Royal Court, Donmar & National are driving force at Oliviers

The Royal Court has received a staggering fifteen nominations. Lucy Prebble's Enron and Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem have six nominations each, going head to head in the Best New Play category.

The Donmar excels with ten nods and the National Theatre trail closely behind with a total of nine.

It's stiff competition in the Best Actor category, acknowledging lead performances from James Earl Jones, Jude Law, James McAvoy, Mark Rylance, Ken Stott and Samuel West.

It's an equally impressive category for the ladies, with Gillian Anderson, Lorraine Burroughs, Imelda Staunton, Juliet Stevenson and Rachel Weisz all battling it out for Best Actress.

This year the awards have included a special gong voted for by audiences. The Audience Award For Most Popular Show, includes Billy Elliott, The Phantom of the Opera, War Horse, We Will Rock You and Wicked.  Members of the public can choose their winner at www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/olivier_awards/vote

Spring Awakening (pictured right), the rock musical that closed early after it transferred into the West End, has received the most nominations for a musical and the most for an individual production, with a grand total of seven, including Best New Musical, while A Little Night Music has five nominations including Best Musical Revival.

President of SOLT, Nica Burns says: “In an outstanding year for drama, a whole new generation of playwrights step into the spotlight. Eight wonderful new plays – challenging, stimulating and inspiring – include two women in their twenties.

“Mirroring this, the voting for the best acting awards was so close that the nominations had to be increased, with some of the most exciting young acting talent around taking their place alongside some our most acclaimed screen stars. What a memorable year!”

The full list of nominations are set out below:-

BEST ACTRESS
•    Gillian Anderson for A DOLL'S HOUSE at the Donmar
•    Lorraine Burroughs for THE MOUNTAINTOP at Trafalgar Studios 1
•    Imelda Staunton for ENTERTAINING MR SLOANE at Trafalgar Studios 1
•    Juliet Stevenson for DUET FOR ONE at the Almeida and Vaudeville
•    Rachel Weisz for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Donmar

BEST ACTOR
•    James Earl Jones for CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at the Novello
•    Jude Law for HAMLET, Donmar at Wyndham's
•    James McAvoy for THREE DAYS OF RAIN at the Apollo
•    Mark Rylance for JERUSALEM at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
•    Ken Stott for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Duke of York's
•    Samuel West for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
•    Hayley Atwell for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Duke of York's
•    Michelle Dockery for BURNT BY THE SUN at the Lyttelton
•    Alexandra Gilbreath for TWELFTH NIGHT at the Duke of York's
•    Keira Knightley for THE MISANTHROPE at the Comedy
•    Rachael Stirling for THE PRIORY at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
•    Ruth Wilson for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Donmar

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
•    Mackenzie Crook for JERUSALEM at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
•    Rory Kinnear for BURNT BY THE SUN at the Lyttelton
•    Tim Pigott-Smith for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
•    Eddie Redmayne for RED at the Donmar

BEST NEW PLAY
•    ENRON by Lucy Prebble at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
•    JERUSALEM by Jez Butterworth at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
•    THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall at Trafalgar Studios 1
•    RED by John Logan by at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST NEW COMEDY
•    CALENDAR GIRLS by Tim Firth at the Noël Coward
•    ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE by Richard Bean at the Olivier
•    PARLOUR SONG by Jez Butterworth at the Almeida
•    THE PRIORY by Michael Wynne at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
•    Irving Berlin's ANNIE GET YOUR GUN music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields at the Young Vic
•    HELLO DOLLY! book by Michael Stewart, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, based on the play ‘The Matchmaker' by Thornton Wilder at the Open Air
•    A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, suggested by a film by Ingmar Bergman, originally produced and directed on Broadway by Harold Prince at the Garrick
•    Lionel Bart's OLIVER! based on the original production by Sam Mendes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
BEST NEW MUSICAL
•    DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS book by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran at the Savoy
•    PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT – THE MUSICAL book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, based on the Latent Image/Specific Films motion picture distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. at the Palace
•    SPRING AWAKENING music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, based on the play by Frank Wedekind at the Novello
•    SISTER ACT music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner at The London Palladium

BEST ENTERTAINMENT
•    ARTURO BRACHETTI: CHANGE written and directed by Sean Foley, original concept by Serge Denoncourt, based on the repertoire of Arturo Brachetti at the Garrick
•    DERREN BROWN: ENIGMA written by Derren Brown and Andy Nyman at the Adelphi
•    MORECAMBE by Tim Whitnall at the Duchess

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT
•    Melanie C for BLOOD BROTHERS at the Phoenix
•    Patina Miller for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium
•    Samantha Spiro for HELLO DOLLY! at the Open Air
•    Hannah Waddingham for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick
•    Charlotte Wakefield for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT
•    Rowan Atkinson for OLIVER! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
•    Aneurin Barnard for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello
•    Bob Golding for MORECAMBE at the Duchess
•    Alexander Hanson for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick
•    Tony Sheldon for PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT – THE MUSICAL at the Palace

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT
•    Sheila Hancock for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium
•    Maureen Lipman for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick
•    Kelly Price for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Garrick
•    Iwan Rheon for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello

BEST DIRECTOR
•    Rupert Goold for ENRON at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
•    Michael Grandage for HAMLET, Donmar at Wyndham's
•    Lindsay Posner for A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at the Duke of York's
•    Ian Rickson for JERUSALEM at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
•    Bijan Sheibani for OUR CLASS at the Cottesloe

BEST REVIVAL
•    ARCADIA directed by David Leveaux at the Duke of York's
•    CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF directed by Debbie Allen at the Novello
•    THE MISANTHROPE directed by Thea Sharrock at the Comedy
•    A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE directed by Rob Ashford at the Donmar Warehouse
•    A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE directed by Lindsay Posner at the Duke of York's
•    THREE DAYS OF RAIN directed by Jamie Lloyd at the Apollo

BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER
•    Matthew Bourne for OLIVER! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
•    Bill T Jones for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello
•    Anthony Van Laast for SISTER ACT at the London Palladium
•    Stephen Mear for HELLY DOLLY! at the Open Air

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
•    BURNT BY THE SUN designed by Mark Henderson at the Lyttelton
•    ENRON designed by Mark Henderson the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
•    SPRING AWAKENING designed by Kevin Adams at the Novello
•    THREE DAYS OF RAIN designed by Jon Clark at the Apollo

BEST SET DESIGN
•    ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE designed by Mark Thompson with animation by Pete Bishop
•    ENRON designed by Anthony Ward at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noel Coward
•    JERUSALEM designed by Ultz at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
•    RED designed by Christopher Oram at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
•    HELLO DOLLY! designed by Peter McKintosh at the Open Air
•    MADAME DE SADE designed by Christopher Oram, Donmar at Wyndham's
•    THE MISANTHROPE designed by Amy Roberts at the Comedy
•    PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT- THE MUSICAL designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner at the Palace

BEST SOUND DESIGN
•    EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR designed by Christopher Shutt at the Olivier
•    JERUSALEM designed by Ian Dickinson for Autograph at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo
•    MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN designed by Andrew Bruce and Nick Lidster for Autograph at the Olivier
•    SPRING AWAKENING designed by Brian Ronan at the Novello

THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR MOST POPULAR SHOW
•    BILLY ELLIOT music by Elton John, books and lyrics by Lee Hall at the Victoria Palace
•    THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA music and book by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, book and additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe at His Majesty's
•    WAR HORSE based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford at the New London
•    WE WILL ROCK YOU based on the songs of Queen, by Ben Elton in collaboration with Brian May and Roger Taylor at the Dominion
•    WICKED music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman at the Apollo Victoria

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE
•    Soho Theatre/ Tiata Fahodzi for IYA ILE (THE FIRST WIFE)
•    The Tricycle Theatre for THE GREAT GAME
•    The Royal Court for COCK at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION
•    The Royal Opera's DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER at the Royal Opera House
•    The Royal Opera's LULU at the Royal Opera House
•    English National Opera's PETER GRIMES at the London Coliseum
•    The Royal Opera's TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA
•    Anja Kampe for her performance in Royal Opera's DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER at the Royal Opera House
•    Stuart Skelton for his performance in English National Opera's PETER GRIMES at the London Coliseum
•    Nina Steme for her performance in the Royal Opera's TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House
•    Michael Volle for his performances in the Royal Opera's LULU and TRISTAN AND ISOLDE at the Royal Opera House

BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION
•    Russell Maliphant's AFTERLIGHT at Sadler's Wells
•    Birmingham Royal Ballet's E=MC² at Sadler's Wells
•    Goldberg: The Brandstrup Rojo Project, ROH2 at the Royal Opera House
•    Rambert Dance Company's A LINHA CURVA at Sadler's Wells
•    Fabulous Beast Dance's THE RITE OF SPRING at the London Coliseum

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DANCE
•    Colin Dunne for his performance in OUT OF TIME at The Pit
•    Michael Hulls for his lighting designs for Russell Maliphant's TWO:FOUR:TEN at the London Coliseum; and for Russell Maliphant's AFTERLIGHT and for Ex Machina & Sylvie Guillem's EONNAGATA at Sadler's Wells
•    Rambert Dance Company for an outstanding year of new work