Nominees for the 2026 Laurence Olivier Awards, celebrating the best of London theatre, will glam up in their glittery finest at the Royal Albert Hall in April to wait with baited breathe to see if they’ve won a coveted award in this, the ceremony’s 50th anniversary.
The lucky winners will then blub and gush and thank anyone they can think of before tottering back to their seat clutching a new decoration for their downstairs loo.
It might be a bit different this year because, as it is televised, they will have to keep their thanks to a scripted minimum.
I went to the Brits last month and Olivia Dean was struggling with what to say after four successful nominations. Just think what that poor bear from Peru will be reduced to after he has finally collected a potential 11th award. Yes hit new musical Paddington features 11 times in the nominations list, as does Into The Woods.
The Bridge Theatre revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods is nominated for Best Musical Revival, as well as several acting and design categories. Meanwhile Paddington has earnt nods for Best New Musical, Best Director for Luke Sheppard, and a unique joint Best Actor in a Musical nomination for the performers behind Paddington.
The Best New Musical category showcases a mix of original work and literary adaptations. Nominees include Here We Are, Paddington: The Musical, Shucked, and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Each represents a different style of contemporary musical theatre, from large-scale spectacle to more intimate storytelling.
The category reflects a healthy appetite in London theatre for new musical material alongside revivals of classics and this is just in the West End.
March 31st sees the Offies celebrating all that is great and good off the West End and it is here you will see real diversity. Theatre Breaks have slowly been expanding its offering beyond Theatreland, so we are really excited to be cheering on all the nominees on the night. I will report back soon.
But back to the Oliviers, in the Best Musical Revival category, several high-profile productions compete, including American Psycho, Evita, Into the Woods, and The Producers. These revivals range from darkly satirical reinterpretations to lavish re-staged classics, highlighting how modern directors continue to reinvent familiar works for new audiences.
On the play side, 1536, Inter Alia, Kenrex, and Punch are nominated for Best New Play. These productions explore a wide range of themes—from historical drama to contemporary social commentary—demonstrating the breadth of writing currently shaping British theatre.
In particular, Kenrex has been widely praised and appears across multiple categories, marking it as one of the standout dramatic works of the season. It also demonstrates the weakness of Award ceremonies, because even though I absolutely told you not to miss it, you’re too late to see Kenrex and find out what all the fuss is about because the run has already finished. It’s also up for several Offies as well!
Several revivals also dominate the acting and design nominations. All My Sons, Stereophonic, and Kenrex each received six nominations, showing strong recognition across performance and technical categories. Classic plays such as Arcadia and The Seagull are also present in revival categories, demonstrating the continuing importance of canonical works in the London theatre scene.
The acting nominations feature a mixture of theatre veterans and internationally known performers. Among those recognised are Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston, Rosamund Pike, Rachel Zegler, and Jamie Parker, reflecting the growing overlap between stage and screen talent in high-profile West End productions.
Overall, 2026 has been a vibrant year for London theatre, combining major commercial hits with innovative new writing and bold reinterpretations of classics and not, as it might seem on first glance, just a celebration of immigrant bears.
But with its mix of star power, inventive musicals and acclaimed plays, this year’s Olivier Awards promise to celebrate both the scale and the creativity of the modern stage that you can enjoy on a short break to London’s Theatreland.
Check out the full list of nominees here.
