The Olivier Awards 2025 nominations and ticket details announced

The nominations for the 2025 Olivier Awards with Mastercard, the most esteemed honors in British theatre, have been revealed. The prestigious annual event will be held on Sunday, 6 April, at the iconic Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Beverley Knight and Billy Porter. A highlights show will air that evening on ITV and Magic Radio.

This year’s competition for nominations has been fierce, with 2025 marking a transformative period for London theatre. It’s been a year of groundbreaking new works, innovative takes on classics, and a firm commitment to elevating diverse voices and stories. The stage has seen an impressive lineup of stars, and nominees in the craft awards have demonstrated exceptional creativity and talent.

The Mastercard Best New Musical nominees are the actor-musician-led The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at the Ambassadors Theatre, MJ The Musical at the Prince Edward Theatre, Donmar Warehouse’s Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, and Why Am I So Single? by Marlow and Moss. In the Piper-Heidsieck Award for Best Musical Revival category, the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production of Fiddler on the Roof—which returns to the Barbican Theatre later this year—faces off against the dazzling Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium. Also nominated are Cameron Mackintosh’s reconceptualized Oliver!, which moved from Chichester Festival Theatre to the Gielgud Theatre late last year, and the new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre.

Fiddler on the Roof leads this year with 13 nominations, including Best Musical Revival, the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director (Jordan Fein), Best Actor in a Musical (Adam Dannheisser), Best Actress in a Musical (Lara Pulver), and Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Raphael Papo). The production also garnered two nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Liv Andrusier and Beverley Klein), as well as nods for Best Lighting Design (Aideen Malone), Best Theatre Choreographer (Julia Cheng), Best Sound Design (Nick Lidster), Outstanding Musical Contribution (Mark Aspinall), and Best Set and Costume Design (Tom Scutt).

Other musicals with multiple nominations include Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (6 nominations), followed by The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Oliver! (4 nominations each). Oliver!’s creative team has had an extraordinary year, with Matthew Bourne earning his 14th Olivier nomination for Best Theatre Choreographer—his second for Oliver! after previously being nominated for the 2010 revival. He holds the record for the most Olivier wins, with nine victories, including a Special Award in 2019. Lighting designer Paule Constable also continues her legacy, receiving her 17th nomination, alongside Ben Jacobs, for their work on Oliver!. Constable has won the award four times previously.

In the musical theatre performance categories, the Best Actor in a Musical nominees include John Dagleish (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Myles Frost (MJ The Musical), Simon Lipkin (Oliver!), Jamie Muscato (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), and Adam Dannheisser (Fiddler on the Roof). The Best Actress in a Musical nominees are Chumisa Dornford-May (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), Lauren Drew (Titanique), Clare Foster (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Lara Pulver (Fiddler on the Roof), and Imelda Staunton (Hello, Dolly!). Staunton receives her 14th nomination, her eighth in the Best Actress in a Musical category, having won the award four times before.

In the Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical category, Andy Nyman (Hello, Dolly!), Layton Williams (Titanique), Tom Xander (Mean Girls), and Raphael Papo (Fiddler on the Roof) are nominated. For Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical, Amy Di Bartolomeo (The Devil Wears Prada) and Maimuna Memon (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) are nominated alongside Liv Andrusier and Beverley Klein (Fiddler on the Roof).

In the highly competitive Best New Play category, The Fear of 13 at Donmar Warehouse, Giant at the Royal Court (which moves to the Harold Pinter Theatre in April), Kyoto at @sohoplace, Shifters at the Bush Theatre (now at the Duke of York’s Theatre), and The Years (currently at the Harold Pinter Theatre) have all received nominations. Giant and The Years lead the play categories with five nominations each, including Best Director nominations for Eline Arbo (The Years) and Nicholas Hytner (Giant). John Lithgow makes his debut Olivier nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of Roald Dahl in Giant, while Elliot Levey earns his third nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

The full list of nominations also includes Adrien Brody (The Fear of 13), Billy Crudup (Harry Clarke), Paapa Essiedu (Death of England: Delroy), and Mark Strong (Oedipus), among others in the Best Actor category. Heather Agyepong (Shifters), Rosie Sheehy (Machinal), Meera Syal (A Tupperware of Ashes), and others are nominated for Best Actress.

For the Cunard Best Revival category, nominations include fresh takes on classics, such as The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre, Machinal at The Old Vic, Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre, and Waiting for Godot at Theatre Royal Haymarket. Oedipus’s dual nominations for Best Actress, with Lesley Manville and Indira Varma both nominated for playing the same role, adds to the excitement.

In the Noël Coward Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play, the contenders include Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre, Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright, Spirited Away at the London Coliseum, and Titanique at the Criterion Theatre.

The Olivier Awards 2025 nominations were announced on Tuesday, 4 March, via Official London Theatre’s YouTube channel. Additional details about the ceremony on 6 April at the Royal Albert Hall will be revealed soon.

Tickets for the Olivier Awards 2025 are available exclusively to Mastercard cardholders via priceless.com.