Overview
- Paddington The Musical, which dominated Sunday at London’s Royal Albert Hall, won seven Oliviers including Best New Musical and Best Director for Luke Sheppard.
- James Hameed and Arti Shah shared Best Actor in a Musical for jointly portraying Paddington, with Hameed voicing and remotely puppeteering the bear and Shah performing in the suit onstage, making her the first woman to win a best‑actor Olivier.
- Rachel Zegler won Best Actress in a Musical for Evita, Rosamund Pike took Best Actress for Inter Alia, and Jack Holden earned Best Actor for Kenrex.
- Into the Woods was named Best Musical Revival and won for lighting, All My Sons took Best Revival with Paapa Essiedu winning Best Supporting Actor, and Punch was crowned Best New Play with Julie Hesmondhalgh winning Best Supporting Actress.
- Producers signaled interest in taking Paddington beyond London, possibly to Broadway, as industry figures reported strong audience returns since the pandemic but warned that rising labor, materials, and energy costs are squeezing shows.