LONDON (AP) — Homegrown hit “Paddington The Musical” was the big winner at London’s Olivier Awards on Sunday, where the marmalade-loving bear from Peru won seven trophies, including best new musical.
The prizes celebrating achievements in theater, opera and dance are Britain’s equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Awards.
Based on Michael Bond’s stories about a duffel-coated bear seeking a new home in London, “Paddington The Musical” was written by playwright Jessica Swale and songwriter Tom Fletcher of the band McFly.
Bond’s books have been much-loved since the 1950s¸and in recent years Paddington has become a British icon through three successful movies and an on-screen appearance with Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, just weeks before her death.
The musical has proved a major success since it opened in November, with audiences embracing the cuddly central character, brought to life through a blend of live acting and puppetry.
Its Olivier wins included a joint best actor in a musical award for James Hameed and Arti Shah, who together play the role. Hameed provides the voice and remote puppetry, while Shah — the first woman to win a best-actor Olivier — inhabits the bear costume onstage.
Hameed urged people to embrace the Paddington stories’ message of welcoming immigrants and strangers. “Paddington reminds us to be welcoming, inquisitive and most importantly, kind,” he said.
Cast members Tom Edden and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt won the supporting performer prizes, and the show also took trophies for director Luke Sheppard and for both set and costume design.
Sheppard hinted that this “love letter to London” could one day be Broadway-bound. “It would be a dream for Paddington to pack his suitcase and visit some other cities around the world,” the director said backstage. “So watch this space.”
‘Exhilarating risk’
Rachel Zegler was named best actress in a musical for her starring role in “Evita.” Playing Argentine first lady Eva Peron, Zegler performed the song “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” on an exterior balcony, attracting large crowds to the street every night while theatergoers inside watched on screens.
A much-praised production of Stephen Sondheim’s twisted fairy tale journey “Into the Woods” won the prize for best musical revival, and a second award for lighting.
In the nonmusical categories, Rosamund Pike was named best actress for playing a judge forced to question the justice system and her own ethics in “Inter Alia.” She said doing the one-woman show, her first stage play in 14 years, was an “exhilarating risk.”
Jack Holden took the best actor prize for playing multiple roles in small-town murder mystery “Kenrex.”
“All My Sons” was named best revival, with Paapa Essiedu winning the best supporting actor trophy for Arthur Miller’s classic drama.
Julie Hesmondhalgh took home the best supporting actress prize for “Punch.” The true-life crime and redemption story, which had a Broadway run last year, was also named best new play
Playwright James Graham said it had been “one of the honors of my life” to dramatize the story of Jacob Dunne, who killed another man with a single punch in a fight but went on to reconciliation with the victim’s family. Graham was joined onstage by Dunne and the victim’s mother, Joan Scourfield.
Two significant anniversaries
The Olivier Awards were founded in 1976 and named after the late actor-director Laurence Olivier. The winners are chosen by voting groups of stage professionals and theatergoers.
“Ted Lasso” star Nick Mohammed hosted the 50th anniversary edition of the awards at a star-studded ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, where Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Williams and Andrew Lloyd Webber were among the trophy presenters.
The ceremony included performances from nominated musicals and numbers marking two significant anniversaries: 40 years of Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera,” and 20 years of “Wicked” in the West End.
Elaine Paige, star of hit musicals including “Cats,” “Evita,” “Sunset Boulevard” and “Piaf,” received this year’s Special Award.
The upbeat ceremony reflected the mood of London theater, which is celebrating a strong post-pandemic return. The Society of London Theatre, an industry umbrella group, says ticket sales have surpassed the levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. Shows in the West End — the collective name for London’s theaterland — attracted 17.6 million visitors in 2025, 3 million more than Broadway.
But there are concerns about rising ticket prices and soaring production budgets, fueled by higher costs for labor, materials and energy.
“Theaters are busier than ever, but many are operating with far less financial headroom,” the society said in a report published last month.
