Paddington and Into the Woods up for 11 Olivier awards each

Paddington and Into the Woods up for 11 Olivier awards each Two musicals dominate nominations while Tom Hiddleston and Bryan Cranston vie for best actor, with Cate Blanchett and Rosamund Pike up for best actress Olivier awards 2026: full list of nominations Michael Bond’s marmalade-loving bear will go up against a band of fairytale characters at the Olivier awards next month, as two musicals dominated the nominations announced on Thursday. The frontrunners for London’s biggest theatre awards are Paddington: The Musical and Into the Woods , which each received 11 nominations. Paddington, which opened to five-star reviews at the Savoy theatre, is up for best new musical, best director (Luke Sheppard), best theatre choreographer (Ellen Kane) and best actor in a musical for the duo who play the lovable ursine hero . James Hameed provides the bear’s voice and is the remote puppeteer while Arti Shah dons the furry costume. Their co-stars Tom Edden, Amy Booth-Steel and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt are also nominated for their supporting roles. Gabriella Slade’s costumes, Tahra Zafar’s puppet designs, Tom Pye’s set, Ash J Woodward’s video, Gareth Owen’s sound and Matt Brind’s orchestrations and arrangements were all recognised. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods, which mashes up the plots of several fairytales, has been a hit at the Bridge theatre. It is similarly in the running for best director (Jordan Fein), as well as best musical revival, best actor and actress in a musical (Jamie Parker and Katie Brayben respectively), best actor in a supporting role in a musical (with both Jo Foster and Oliver Savile nominated) and best actress in a supporting role in a musical (Kate Fleetwood). Adam Fisher’s sound, Aideen Malone’s lighting, Roland Horvath’s video and Tom Scutt’s set and costume designs were all nominated. A second Sondheim musical, the great US composer’s swansong Here We Are, staged at the National Theatre, is competing for best new musical alongside P...