Paddington The Musical is the biggest winner at the Olivier Awards 2026

This year’s biggest winner at the Olivier Awards 2026 was Paddington The Musical, with seven awards including Cunard Best New Musical. Musicals Evita and Into the Woods, and plays All My Sons, Kenrex and Punch, each received two awards. The winners were revealed at London’s Royal Albert Hall in a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the awards, hosted by Nick Mohammed.

Paddington The Musical’s seven wins included the coveted Cunard Best New Musical award for writers Tom Fletcher and Jessica Swale. James Hameed and Arti Shah took home the Best Actor in a Musical award for their joint portrayal of the musical’s title character, while Victoria Hamilton-Barritt received the Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical award, and Tom Edden the Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical award.

The show’s creatives triumphed, with Luke Sheppard receiving the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director, Tom Pye (set design) and Ash J Woodward (video design) taking home the award for Best Set Design, and Gabriella Slade (costume design) and Tahra Zafar (Paddington design) winning Best Costume Design, a second win in a row for Gabriella Slade, who won the same award for her work on Starlight Express last year.

Paddington The Musical also joined the record-breaking group of Hamilton, Matilda the Musical, Cabaret (2022) and Sunset Boulevard (2024), each of which have won seven Olivier Awards, the most wins for any musical.

Jamie Lloyd’s bold adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Evita received two awards: Rachel Zegler’s performance as Eva Peron – which made headlines last summer for its scene performed from the balcony of the London Palladium – earned her the Best Actress in a Musical award, while Fabian Aloise received the Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer.

Bridge Theatre’s take on Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s fairytale misadventure Into the Woods won Best Musical Revival, and Aideen Malone (lighting design) and Roland Horvath (video design) received the award for Best Lighting Design. It was also announced that the production will transfer to the West End’s Noel Coward Theatre this autumn.

Three plays – All My Sons, Kenrex and Punch – received two awards each. All My Sons – a new production of Arthur Miller’s visionary play – was awarded Best Revival, with Paapa Essiedu taking home the Best Actor in a Supporting Role award. Jack Holden received the highly competitive Best Actor award for his performance in Kenrex (following his UK Theatre Award win last year), while Giles Thomas won Best Sound Design for his work on the play, which transferred to London from Sheffield Theatres. Another successful out-of-London transfer and previous UK Theatre Award winner, James Graham’s Punch, which originated at Nottingham Playhouse, received the award for Best New Play, with Julie Hesmondhalgh receiving the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

The coveted Best Actress award was won by Rosamund Pike, for her tour de force performance in Suzie Miller’s Inter Alia at the National Theatre, following the opening of the West End transfer earlier this week at Wyndham’s Theatre. Elsewhere, Good Night, Oscar at the Barbican Theatre received the award for Outstanding Musical Contribution for Chris Fenwick (musical supervision and arrangements) and Sean Hayes (live piano performance of Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’).

Other new productions receiving accolades at the ceremony were Cole Escola’s Broadway hit Oh, Mary!, receiving the Noel Coward Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play, Rose Theatre’s The Boy At the Back of the Class, which received Best Family Show, and The Yard Theatre’s The Glass Menagerie, winning Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre.

Into the Hairy by Sharon Eyal for S-E-D at Sadler’s Wells won Best New Dance Production, and English National Opera’s Dead Man Walking won Best New Opera Production, which were presented by this year’s Outstanding Contribution to Dance recipient Wayne McGregor, and Outstanding Contribution to Opera recipient Danielle de Niese, who received their own awards at the Olivier Awards with Cunard Tea Party at The Londoner Hotel last month.

Special Award recipient Elaine Paige was honoured at the ceremony with a special video tribute, before being presented with her statuette by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who also read a celebratory message from Her Majesty The Queen. Industry Recognition Award recipients Betty Laine, Linda Tolhurst and David Wood also received a special acknowledgement during the ceremony, honouring their significant contributions to the theatre industry.

The star-studded ceremony included a special performance marking 40 years of Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera, and a dazzling finale celebrating 20 years of Wicked in the West End. Additional performances throughout the evening included Cunard Best New Musical nominees Paddington The Musical, Shucked and The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry, and Best Musical Revival nominees Evita, Into the Woods and The Producers.

Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre Co-CEOs Claire Walker and Hannah Essex said: “This year’s Olivier Awards with Cunard were a showstopping celebration of the best of British theatre and we are thrilled to have been able to mark the awards’ 50th anniversary in such style. Massive congratulation to all of our phenomenal winners and nominees. Their creativity and talent is the reason why the UK is the best place in the world to make and see theatre.”

For its 50th year, the Olivier Awards was televised in a prime-time slot on BBC Two on Sunday 12 April and the recording is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer. The programme was produced by Penny Lane Entertainment in partnership with the Society of London Theatre.

A special BBC Radio 2 show hosted by Jo Whiley, featuring performances from some of the night’s biggest shows and exclusive interviews with a line-up of stars, is available to listen to on BBC Sounds. Ex-UK viewers can tune into Official London Theatre’s YouTube channel to watch the highlights programme.

Full list of winners and nominees for the Olivier Awards 2026 with Cunard:

Best New Musical

WINNER: Paddington The Musical, music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher and book by Jessica Swale at Savoy Theatre

Best Musical Revival

WINNER: Into the Woods, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine at Bridge Theatre

Best New Play

WINNER: Punch by James Graham at Young Vic & Apollo Theatre

Best Revival

WINNER: All My Sons by Arthur Miller at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play

WINNER: Oh, Mary! by Cole Escola at Trafalgar Theatre

Best Actress

WINNER: Rosamund Pike for Inter Alia at National Theatre – Lyttelton

Best Actor

WINNER: Jack Holden for Kenrex at The Other Palace

Best Actor in a Musical

WINNER: James Hameed and Arti Shah for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Best Actress in a Musical

WINNER: Rachel Zegler for Evita at The London Palladium

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

WINNER: Julie Hesmondhalgh for Punch at Young Vic and Apollo Theatre

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

WINNER: Paapa Essiedu for All My Sons at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

WINNER: Tom Edden for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical

WINNER: Victoria Hamilton-Barritt for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director

WINNER: Luke Sheppard for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer

WINNER: Fabian Aloise for Evita at the London Palladium

Best Costume Design

WINNER: Gabriella Slade (costume design) and Tahra Zafar (Paddington design) for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Best Set Design

WINNER: Tom Pye (set design) and Ash J Woodward (video design) for Paddington The Musical at Savoy Theatre

Best Lighting Design

WINNER: Aideen Malone (lighting design) and Roland Horvath (video design) for Into the Woods at Bridge Theatre

Best Sound Design

WINNER: Giles Thomas for Kenrex at The Other Palace

Outstanding Musical Contribution

WINNER: Chris Fenwick (musical supervision and arrangements) and Sean Hayes (live piano performance of Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’) for Good Night, Oscar at Barbican Theatre

Best Family Show

WINNER: The Boy At the Back of the Class, adapted by Nick Ahad at Rose Theatre

Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre

WINNER: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams at The Yard Theatre

Best New Dance Production

WINNER: Into The Hairy by Sharon Eyal for S-E-D at Sadler’s Wells

Best New Opera Production

WINNER: Dead Man Walking by English National Opera at London Coliseum

officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards