In lieu of an Olivier Awards ceremony this Sunday evening, ITV is broadcasting a compilation of their greatest performances instead. Just in case the choices don’t match yours, here are our top 12 favourite Olivier Awards performances of the last decade, in no particular order. With thanks to Ian Bowkett.
2019 – Jason Manford, Janie Dee and Ruthie Henshall – Opening Number
Let’s kick off with last year’s spectacular opener. Host Jason Manford is joined by the ever-wonderful Janie Dee and Ruthie Henshall for this tribute to the UK’s theatre scene. So much has been accomplished on the stages of our theatres and so many millions of people have been entertained – hopefully, it won’t be too long before it all returns.
2018 – The Cast of Hamilton – ‘Alexander Hamilton’
In 2017, the London cast of Hamilton had a seemingly impossible challenge. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical about America’s first treasury secretary had achieved an unprecedented level of success and made superstars of its original cast. It felt like everybody in the country knew the Broadway recording off-by-heart, so how could this new team possibly live up to the sky-high expectations? In this 2018 Oliviers performance of the show’s opening number, they proved exactly why they deserved every single one of the seven awards they won that night, and their years of subsequent success too. It’s difficult to choose an MVP, but special kudos must be given to the intrepid BSL interpreter on stage right who effortlessly keeps up with the rapid-fire lyrics.
2014 – Willemijn Verkaik from Wicked – ‘Defying Gravity’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra-5olw6VAI
Another successful transfer of a US mega-show, the London production of Wicked has found its own identity over the years. Subtle book changes and a refusal to force its leads to adopt the West End’s traditional dodgy US accent have allowed each new actor to bring something unique to the role of Elphaba. Everybody has their favourite, but the amazing belting Willemijn Verkaik has a special place in many hearts as the first performer to have played the part in multiple languages around the world. As well as being a fierce performer, she is emblematic of the London theatre scene at its best: as a hub for the greatest talents to come together and entertain, wherever they might be from. Also, she’s singing on a roof for some reason. That’s pretty swankified.
2012 – The Matildas of Matilda – ‘Naughty’
As fantastic as the imported shows are, it’s always exciting to see a show developed in the UK do well too. 2012 was unquestionably the year of Matilda. The RSC’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s story by Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin was nominated for a record ten awards, ultimately winning seven. One of these was for the quartet of stunningly good child actors who played the title role. Pinning a show’s success on the talents of the very young is a risky strategy, but as musicals as far back as Lionel Bart’s Oliver! have proven, the UK has some of the most remarkable actors in the world, of every playing age.
2014 – Bernadette Peters – ‘Losing My Mind’
The Oliviers have become one of the most prestigious theatrical awards in the world, and every new ceremony brings with it an exciting game of guessing which stage legends will show up. In 2014, the show was graced by musical superstar and longtime Stephen Sondheim muse, Bernadette Peters. Few can act their way through a song quite like Peters, and her rendition of ‘Losing My Mind’ from Sondheim’s Follies is genuinely touching, even stripped of the context of the rest of the show.
2018 – Tracie Bennett from Follies – ‘I’m Still Here’
Follies returned to London in late 2017 for a spectacular National Theatre revival starring Imelda Staunton and Janie Dee. With a wealth of classic numbers to choose from, the team chose to show off Tracie Bennett’s brilliant turn as Carlotta Campion, the long-retired showgirl who has survived it all. The role has previously been played by such icons as Carol Burnett, Ann Miller, and Elaine Paige, but it’s hard to imagine the song ever being any more funny, precise, or heartfelt than in this masterful performance.
2014 – Cast of Les Misérables – ‘One Day More’
Les Misérables is, of course, very French in so many ways. However, it was the crucible of London’s theatre scene that made it the one of the most popular shows ever staged. Never a critics’ favourite, the show lost two of the three awards for which it was nominated in 1985, with only Patti LuPone winning for Best Actress in a Musical. Nearly 30 years later, the show was still drawing huge audiences of devoted fans and the cast performed in Covent Garden for the Olivier Awards 2014. They had nothing to prove, but still pulled out all the stops with the ultimate act one closer, ‘One Day More’. Just try to resist singing along.
2015 – Cedric Neal from Porgy and Bess – ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’
In addition to developing iconic new shows, London has an illustrious history of innovative revivals. After decades of performance and reinterpretation, it was difficult to conceive of how to bring something new to the George and Ira Gershwin 1935 classic, Porgy and Bess. However, director Timothy Sheader restaged the show at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and with a superlatively talented cast brought a real intensity and jeopardy to Catfish Row. At least, so I’m told. I missed this production and have been kicking myself ever since. This spectacular performance of ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ is the closest I will ever get. So thank you, Olivier Awards, for being such a great documentary of the UK’s best theatrical productions. Cedric Neal’s performance here is as brilliant as his suit. And just look at that suit. There could be no higher praise.
2019 – Rosalie Craig from Company – ‘Being Alive’
Speaking of innovative revivals, Marianne Elliott’s 2018 production of George Furth and Stephen Sondheim’s Company fixed a musical we didn’t even know was broken. With the assistance of Sondheim himself, Elliott switched the lead character from a cynical man of questionable sexual politics to an instantly-relatable single woman navigating 2020’s ever-stressful dating scene, played with endless charm by Rosalie Craig. At the 2019 Olivier Awards ceremony she performed the show’s final number ‘Being Alive’ as she did in the show: all alone onstage, but with the entire audience behind her in spirit.
2019 – Harriet Turnball from Fun Home – ‘Ring of Keys’
Another great thing about the Olivier Awards is the opportunity it gives smaller productions to shine just as brightly as their high-budget contemporaries. The UK premiere of Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tersori’s Fun Home – a musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir about her coming to terms with her sexuality and bizarre family life – worked brilliantly in the intimate and trendy surroundings of the Young Vic Theatre and was justly rewarded with three Olivier nominations. Harriet Turnball’s performance of ‘Ring of Keys’ is a perfect demonstration that the most clever and effective lyrics are usually the most simple and human, not the most ostentatious.
2017 – Amber Riley from Dreamgirls – ‘And I Am Telling You’
Words can’t do justice to this one: just see how speechless even Jason Manford is by the end. (Even. Jason. Manford.) Amber Riley was already beloved by musical theatre geeks for playing Mercedes in the television series Glee, but her remarkable performance as Effie White in the 2016 West End revival of Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen’s Dreamgirls earned her some well-deserved critical respect and an Olivier Award win for best actress. Whenever I watch this clip, even if I am lying in bed, I am compelled to join in the standing ovation at the end.
2018 – Cast of 42nd Street – 42nd Street & Finale Ultimo
Finale Ultimo indeed. When the West End decides to go big: it goes huge. There are few sights in theatre as impressive as a troupe of hoofers tap-dancing in synchronised perfection, and the 2017 West End revival of the classic musical 42nd Street executed this with style in spades. The company’s performance of the title song and Finale Ultimo at the 2018 Olivier Awards ceremony truly made all other musicals, and even the stage itself, look tiny in comparison.
What great Olivier Awards moments have we missed? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!
- ITV broadcasts a special Olivier Awards 2020 with Mastercard programme on 5 April 2020 at 10.15pm in place of this year’s Royal Albert Hall show which was cancelled following the Government’s advice on social distancing.
Comments are closed.