Olivier Awards 2022 winners: who won London theatre awards alongside Eddie Redmayne in Cabaret! and Life of Pi

The Olivier Awards kicked off in style last night (Sunday 10 April) as the biggest names in the London theatre world gathered together to dish out awards in categories including best actor/actress, best director, best choreography and more.

This is everything you need to know about the event - including the full list of nominees and winners.

What are the Olivier Awards?

The Olivier Awards are to London theatre what the Oscars are to film. The awards and its ceremony are an annual event held by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London.

The awards, also known as the Laurence Oliver Awards, was established in 1976, however at the time it was known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards. The name was changed in 1984 in honour of British actor, director and National Theatre Company founder Laurence Olivier.

Winners of the award are selected via a panel of industry professionals, theatre luminaries and members of the public specially selected for their passion for London theatre.

What happened during the ceremony?

Following a two year hiatus caused by the pandemic, the Olivier Awards made its return in 2022 with Jason Manford as the host at the Royal Albert Hall ceremony.

It was a star studded night, with the likes of Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl, Fantastic Beasts) picking up the award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as the famous Emcee in Cabaret.

Cabaret also took home the coveted best musical revival award, while Redmayne’s co-star Jessie Buckley won Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Sally Bowles in the show.

Accepting his award, Redmayne said: “This is the dream. For me, this is the one.

“This was the part that I played when I was a kid in school. It was the thing that got my passion for theatre really fuelled.”

The actor also paid tribute to Buckley, noting he would never have “gotten on this ride” if she had not agreed to do it with him.

He told PA: “Every night, getting to introduce her singing Cabaret, and then getting to peek through the curtain and watch her roar that track was the stuff that dreams are made of.

“You are one of the greats and thank you for that privilege.”

Buckley appeared overwhelmed with emotion as she collected her award, saying: “It’s such a huge privilege to be part of this community which I consider my family.

“Thank you for welcoming me in all those years ago. This is just so lovely.”

The award show also paid tribute to those within the industry who have died in the past couple of years including actor Sir Antony Sher, actress Dame Barbara Windsor and composer Stephen Sondheim.

Full list of winners

This is the full list of winners from the 2022 Olivier Awards.

Best Actress:

• Sheila Atim for Constellations - Donmar Warehouse at Vaudeville theatre
• Lily Allen for 2:22 A Ghost Story - Noël Coward theatre
• Emma Corrin for Anna X - Harold Pinter theatre
• Cush Jumbo for Hamlet - Young Vic

Best Actor:

• Hiran Abeysekera for Life of Pi - Wyndham’s theatre
• Ben Daniels for The Normal Heart - National Theatre
• Omari Douglas for Constellations - Donmar Warehouse at Vaudeville theatre
• Charles Edwards for Best of Enemies - Young Vic

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

• Seven actors who play the Tiger for Life of Pi - Wyndham’s theatre 
• Dino Fetscher for The Normal Heart - National Theatre
• Nathaniel Parker for The Mirror and the Light - Gielgud theatre
• Danny Lee Wynter for The Normal Heart - National Theatre

Best actress in a Supporting Role:

• Liz Carr for The Normal Heart - National Theatre
• Tori Burgess for Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) - Criterion theatre
• Christina Gordon for Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) - Criterion theatre
• Akiya Henry for The Tragedy of Macbeth - Almeida

Best Actor in a Musical:

• Eddie Redmayne for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre
• Olly Dobson for Back to the Future: The Musical - Adelphi theatre
• Arinzé Kene for Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical - Lyric theatre
• Robert Lindsay for Anything Goes - Barbican

Best Actress in a Musical:

• Jessie Buckley for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre 
• Sutton Foster for Anything Goes - Barbican
• Beverley Knight for The Drifters Girl - Garrick theatre
• Stephanie McKeon for Frozen - Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical:

• Liza Sadovy for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre
• Gabrielle Brooks for Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical - Lyric theatre
• Victoria Hamilton-Barritt for Cinderella - Gillian Lynne theatre
• Carly Mercedes Dyer for Anything Goes - Barbican

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical:

• Elliot Levey for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre
• Clive Carter for Moulin Rouge! The Musical - Piccadilly theatre
• Hugh Coles for Back to the Future: The Musical - Adelphi theatre
• Gary Wilmot for Anything Goes - Barbican

Best Director:

• Rebecca Frecknall for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre
• Michael Longhurst for Constellations - Donmar Warehouse at Vaudeville theatre
• Kathleen Marshall for Anything Goes - Barbican
• Max Webster for Life of Pi - Wyndham’s theatre

Best Revival:

• Constellations - Donmar Warehouse at Vaudeville theatre
• A number - Old Vic
• The Normal Heart - National Theatre
• The Tragedy of Macbeth - Almeida 

Best Entertainment or Comedy Play:

• Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort of) - Criterion theatre
• The Choir of Man - Arts theatre
• Pantoland at the Palladium - London Palladium
• The Shark is Broken - Ambassadors theatre 

Best Musical Revival:

• Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre 
• Anything goes - Barbican
• Spring Awakening - Almeida 

Best Costume Design:

• Catherine Zuber for Moulin Rouge! The Musical - Piccadilly theatre
• Jon Morrell for Anything Goes- Barbican
• Christopher Oram for Frozen - Theatre Royal Drury Lane
• Tom Scutt for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre

Best Sound Design:

• Nick Lidster for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre
• Ian Dickinson for 2:22 A Ghost Story - Noël Coward theatre
• Carolyn Downing for Life of Pi - Wyndham’s theatre
• Gareth Owen for Back to the Future: The Musical - Adelphi theatre

Best Original Score or New Orchestration:

• Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical - Orchestrator: Simon Hale
• Anything Goes - New Orchestrations: Bill Elliott, David Chase and Rob Fisher
• Back to the Future: The Musical - Composers: Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard; Orchestrations: Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook
• Life of Pi - Composer: Andrew T Mackay

Best Theatre Choreographer:

• Kathleen Marshall for Anything Goes - Barbican
• Finn Caldwell for Life of Pi - Wyndham’s theatre
• Julia Cheng for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre
• Sonya Tayeh for Moulin Rouge! The Musical - Piccadilly theatre

Best Set Design:

• Tim Hatley for Design and Nick Barnes & Finn Caldwell for Puppets for Life of Pi - Wyndham’s theatre
• Tim Hatley for Design and Finn Ross for Video Design for Back to the Future: The Musical - Adelphi theatre
• Derek McLane for Moulin Rouge! The Musical - Piccadilly theatre
• Tom Scutt for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre

Best Lighting Design:

• Tim Lutkin and Andrzej Goulding for Life of Pi - Wyndham’s theatre
• Neil Austin for Frozen - Theatre Royal Drury Lane
• Isabella Byrd for Cabaret - The Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse theatre
• Tim Lutkin for Back to the Future: The Musical - Adelphi theatre

Outstanding Achievement in Opera:

• Peter Whelan and the Irish Baroque Orchestra for Bajazet - Royal Opera House, Linbury theatre 
• Christine Rice for her performance in 4/4 - Royal Opera House
• Takis for set and costume design of HMS Pinafore by English National Opera - London Coliseum

Best New Opera Production:

• Jenůfa - Royal Opera House 
• Bajazet - Royal Opera House, Linbury theatre
• The Cunning Little Vixen by English National Opera - London Coliseum
• Theodora - Royal Opera House

Outstanding Achievement in Dance:

• Arielle Smith for her choreography of Jolly Folly in Reunion by English National Ballet - Sadler’s Wells
• Acosta Danza for De Punta A Cabo in 100% Cuban - Sadler’s Wells
• Dancers for NDT2 Tour - Sadler’s Wells
• Edward Watson for his performance in The Dante Project - Royal Opera House

Best New Dance Production:

• Revisor by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young / Kidd Pivot - Sadler’s Wells
• Draw From Within by Rambert Dance Company - Sadler’s Wells
• Transverse Orientation by Dance Umbrella and Sadler’s Wells - Sadler’s Wells

Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre:

• Old Bridge - Bush theatre
• 10 Nights - Bush Theatre
• Folk - Hampstead Theatre Downstairs
• The Invisible Hand - Kiln theatre
• A Place for We - Park theatre

Best Family Show:

• Wolf Witch Giant Fairy - Royal Opera House, Linbury theatre
• Billionaire Boy - Garrick theatre
• Dragons and Mythical Beasts - Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
• What the Ladybird Heard - Palace theatre

Best New Play:

• Life of Pi - Wyndham’s theatre
• 2:22 A Ghost Story - Noël Coward theatre
• Best of Enemies - Young Vic
• Cruise - Duchess theatre

Best New Musical:

• Back to the Future: The Musical - Adelphi theatre
• The Drifters Girl - Garrick theatre
• Frozen - Theatre Royal Drury Lane
• Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical - Lyric theatre
• Moulin Rouge! The Musical - Piccadilly theatre

Five special recognition award winners:

• Lisa Burger
• Bob King
• Gloria Louis
• Susie Sainsbury
• Sylvia Young