It may have been an unforgettable night for Rachel Ziegler at the prestigious Olivier Awards in London on Sunday, but the evening belonged to an orange-loving bear.
The British equivalent of the Tony Awards, which celebrate the best and brightest talent leading the country’s vibrant theater scene, crowned its winners at a ceremony broadcast and hosted by the BBC. Traitors and Ted Lasso Star Nick Muhammad.
The new production has achieved great success Paddington the musical He stole the show with seven awards in total, including Best Actor for performers James Hamid and Arti Shah, who play the voice of the lovable bear (Hamid) and the suit (Shah). The musical, currently running at the Savoy Theater in London’s West End, also won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, Best Actor and Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Set Design and Best Costume Design.
McFly singer Tom Fletcher, who wrote songs for Paddington the musicalAccepting the award for Best New Musical, he said: “We’ve tried to make a show that’s about celebrating kindness…and to be part of this group of people putting that out into the world at this time is very special, thank you so much.”
elsewhere, snow white Star Ziegler won the award for Best Actress in a Musical for her famous role in the movie Jimmy Lloyd Evitaplays the role of Argentine First Lady Eva Peron. She has thrilled the city by performing live for passers-by on the balcony of the London Palladium every night for the past year. “Thank you so much to the city of London for making me feel so welcome here, I could never have imagined that,” Ziegler said as she took to the stage. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to sing to the people of Argyle Street eight times a week, I can’t believe I’ve been so lucky to sing in front of thousands of you.”
Rosamund Pike also won for her performance in the legal drama Inter OlyaAnd while Harry PotterPaapa Essiedu from the movie “Paapa Essiedu” won the Best Supporting Actor award All my children – The show which also won Best Revival – American star Bryan Cranston lost the Best Actor award to Jack Holden Kenrix picnic.
Take a look at the full list of 2026 Olivier Award winners below.
Best revival
All my children (winner)
Arcadia
Much ado about nothing
Seagull
Best Musical Revival
American Psycho
Evita
In the forest (winner)
Producers
Best New Play
1536
Inter Olya
Kenrix
Punch (winner)
Best new music
We are here
Paddington the musical (winner)
Shocked
The Unlikely Pilgrimage by Harold Fry
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Seagull
marian jean baptiste, All my children
julia McDermott, Weather girl
rosamund Pike, Inter Olya (winner)
Rosie Sheehy, Guess how much I love you?
Best Actor
bryan cranston, All my children
tom hiddleston, Much ado about nothing
sean hayes, Good night, Oscar
jack holden, Kenrix (winner)
david shields, Punch
Best Actress in a Musical
katie braiben, In the forest
Daniel Fiamania and Georgina Onwurah, Brigadoon
jane Krakowski, We are here
jenna russell, The Unlikely Pilgrimage by Harold Fry
rachel ziegler, Evita (winner)
Best Actor in a Musical
mark antolin, Producers
James Hamid and Arti Shah, Paddington the musical (winner)
andy nyman, Producers
jimmy parker, In the forest
diego andres rodriguez, Evita
Best Supporting Actor
Hamed Animshon, Trader’s choice
baba isiedu, All my children (winner)
Zachary Hart, Seagull
Zachary Hart, anthropomorphic
giles Terrera, Oh Mary!
Best Supporting Actress
isis Hainsworth, Arcadia
julie hesmondhalgh, Punch (winner)
lucy Karczewski, anthropomorphic
hayley Squires, All my children
sophie thompson, When we get married
Best Supporting Actor in a Musical
trevor ashley, Producers
corbin Bleu, The Great Gatsby
tom eden, Paddington the musical (winner)
joe foster, In the forest
oliver Saville, In the forest
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical
tracy bennett, We are here
amy Booth Steele, Paddington the musical (winner)
kate Fleetwood, In the forest
Victoria Hamilton Barrett, Paddington the musical
Georgina Onwurah, Shocked
Best director
Jordan Finn, In the forest
luke sheppard, Paddington the musical (winner)
ed Stamboulian, Kenrix
lindsay turner, 1536
ivo van hove, All my children
Best new entertainment or comedy
Comedy about spies
Everything is great
Oh Mary! (winner)
Paranormal activity
Best New Dance Production
In poetry (winner)
Mimi Shebin
Random Taranto
It is auspicious
Best New Production at Affiliated Theater
Ben and Emo
Glass Zoo (winner)
Ministry of LGBT Affairs
Miss Myrtle’s Garden
Fools
Best family show
The boy is in the back of the class (winner)
The boy with wings
The fireworks maker’s daughter
The Three Little Pigs
Best New Opera Production
Dead man walking (winner)
Makropoulos case
Tosca
Die Walcor
Best sound design
Adam Fisher, In the forest
gareth owen, Paddington the musical
ryan romery, anthropomorphic
giles thomas, Kenrix (winner)
An outstanding musical contribution
Matt Brind, Paddington the musical
will Butler and Justin Craig, anthropomorphic
John Patrick Elliott, Kenrix
chris fenwick and sean hayes, Good night, Oscar (winner)
Best lighting design
robbie butler, Punch
john clark, Evita
Aiden Malone and Roland Horvath, In the forest (winner)
joshua Farrow, Kenrix
Best set design
paul tate de baux iii, The Great Gatsby
Tom Pye and Ash J. Woodward, Paddington the musical (winner)
tom scott, In the forest
david zinn, anthropomorphic
Best costume design
Enver Chakartas, anthropomorphic
linda chu, The Great Gatsby
tom scott, In the forest
Gabriella Slade and Tahira Zafar, Paddington the musical (winner)
Best theatrical choreographer
fabian alois, Evita (winner)
ellen keen, Paddington the musical
drew mcconnie, Brigadoon
Lynn Page, American Psycho
