcast with Knox and Jamie. Wherever you listen to podcasts and prepare to make Wednesday your new favorite day of the week, Acast helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com so last night was the Oliviers, the 2026 Olivier Awards celebrating their 50th anniversary in association with Cunard, recognition was given to a handful of exemplary performances, productions and creatives from a fantastic last year of London theatre. And I have literally dozens of thoughts about it. I was in the room and we're going to talk about what happened, but just before we do, if anyone is meeting me for the very first time. Oh my God. Hey, welcome to my theatre themed YouTube channel or hello to any of you listening to this on podcast platforms. I'm currently wearing a sort of a marmalade inspired jacket in honor of course of Paddington Bear, the big winner of last night's ceremony. We will be discussing that, but we have plenty of other winning shows and performances to discuss as well. In addition to the performances, the speeches, this year's first time host, Nick Muhammad, as well as the BBC broadcast coverage. I didn't get to watch all of it because I was there in room when it started, but there is some controversy about what made it into the broadcast and what didn't. I also have thoughts for the future of the Oliviers, some lessons learned from this year, as well as whether any of this might be an indication about the future life of these productions, some of which has already been announced and what we might see happen at the Tony Awards. Of course, as I share all of my thoughts and feelings with you, I would also love to hear yours. If you watch the Oliviers or if you just have opinions about it, let me know what you thought in the comments section down below. And if you would like to hear more of my thoughts about the theatre industry and its awards. It is time for the Tonys and I can officially reveal that at the end of this week on Friday, I will hopefully be on a plane traveling across the Atlantic, whereupon I will be seeing as many of the new Broadway spring openings as possible so that I can then predict the Tony nominations and discuss those as we head into Tony's season. But for now, let us close the chapter on the 2026 Oliviers with my thoughts. So before we talk winners and my reaction to them, here is a little bit of Aaron and I on our way to the ceremony. These were the vibes. We're heading to the Royal Albert hall, strolling down through overcast and slightly windy Hyde Park. They do sell a certain allocation of tickets. Either fewer tickets were on sale this year or people were just really quick in grabbing them, but the very top level was still on sale. I think it might have been because they switched, they switched sponsors, so they changed from. So normally they've been mastercard for the last few years. Yes. And this year is the first time with Cunard. Cunard. And I wonder if that floor has been given to, like, Cunard members. Cunard. Oh, very possibly. I think it might be like we'll have to glance down and see if Jane MacDonald is there. That's my, that's my guess, is that the floor that sometimes went to because of MasterCard. Yeah. Is now with Cunard. And if you could retroactively assume that every time I've said Olivier Awards thus far already in the video I have said the Olivier Awards with Cunard, then that would be fantastic. Thank you so much. This isn't sponsored. It is not. No, I'm not sponsored by Cunard. Imagine. And slowly but surely coming into view here behind this camel as part of the monument is the Royal Albert hall, this year's venue and the home of the Olivier Awards for the last few years. Are you sneezing because the sun's too bright? Aaron James is wearing his favorite colour, which is green. Check out the matching blazer and bow tie going on. Yes, very nice, very nice. Very stylish. Ish. So this is Mickey. He is currently wearing a marmalade style tuxedo jacket and then sparkly black trousers. Like polished shoes. Yeah, glossy shoes. Don't show that the shoes aren't that clean. Don't show the shoes too closely. But as you can see behind is the Royal Albert Hall. We had booked tickets when they went on sale in the rousing circle of the Royal Albert Hall. This is what the view from my face looked like. We are in our seats at the very top of the Royal Albert hall awaiting the beginning of the Olivier Awards sponsored by Cunard. There is the stage down there where speeches and performances will be given. The accessible stage. I have a glass of Moet and Chandon. We have programs detailing the running order for tonight's awards. And for anyone curious, it's a very satisfying way to enjoy the ceremony. This year they did do the whole thing without an interval and I maybe had one too many glasses of champagne beforehand. So I did have to excuse myself at one point at a strategic middle, minimally disruptive moment to go to the bathroom and then come back. But it does play in a very satisfying way for the people in the room. It's a great thing to attend. It's not very stop start. If you've been to a lot of sort of TV broadcast events before, you barely notice that it's being produced for television. There are a couple of retakes, but for the Most part, it's just an evening at the theater that you can very much enjoy. There are performances, there are speeches, you get to be in the room with all of these winners basking in their real time reactions. And it's a very buzzy atmosphere to be a part of. Plenty more to say about the evening itself, but first, I know you want about winners. Let's recap who won at the Oliviers? So the headline news is that it was a fantastic evening for Paddington the Musical and everyone had anticipated that this would be the case. It was jointly the most nominated show this year alongside into the Woods. It was the only show to win more than two awards. It won seven, which is pretty much what I had been expecting. It picked up a couple I wasn't necessarily anticipating. It also didn't win a couple that I was. But we were all pretty certain it was going definitely win at the very. But we were all pretty certain it was going to win Best New Musical, which it did. Here is my perhaps unsurprised reaction. And the Olivier Award goes to Paddington as well as Best Actor in a Musical for James Hamid and Artie Shah. I was not surprised by this either, but I was profoundly emotional because I met James years ago in a rehearsal room when I was holding a phone instead of a camera and just figuring out how to try and be a YouTube content creator at the very start my journey as Mickey Jo Theatre. So that was a lovely full circle moment. They also won two more acting awards for the wonderful Tom Edden and the fantastic Victoria Hamilton Barrett. These two speeches were not retained in the broadcast. There was some controversy over this and I do believe it's because of the way the whole thing was being put together because they started broadcasting it and editing, editing it together while it was still ongoing in the room. And I think they just ran out of time as they were getting towards the end of their time slot. Everything that was in the first half, we were kind of front loaded with play categories with all of the musical stuff happening at the end was going to therefore get a bit of unbiased priority. In other words, I don't believe they deliberately cut out the musical categories. That's just the way that the cookie ended up crumbling. And I would love to see a fuller time slot for the Oliviers, but I'm happy that it got a prime time slot better than last year's Carrying On. Paddington also won in creative catego. It won for Costume design, not a surprise, it won for Best Director, which was an early indication it was really going to do well, because this was a big deal for Luke Shepard to win in this category. As a director of a musical, they are nominated alongside. There are almost always more directors of plays than musicals nominated. So it is a big deal when a musical director can win in this one. Finally, Paddington's last Olivier Award was for its set design, in which its set designer and lighting designer were nominated together, because those were both components of the design of production. And this is interesting because into the woods, the other most nominated production of the evening, won two Olivier Awards, one of which was for its lighting design, with the video designer for that show being nominated within this category as part of lighting. Which makes sense because the way that that show incorporates video is in its lighting. I do think, and even though I will defend both of these wins as being entirely justified beyond the video design of it all, this is as good an indication as any that video design is becoming more and more prolific in the industry and merits its own separate category. I know there is also demand for categories for wigs, hair and makeup, for the writers of musicals and books of musicals to be recognized separately to Best new Musical, but I do think that this one is as much a priority as the rest of those. The other win for into the woods, of course, was a big category, Best Revival of a Musical. Now, the biggest competition for into the woods in that category had been the revival of Evita, which also picked up two awards, one for its leading lady, Rachel Zegler. Get up here, Rachel. And the other, a very overdue win for the rising star choreographer Fabien Aloise. Now let's move on to the plays. The top prize, Best new Play, was won by James Graham's Punch. I had predicted that, but I wasn't 100% certain. It was a very strong year for playwriting. Punch Woo. Punch also, as predicted, won an award for best featured Actress in a play for Julie Hesmondhalgh. Meanwhile, Best revival of a play was won by All My Sons. No surprise there, with that production also winning best Featured Actor in a play for Papa Esiedu. Worth pointing out here, before I forget to say it, both Papa and Julie used the opportunity within their speeches to talk not about themselves, but about the important work done by theatre organizations in the community and the impact of various organizations, but also the productions that they had been involved in. Papa Essidoux championed roots for young people in performing arts in theatre. And Julie spoke about what the producers of Punch had done at a community level. Various impactful, very meaningful. James Graham, the writer of Punch, also brought on Stage two of the real people whose incredible work in restorative justice and awareness was depicted in the play Punch and who have been very close to its development. Finally, the only other production to win two awards was Kenrecks. This was something of the underdog of the evening. Even though it had multiple nominations, it was certainly the smallest play relative to all of the others. This was not in a big commercial West End venue. This had had a run at Southwark Playhouse Borough a little while ago, more recently was nominated for its run at the other Palace. The production was, as the ceremony was happening in final tech rehearsals in New York. So only the producer, Katie Lipson and the writer and star, Jack Holden, co writer, I should say, had been able to fly back over. And thank goodness they did, because in a massive upset, Jack Holden won one of the most coveted acting awards, best leading actor in a play, alongside huge star names like Bryan Cranston and Sean Hayes and Tom Hiddleston. And given that Kenreck's is such a creatively exciting production, it was also really thrilling to see a win for them in a creative category in Best Sound Design. Now, London audiences will be waiting to see if they have an opportunity to see Kenreck's again this side of the Atlantic. But Off Broadway audiences can see it right now in the coming days. Kenreck's is about to open at the Lucille Lortel. Get yourself a ticket to see Jack Holden's incredible, incredible Olivier Award winning performance. Now, there are a couple of other productions that each won one award, inter alia, won one for its leading actress, Rosamund Pike. This year was certainly one in which those leading actor in a play awards were won by these marathon, huge, indefatigable performances who take on an enormous amount of material. The American import O Mary, written by Cola Scola, followed in the footsteps of the similarly campy and us written Titanique to win best entertainment or comedy play. I truly could not predict the way this one was going to go, so I was quite surprised but thrilled to see them on that stage. And goodnight, Oscar managed to win in an unexpected category. Sean Hayes, who won the Tony Award for his performance, may not have won the Olivier for his acting performance, but he did win as part of best Musical contribution alongside Chris Fenwick. Chris Fenwick. And I will say, since I promised to share with you my reactions to all of this, I was thrilled for every single winner on stage. And Sean Hayes playing of the piano in that play was remarkable, was absolutely fantastic. I do think that it ought to be considered, you know, implicit within his performance. I don't think that that merited a separate nomination necessarily, because we have seen brilliant actor musicianship in the past in musical theatre and it hasn't been recognized in the same way. In fact, quite recently in Fiddler on the Roof, an actor who plays the fiddler in that production was nominated in Best Featured Actor, a musical essentially just for musicianship. And I think this category, Best Musical Contribution, which still doesn't really know how to define itself, and nominates composers of music for plays, but not composers of music for musicals, as a point of principle, alongside orchestrators and arrangers. And anyone who happens to visibly play an instrument sets a pretty strange precedent because it seems to imply that you can get nominated and even win in this category, as did the kids from School of Rock previously. As long as we get to see you playing that instrument. And there is extraordinary, vital, vital musicianship happening in the West End night after night in pit orchestras and backstage orchestras that we don't get to see. And the notion that, like the band from Come From Away got a nomination because again, they're on stage and we can see them, but so many others don't. And there is no way to get recognition if you are a West End musician. They aren't recognized at these kinds of awards across the industry. I find that to be a little bit bizarre. Happy for Chris Fenwick and Sean Hayes. Personally, I do think this category needs to be reworked. In Family Theatre, there was a win for the Boy at the Back of the Class, which I've been hearing great things about. I did not get the chance to see it. I also didn't get the chance to see the Glass Menagerie at the Yard, which won for achievement in affiliate theatre. I wish I had heard great things, but they are now both Olivier Award winning productions. Carrying on, let's talk about the evening itself. Our host, our presenters, our performances. Did the shows choose the right songs? The answer is not necessarily. Let's
- [16:37]
A
immersing yourself in all things soccer ahead of this summer's World Cup. I'm Alex Abnos, senior sports editor from the Guardian. Whether you're a soccer beginner or you know the game inside and out, we've got you covered. From one of the fastest growing soccer newsrooms, the Guardian brings you in depth World cup coverage that gets into the winners and losers on and off the pitch, Read, watch and listen as our journalists connect the dots between the games, the cultures and this political movement moment. We'll have daily newsletters throughout the tournament, a global perspective and a squad of Americans, including me, on the ground with the U.S. national team. Plus, if you want to test your soccer knowledge, try on the Ball. It's a game in the Guardian app and it's really, really fun. And if you're into stuff like this,
- [17:17]
B
well, I think the problem is if you give footballers an inch, they will take a mile. Is it too much when it's this close? It's a bit much. It's a bit too real. Maybe you could just talk with a slight delay.
- [17:26]
A
Be sure to listen to our Football Weekly Podcast podcast for on the Move expert analysis the Guardian bringing you the whole picture on soccer. Search Guardian Soccer for more
- [17:37]
B
ACAST Powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. What if you laughed all through your commute? Or if you heard the funniest story while at the gym? Well, now you can. I'm Jameela Jamil and guests on my new podcast Wrong Turn share their most mortifying and hilarious disaster stories. I'm talking people like Mae Martin, Bob the Drag Queen, Katherine Ryan, Jake Johnson, Margaret Cho, Simon Pegg, Penn Badgley, and so many more. So listen wherever you get your podcast. Wrong Turns where dignity goes to die ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com talk about it. So let's begin with host Nick Muhammad, his first time hosting the Olivier Awards, and though some had said that he wasn't as big a name as the ceremony had attained in the past, I think he was a really brilliant choice. One fact this year is that alongside it being the 50th anniversary of the Olivier Awards themselves, it was also it is also an anniversary year for two major long running West End productions, the Phantom of the Opera celebrating their 40th anniversary, and Wicked at the Apollo Victoria celebrating their 20th. Which means both of them needed anniversary performances. You can't choose between the two. You can't choose Phantom because it's older, because they're always going to coincide at multiples of 10 and Phantom's always going to be older. And I think 20 is probably a bigger deal than 40. 25 is also a big deal. 50 is also a big deal. But we're just going to be doing this again and again until the end of time. Les Mis is going to turn 50 before any of them. Anyway, all of this to say we bookended the evening with anniversary performances from those shows. I'll talk about them in just a moment. But it meant that we didn't have a musical introductory number performed by the host which has happened in previous years. Which meant Nick Muhammad didn't need to front a production number, he just needed to conduct the evening. He didn't need to banter with another host. It was just him moving the whole thing along, doing an incredibly charismatic, endearing and charming job. I thought he was a huge success as a host and one who sort of set a tone of like Less is more. He really just moved the whole thing along. He had this sort of a self sacrificing arrival where he said, I'm Nick Muhammad and I don't know how I got this job either. And he really just facilitated the whole thing with a lovely demeanor. I thought he did a great job. It was very. Less is more. We don't need to worry about a big personality host or them doing lots of bits or singing or jumping around. We don't necessarily need all of that. Sometimes this works and it makes way for more performances from the nominees and more recognition of them. And the evening itself ran at a pretty great pace. Much has been said about them doing it without an interval, which was not without its challenges. But more and more theater is going that way. It seems worth pointing out it's not necessarily very disability friendly, but there are logistical details in terms of taking this evening and turning it into a broadcast within a couple hours of its commencement that I can't possibly begin to understand. I gather that there were some challenges with the YouTube live stream. I have absolutely no insight as to what was going on there. I also know that not everything was featured featured within the broadcast. This is always the case, it is always highlights coverage. And I think it happens to be a reality of it that if stuff needs to get cut towards the end, it's possibly more prone to being cut. The lesson to be learned for the Oliviers then might be not to put all of the acting and musical categories right towards the end of the thing to spread it out a little bit more. Which did seem a surprising choice to me. I don't know if they were just trying to sell a narrative of Paddington really gaining momentum as the thing went on, rather than being an early winner that would kind of switch everyone off. Off. Meanwhile, I promised I would talk to you about these anniversary performances. And I really loved Phantom's introductory choices. To open with Masquerade performed on the steps of the Royal Albert Hall. All of these gorgeous costumes, then transitioning us into a corridor, very Sunset Boulevard, Tom Francis style with Christine and the Phantom, then slowly entering the auditorium, making their way on stage. The whole thing covered in dry ice. That little clip of Sir Lord Andrew Lloyd Webb playing the pipe organ performing the iconic titular song of the Phantom of the Opera, I thought that was a great choice. That really celebrated the show. It was a good introduction and I think that was probably the better of the two anniversary performances Wicked I had already gathered were going to do for good. Because it's a song about legacy, right? Like you can't do Defying Gravity without Flight that well. They've done it before at the Olivier Awards, but they just had. I think it was Villa Mean Viktor standing on a balcony overlooking the piazza in Covent Garden. But to do it in the auditorium without staging would lose a little something. There's no other really, like, history celebratory song in Wicked. It was going to be for good. What I had expected is that they might have previous Elphabas and Glindas, of which there are many. They don't have to bring all of them, but a small selection, some of the most prolific, the most iconic. Perhaps it hadn't occurred to me that I knew this wouldn't be possible because three of them were currently on tour in a Wicked themed show in Wolverhampton on that exact evening. What we did get were cast members Emma Kingston and ZZ Stralin performing as Elphaba and Glinda alongside the full company of Wicked in the West End. Which was a nice touch to not just have the two witches on stage, they also expanded the vocal to be more of an ensemble moment, give it a little bit more heft. However, if we're going for ensemble, you could have brought back countless Wicked ensemble members to come down the aisles. Les Mis style. I just think we needed a little bit more impact. And it is very peculiar to me that they would not choose to go the route of the little for Good reprise in the show. Because if we're singing for good and we're bringing the ensemble in, there is a version of that song in the show that they reprise at the very end. Glinda's in the bubble holding the book. Elphaba's about to run off into the desert. When they do a little Because I knew you, no one mourns the Wicked Because I knew you I have been changed. No one mourns the Wicked bomb. I have no idea what you. This is Wicked Bomb. Wicked. Crazy tenor harmonies, crazy soprano harmonies. Everyone goes nuts. Why would you not do that ending if you're already singing for good? Just throw that on the end. Remind people, everyone, you know she's green, so they know which show they're looking at. But it doesn't hurt to scream the name of it three times in a row. Would be a very triumphant ending to the awards. A great celebration of Wicked at 20 years. Where can. That's cool. That would have been good. I have no idea why we didn't do that. Carrying on. You know, I have more thoughts about the rest of these performances. I do think it was sweet of Paddington to do Marmalade. And they have been performing on various TV shows. They did the Royal Variety, they did the Big Night of Musicals, and they have done different performances at all of them. So even though you can't necessarily get a ticket for some months because Paddington is so popular in the West Indies end people have had a chance to see more and more little snippets of the show. That's good marketing to not just do the same thing over and over. However, if we're thinking about what is, within the context of the Olivier Awards and celebration and prestige, the best showcase of the material. I think Marmalade works well in the show because you've already earned the respect of the audience for the weight and depth of the material throughout Act 1 and marmalade is the top of Act 2. I think if that's the first song anyone is seeing from the show, it kind of may confirm preconceptions they had about a Paddington musical. Like, what's he going to sing about? Marmalade sandwiches? And then he sings a song that's like, Ma, ma, ma, ma ma. It might seem a little derivative, it might seem a little juvenile versus what I might have expected them to do, which would have been a medley they've done before. I've arrived into the rhythm of London. I think, in general, we didn't get a single performance in the room that earned a standing ovation. This can happen at the Oliviers. It has happened in the past, but for a couple of years now, I think on the trot, it hasn't really connected. There hasn't been one hugely impactful performance that sends everyone standing to their feet. We stood for the acceptance speech of Dame Elaine Page, accepting an Industry Recognition award for lifetime achievement, but we didn't stand after any of the performances. Georgina Honora did a great job performing for Shucked, a show which was limited and has already closed. Always great to hear her singing independently owned. And it was easier than trying to get the band back together. I sort of gather that's also why we didn't get a performance performance from another nominated musical production, American Psycho. And, you know, what would they have performed at The Oliviers. What would have worked. Meanwhile, the unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry performed. Keep on walking, Mr. Fry. I thought this was a lovely decision. There was pathos. It's a beautiful song. It's probably the number from that show that lends itself best and really explains the message of the whole thing out of context. It kind of delivers to you the entire plot. It's so stirring. It's beautiful in the show. You have days left to go and see this musical. Please go and see. See it. And Evita, no surprise to anyone, did Don't Cry for Me Argentina on the night that Elaine Page is also getting a lifetime recognition, then that just makes sense. It's a smart choice. They knew. I knew. She knew. We all knew Rachel Zegler was going to win the Olivier. So to showcase her, performing this song with beautiful vocals, a real stillness in the room as she did that was another great choice. A lot of people wanted a production number from Evita, Some of Fabian's choreography. I do think, think if they'd done their new Argentina or their Buenos Aires, one of the show stopping numbers from last summer at the Palladium, they probably would have got a standing ovation. However, the thing you have to consider is that Evita, when it was at the Palladium, was staged on this set that was bleachers at different heights. And so they would have had to not only bring the whole company back together, who have gone on to different things, some of whom dated during the summer and then subsequently broke up. They also would have had to have everyone in rehearsal rehearsals to not only relearn this choreography, but actually restage it on a flat floor. And it wouldn't have worked as well because the entire concept would have been different. And I think it was just more work than anyone was willing to do or necessarily had time for. So Don't Cry For Me, Argentina, which was beautifully sung. The song has an inherently anticlimactic ending. That's something we never really think about. Like, it peaks towards the end and then it's got this like, have I said too much? There's nothing more I can think of to say to you. Da loo de loo de loo. And then she has. Has her. Well, you never know. They're gonna be. Every word is true. And then they did a shorter version of the instrumental ending because otherwise it goes on for such a long time and she's just there holding her arms up and thanking all of the people in the Royal Albert Hall. But I think that's why it kind of just stopped and it was like, yeah, she sang that beautifully. But I don't know, nothing really had us leaping to our feet. And I look forward to the Olivier Awards ceremony where that happens again. I already chatted to you about some of my favorite speeches. I enjoyed the real Ken chaos of Cordescola and the West End company of O Mary and Georgie Rancom, associate director, taking to the stage in order to accept that award. I liked because there had been so many moments. There was a theme throughout the night of working parents thanking their partners for managing childcare so that they could do this. Rosamund pike had said that. A handful of different individuals had said that. I liked Cola Scola riffing on that by saying something to the effect of, I want to thank my hugely supportive husband who doesn't do exist. I also thought one of the lines of the night, Artie Shah in her Paddington speech, and James has moved me profoundly as well. But Artie said two things about kindness and the capacity for kindness and the weight of that in this story. But also showing her son that difference is powerful. I'm misquoting her there, but something to that effect really struck me. My darling son's alien mummy is gonna keep making you crown and I'm going to keep showing you that being different is a good thing.
- [29:27]
A
This is an incredible honor.
- [29:29]
B
And to quote our wonderful Tom Fletcher's lyrics, kindness isn't ever complicated.
- [29:35]
A
Thank you from the bottom of my
- [29:36]
B
heart of the presenters of the evening. I thought everyone did a pretty great job. No one can really top Dame Helen Mirren and Sirian McKellen coming out at the beginning. And Sirian telling us immediately that he couldn't read the auto cue and so ad libbing what he understood his speech reach to be. Only Sir Ian McKellen can do a fantastic job with that and get away with it. Absolutely brilliant. No notes. Probably better, in fact, than whatever was going to be on the auto queue. I will say. Lovely to see celebrities participating. There was a slightly unusual phenomenon where people would present two categories and sometimes they made sense for both. Sometimes it was like supporting actor in a play, supporting actress in a play, group together, whatever. Sometimes, like Amelia de Moldenburg came out and I was like, yay, love her. Chicken shop date, all that stuff. She presented Best entertainment or comedy play, and there was a line in there about dates, whatever. And then the next award that she presented she made a little less sense for and she wasn't grouped with anyone. Similarly, Best New Musical, biggest prize of the night was given out by Elizabeth Hurley for reasons I didn't quite understand but, you know, happy that they were there. Thank you for doing a job that needed to be done. Carrying on then, unbelievably, there is more to say. Here are my thoughts on the future of not only all of these winning and nominated productions, but also the Oliviers themselves and what this could tell us about the
- [30:56]
A
Immersing yourself in all things soccer ahead of this summer's World Cup. I'm Alex Abnos, Senior Sports Editor from the Guardian. Whether you're a soccer beginner or you know the game inside and out, we've got you covered. From one of the fastest growing soccer newsrooms, the Guardian brings you in depth World cup coverage that gets get into the winners and losers on and off the pitch. Read, watch and listen as our journalists connect the dots between the games, the cultures and this political moment. We'll have daily newsletters throughout the tournament, a global perspective and a squad of Americans, including me on the ground with the U.S. national team. Plus, if you want to test your soccer knowledge, try on the Ball. It's a game in the Guardian app and it's really, really fun. And if you're into stuff like this,
- [31:35]
B
well, I think the problem is if you give four footballers an inch, they will take a mile. Is it too much when it's this close? It's a bit much. It's a bit too real. Maybe you could just talk with a slight delay.
- [31:45]
A
Be sure to listen to our Football Weekly podcast for on the Move expert analysis, the Guardian bringing you the whole picture on soccer. Search Guardian Soccer for more Leadership used to mean having all the answers, but today's best leaders embody a more human approach.
- [31:59]
B
I'm Jack Myers.
- [32:00]
A
And I'm Tim Spangler.
- [32:01]
B
Tim and I have spent our careers inside media, marketing, marketing and culture and we partnered with the Acast Creator Network to start Lead Human to answer one simple question.
- [32:11]
A
What does it really look like to
- [32:13]
B
lead in this AI dominated world? The biggest tip for being a creator? It's a job. What I learned from Michael Jackson Here's a man who understands precision. It's about answering the questions that are hard, not about answering a bunch of teed up questions that are fake.
- [32:28]
A
What we're looking for a real story and practical advice that you can use with your teams right away.
- [32:34]
B
Subscribe to Lead Human with Jack Myers and Tim Spengler wherever you get your podcasts. So I've already said that there is much to consider based on this year's ceremony and this year's broadcast. First year back at the BBC Lessons I think to be learned, which hopefully will be learned. And the order in which the awards are given out does change from one year to the next. So I think that could be very easily reshuffled for next year. I also don't see why we couldn't get like some version of red button footage available subsequently where you could watch the Olivier Awards in full if you chose to. Maybe then a lot of people would and it would demonstrate to the BBC, oh, people actually want to see more of this. We need to make sure as theater fans we keep showing up when stuff like this is put on television to show them with ratings with, you know, voting with our feet, as it were, even though you sat down, presumably when you're watching television, that there is actually an audience for this and we do want to see it. We have to support this when it's televised. I also touched on categories. I would like to see some changes in the Oliviers. They've been very static on categories for a long time now. I would like to see. I don't know how you introduce specificity and regulations for best entertainment or comedy play because, you know, the comedies are winning, but a little bit of category fraud gets committed there from time to time. I also think best musical contribution has become a very strange one. For it to have been won by a play for the first time in the history of that award is a notable moment and not necessarily for the right reasons. I also think it would have been great to see recognition for Luke Shepard and Eva Van Hove, because directing a play and directing a musical are two inherently different things. I also think acting in a new production versus acting in a revival are equally different things. And that would be a much better way to split acting categories rather than by gender with more and more brilliant non binary talents. I don't think we need gendered categories in acting. If you look at a lot of these performances, they are divided and defined by different characteristics. Gender is not really one of them. Meanwhile, I would love to see recognition, as they have been asking for, for a long time now, for wigs, hair and makeup. And I appreciate that the writers of musical do get trophies and do get to speak when they win for best new musical. But sometimes the best new musical might have the best score, it might not have the best book, or it might have neither of those things. And so in a perfect world, those would also be awarded separately. I say all of this as I also, you know, want every award to make it into the broadcast. I recognize that there are inherent challenges at play here with fitting Everything in Let's talk about the future of some of these productions. Paddington the Musical on the back of its Olivier Award winning success, has already announced an extension through 2028. This comes surprised with how well the show is currently sold in advance. It's gonna run for a really long time at the Savoy. I think we can pretty easily anticipate this running for the next decade at least. I think we have truly seen the birth of the next long running West End hit. The question on everyone's minds however is does it have another announcement underneath its hat? Wink wink Paddington pun. Is it going to announce a Broadway transfer? One has been rumored, one has been talked about. Baz Bambing Boy, I think has suggested it. One in Deadline exclusively based on conversations he presumably night Underneath the Whale at the Natural History Museum. Yes, here we go. Sonja Friedman, lead producer with Studio Canal and Eliza Lumley, reveals to Deadline that she's hoping to have the show up and running in New York in 2027. I'd like it to be next year to keep the momentum going, she said. Friedman, however, struck a note of caution about transferring to Broadway. Look, it's going to happen, I can't kid you, but we have to look at the costs. Broadway is expensive, prohibitively so in some instances. And it has been rumoured that a Broadway budget for this production could potentially be be above $30 million. Meaning from a financial perspective it would have to not just be a hit, but a huge hit running for a decent amount of time in order to come anywhere close to recouping that initial investment. And so people are now of course having the conversation. Is Paddington beloved enough by Americans to be successful on Broadway? And you know, Matilda, which is probably the closest cultural point of comparison, ran for a decent stretch of time in the U.S. i would also love for us to be able to consider the artistic merit of something thing separately to the financial viability of the whole thing. But I know that Broadway is a business. Meanwhile, a West End transfer got announced during the ceremony for into the woods, currently playing at the Bridge Theater. It has been announced today that nominee Kate Fleetwood, who is departing the production before the end of its limited run at the Bridge with Melnila Barry taking over as the Witch, will be returning at the Null Coward. We don't yet know about further casting, whether it will be Katy Brabin or Rachel Tucker as the baker's wife Life. Who else might be leaving, might be coming back, might be staying. We do know that into the woods is opening from September of this year for what is being called a strictly limited run at the Noel Coward Theatre. So if you don't have the time to see it at the Bridge or if you want to see it again, you can see it at the Noel Coward. And I am always happy, regardless of my mixed feelings about this production and its award win. I'm always happy to see Sondheim, particularly Into the woods, my favourite in the West End. Now let's talk about Evita. And there is still, I believe, a billboard board for Evita starring Rachel Zegler on one of the doors at the St James Theatre on Broadway. Not that that's necessarily where it's heading, though it could be. Various different theaters have been talked about, including the Winter Garden Theatre. The most recent thing said about this production by multiple members of the London cast and creative team is that they wouldn't be able to do the Balcony on Broadway. They simply wouldn't for safety concerns. But I think there is still ongoing conversation about it happening in New York and I think that it deserves to. There was so much buzz, there was so much excitement about this production when it was in London, not just because of the performance overlooking Argyle street, but also because of the extraordinary talent of Rachel and Diego and that entire ensemble. And Rachel Zegler has done Broadway, but Rachel Zegler has not done a Broadway musical. And New York audiences deserve to appreciate the talent of Rachel Zegler on stage doing musical theater in a Broadway show. So I hope that this does happen and I hope it's announced soon. Ken Rex, I already told you, is playing Off Broadway. I dare say they may be considering a Broadway trajectory or potentially even vying for one at some point in the next season. I would also hope thereafter that they get some kind of a splashy celebrated homecoming. I could see this going to a Nymex venue somewhere like the Apollo, maybe. Punch has already played on Broadway. It continues to tour around the uk. Check to see if is visiting a theatre near you. Inter alia had announced its Broadway transfer prior to the ceremony itself. It's just opened in the West End at the Wyndhams. It's going to be heading to the Music Box Theatre later this year where Rosamund pike will be reprising her award winning performance. All My Sons is an interesting one because I think this could very easily transfer to Broadway. I was kind of expecting that it would. I think it will depend on the availability and the inclination of the cast members and the central creators force. Ivo Van Hove. Does he want to do it on Broadway? Do they want to do it on Broadway? Can they find a theatre. Can they make it work? My assumption is yes, and that they will, but we will see. If there are any other productions that you are curious about, then let me know in the comments and I will do my best to answer. I hope we have another opportunity to see shows like the Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Right now I have nothing to tell you. What I do know is that we can already glance ahead to the next few seasons of the Oliviers wildly. We already know some productions which will be elegant not just in 2027 but in 2028. It's going to be a big year for musical revivals that year because I think the upcoming London return of Billy Elliot is not next year, it's the year after. So is the London return of Miss Saigon and the much talked about Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey led production of Sunday in the park with George at the Barbican. All of those are already in contention for best musical revival in 2028. So wow. Next year is another big one for musical revivals already with Avenue Q and Cats, the Jellicle Boy Ball and Jesus Christ Superstar at the London Palladium, plus a couple of yet to be announced productions coming later this year. All of which is, I think as much as anything else, a bit of a recession indicator that we're kind of producing a lot of familiar titles and throwback nostalgia. But there are many of exciting new shows which will also be nominated for next year's Olivier. Stay tuned for all of the coverage of that coming I guess this time next year, as well as my reviews of each of the eligible productions between now and then. I promised you that we would consider the impact of all of this on the Tony Awards. And there isn't that much crossover this year with the Oliviers and the Tonys. Most of Broadway's spring openings are happening right now. Nominations for the Tonys are set to be announced in about 3, 4 weeks at the beginning of May. The Tonys themselves will be given out in early June. Punch, the Olivier Award winning best New Play is going to be eligible at the Tonys because two productions ran concurrently either side of the Atlantic. I don't know that it had quite a bit, quite the same cultural and theatrical impact in New York. And I think a lot of that has to do with its geographical identity. I think it means more to British audiences because of its roots. But depending on the exact 2027 timing of Paddington Bear's New York arrival, we could be seeing something of a repeat of the Oliviers this year at the Tonys. Next year, Rosamund pike will be eligible for her performance in Inter Alia, as will the play itself. Rachel Zegler could be eligible once more for Evita, or my sons could go over. Ken Rex might manage a Broadway opening. Paddington as well. We will have to wait and see. In the meantime, I think that is absolutely everything that I can tell you about last night's Olivier Awards. If you have any thoughts that you would like to share, anything that you disagreed with me about, or any questions that I didn't quite address or answer, let me know in the comments section down below. As always, I hope you enjoyed if you did, make sure to subscribe right here on YouTube for more daily theatre coverage. Or if you would prefer, you can follow me on podcast platforms. And if you would like to stay up to date with all of the theatre that I am seeing and talking about, then you can do that with my free weekly substack email newsletter, the link to which is in the description of this video. In the meantime, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day. For 10 more seconds, I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day. Subscribe
- [42:34]
A
Immersing yourself in all things soccer ahead of this summer's World Cup. I'm Alex Abnos, senior Sports Editor from the Guardian, and whether you're a soccer beginner or you know the game inside and out, we've got you covered. Read, watch and listen as our journalists connect the dots between the games, the cultures, and this political moment. We'll have daily newsletters throughout the tournament, reporters on the ground with all the big teams, and the legendary football weekly podcast the Guardian, bringing you the whole picture on soccer. Search Guardian Soccer for more
- [43:04]
B
acast powers the World's best Podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. Do you like being educated on things that entertain but don't matter? Well, then you need to be listening to the Podcast with Knox and Jamie. Every Wednesday we put together an episode dedicated to delightful idiocy to give your brain a break from all the serious and important stuff. Whether we're deep diving a classic movie, dissecting the true meanings behind the newest slang, or dunking on our own listeners for their bad takes or cringy stories, we always approach our topics with humor and just a little bit of side eye, and we end every episode with recommendations on all the best new movies, books, TV shows or music. To find out more, just search up the Podcast with Knox and Jamie. Wherever you listen to podcasts and prepare to make Wednesday, your new favorite day of the week. Acast helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com youm're locked into a lot of things you can't change. Weather, traffic. Hey, stay in your lane. Your wireless carrier's latest price hike, but you can unlock a better way. Unlock the savings at Boost Mobile and save up to $600 a year. Switch to the $25 a month unlimited wireless plan. No contracts, no prices tikes and you keep your phone. Stop being locked into their games. Unlock the savings@boostmobile.com. unlock based on average annual single line of payment of AT&T Verizon and T mobile customers, compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Wireless Plan as of January2026. For full offer details, visit boostmobile. Com.