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2008 Laurence Olivier Winners Announced Sunday
Date: 7th March 2008

Winners of the 32nd annual Laurence Olivier Awards, London's equivalent of the Tonys and the UK's most prestigious stage awards, are announced this Sunday evening, 9 March 2008 (See News, 7 Feb 2008).

Full coverage & entertainment

On the night, Whatsonstage.com will be reporting live from the event, with details of winners across all 24 categories - the 23 shortlisted below and the annual Special Award given for overall career achievement - announced to you as they're announced to the industry guests. In addition to up-to-the-minute results, our multimedia Oliviers coverage will include photo galleries, podcasts, speech highlights, interactive discussion and in-depth analysis, capturing all of the event's glitz, glamour and overall buzz.

ALL AWARDS COVERAGE IS AVAILABLE VIA OUR DEDICATED
LAURENCE OLIVIERS' PAGE - CLICK HERE NOW!

This year's star-studded Oliviers ceremony is hosted by Richard E Grant at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, with nominees and guest presenters confirmed to attend including: Michael Ball, Bill Bailey, Darius Danesh, Anne Marie Duff, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tamsin Greig, Leanne Jones, Alistair McGowan, Ian McKellen, Kelly Reilly, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas, Fiona Shaw, John Simm, Sheridan Smith, Summer Strallen, Jessie Wallace, Penelope Wilton and Barbara Windsor.

The evening's entertainment will comprise performances from many of this year's nominated musicals: "All the Wasted Time/ The Old Red Hills of Home" from Parade; "Do You Love Me?" from Fiddler on the Roof; "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray; "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors; "Papageno's Aria" and "The Sun Has Risen" from The Magic Flute; and "Song of Hope" from The Lord of the Rings.

Who's in the running?

In terms of nomination tallies, Hairspray has received a record-breaking 11 nominations including Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (a cross-dressing Michael Ball), Best Actress in a Musical (Leanne Jones, who made her professional debut as Tracy Turnblad), Best Director (Jack O'Brien) and Best Choreographer (Jerry Mitchell), while in the Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical, the show's Tracie Bennett and Elinor Collett go head-to-head. The previous record for Olivier nominations was nine, which has been achieved by three productions, all musical revivals, to date: the Broadway transfer of Kiss Me, Kate (2002) and the National Theatre productions of Oklahoma! (1999) and Carousel (1993).

Amongst plays, the NT adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's children's novel War Horse leads the way with six nominations, including Best New Play. And fast on War Horse's heels are two Shakespeares: the Chichester Festival transfer of Macbeth and the Donmar Warehouse's production of Othello, with five and four nominations apiece.

A Newcomer category has been introduced this year, though it is limited to performances in plays. The category sees Tom Hiddleston in competition with himself for two Bard performances - Cymbeline at the Barbican and the Donmar Othello. By theatre, the National has made the strongest showing with 15 nominations, followed closely by the Donmar Warehouse with 13.

The Laurence Olivier Awards were created in 1976, then called the Society of West End Theatre Awards, to recognise excellence on the London stage. They were rebranded in 1984 when Lord Olivier agreed to have his name associated with them. The full list of nominations follows. (For full analysis of this year's nominations: See News, 18 Jan 2007).

How will the decisions of this year's Olivier judges compare with those of the Evening Standard & Critics' Circle judges as well as the public's choices in our own Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards. Tune in on Sunday to find out!

The full list of 2008 Olivier nominations is as follows:

BEST ACTRESS

- Anne-Marie Duff for SAINT JOAN at the Olivier
- Kelly Reilly for OTHELLO at the Donmar Warehouse
- Kristin Scott Thomas for THE SEAGULL at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
- Fiona Shaw for HAPPY DAYS at the Lyttelton
- Penelope Wilton for JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN at the Donmar Warehouse