Olivier Awards 2025: Giant, Benjamin Button and violinist on the triumph of the roof | Olivier Awards

The game GiantWho plays the author of children Roald Dahl in the midst of a protest on his anti -Semitism, triumphed at the Olivier Awards in a starry night at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

US Star John Lithgow He brought home the prize for the best actor for his performance as Dahl, Elliot Levey won the best supporting actor (for playing the publisher Tom Maschler) and Mark Rosenblatt received the prize for the best new game.

Giant is the debut of Rosenblatt as a playwright and brought him a double victory to Critics’ Circle Theater Awards In March, where he won for the most promising playwright and the best new comedy. Giant ran last year at the Royal Court in London and will move to West End At the end of this month, with Lithgow and Levey resume their roles.

Lithgow thanked the audience to “welcome me to England” and said “it is not always easy when they welcome an American in the midst of you”, stressing that this moment was “more complicated than usual” for the relationships between the United States and the United Kingdom.

He remembered having seen the “amazing performance of Laurence Olivier at the old Vic in the comedy Dance of death in the late 1960s. “I thought of him and stole from him in almost all the performances I have ever played on stage,” he added.

The count of the three Olivier Awards of Giant on Sunday evening was combined with two musicals: The curious case of the Benjamin button AND Violinist on the roof.

The first, based on the story of F Scott Fitzgerald and with the music and texts of Jethro Compton and Darren Clark, won the best new musical, an exceptional musical contribution (for Clark and Mark Aspinall Orchestrations and Lorrangements) and the best actor in a musical (John Dagleish like the hero who was born old and becomes young every day). Dagleish, who won an Olivier Award in 2015 for playing Ray Davies in the Kinks music afternoon, said that his deceased mother had been his “plus one” on that occasion. He dedicated the prize to her and said that “he would love” the curious case of Benjamin Button.

Previously staged At the Fringe Southwark Playhouse headquarters in 2019He is now running in the West End Ambassadors Theater, which recently opened its own size on site, the pickled crab, which takes its name from an irrigation hole of Cornwall in the musical.

Violinist on the roof, who received a Five Star Guardian Review At the Regent’s Park Open Air Theater and is moving to Barbican next month, he had received a total of 13 Olivier nominationsequal to Record established by the Hamilton musical in 2018.

The classic musical – composed of Jerry Bock, with Joseph Stein’s Sheldon Harnick texts – won nine Tony Awards in 1965 for his original Broadway production. The new production of director Jordan Fein has won Oliviers for the best musical awakening, the best set design (Tom Scutt) and the best sound design (Nick Lidster).

The ceremony, which celebrates the cream of the London theater, was hosted by the actors Beverley KnightA winner of the prizes of 2023, and Billy Porter, who reads as an emcee in the cabaret. He opened with Knight and Porter who made the good fortune to be a lady of the musical boys and dolls.

Romola Garai has reached the unusual feat of beating herself to win the prize for the best actress in a support role. Had been nominated twice in that category, recognizing his performances in giant and Years.

The latter brought her the victory. Based on the Memorie book by Annie Ernaux, winner of the Nobel Prize, the years (at the Almeida Theater) also received the prize for the best director, with the producer of Norwegian theaters Eline Arbo Becoming the sixth woman to win that prize at the Oliviers.

Garai said that the years have been the “biggest privilege of my life” and thanked “My Family of Annies” (the whole cast shares the main role of Annie and play secondary characters). He defined Arbo a “genius” who “put the life of all women on stage”. Garai also thanked her husband for her support while taking the two productions.

Arbo had previously directed the years for Amsterdam International TheaterThe world -renowned company that also staged the modern version of Robert Icke of Oedipus of Sophocles Several years ago.

Oedipo, who directed icke with a new West End Cast, he won the best awakening and the best actress for Lesley Manville as Jocasta.

Icke praised his “24 -carat team” including the producer Sonia Friedman, who said the industry was “lucky to have”. (Garai also thanked Friedman, who produced the years.) The experience of doing Oedipus had been joyful for the ensemble, added Icke, who jokingly observed “the incest really combines people”. Manville noticed icke “care and early” as director in his speech.

The prize for the best actress in a musical went to Imelda Staunton for her turning point to the roof Hi, Dolly! to Palladio. It was the 14th nomination of Staunton and the fifth victory at the Oliviers. The most praised individual in the story of Olivier Awards is the lighting of the designer Paule Constable, who received 17 nominations, and won his sixth prize for Oliver! (shared with Ben Jacobs). Constable announced his retreat from the theater at the beginning of this year.

The prize for the best theatrical choreographer went to Christopher Wheeldon For the bio-drama of Michael Jackson Mj the musical, the best design of the costume went to Gabriella Slade for the colorful drying trains Starlight ExpressAND Maimun He received the prize for the best actress in a support role in a musical for Natasha, Pierre and the great comet of 1812.

In the meantime, Layton Williams has become Olivier’s first winner in history to be recognized for interpreting an iceberg (he took the best supporting actor in a musical for Zany Titanic). Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Festen at Royal Opera House has won two prizes: the best new work production and the exceptional result in work (for Tenor Allan Clayton).

The National Theater, the old Vic and the Colosseum were among the main places whose nominations of the shows did not lead to a victory, although Rufus Norris He received a special prize for his 10 -year mandate as director of the National.

Founded in 1976, the Olivier Awards are supervised by Society of London Theater. The winners are chosen by a team of characters in the sector, stage luminaries and members of the public lovers of the theater.