News | Entertainment
2 Jul 2025 13:57
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Sir Ian McKellen has won his seventh Olivier Award

    Last year, the 81-year-old actor celebrated reaching the age of 80 by embarking on an 80-venue birthday tour of the UK with his one-man show and he was honoured in a special ceremony, filmed at The London Palladium and hosted by Jason Manford, on Sunday (25.10.20)


    He said: "I didn't want to have a birthday party. I didn't think there was anything to celebrate.

    "So, I thought if I go out of London no-one will be able to find me... I initially thought I'll go around the world... then when I counted up there were nearly 80 theatres that I knew and loved in this country so I thought why bother going abroad?"

    Matthew Bourne won his ninth award, best theatre choreographer alongside Stephen Mear for 'Mary Poppins', becoming the most successful individual in the history of the awards.

    'Fleabag' actor Andrew Scott won best actor for his performance in the Noel Coward play 'Present Laughter' and said: "A sense of humour that is incredibly important for us people in the theatre. It's something that's helped us all survived in the last few months during this incredibly arduous time."

    "I can't wait to be back on the boards and having a laugh again as soon as we can."

    Two new musicals, 'Dear Evan Hansen' and Max Martin's '& Juliet', picked up three awards each, with the latter leading the nominations with nine before eventually winning in three acting categories.

    David Bedella won best actor in a supporting role in a musical, Cassidy Janson was named best actress in a supporting role in a musical and Miriam-Teak Lee picked up the gong for best actress in a musical.

    Janson made a jab at the British government's recent campaign, which has urged those in the arts to retrain, in her speech as she praised the musical's background staff, saying: "You are so skilled, so viable, so valuable and please don’t any of you ever retrain."

    'Dear Evan Hansen's three gongs included Sam Tutty's best actor in a musical, the award for best new musical and best original score or new orchestrations.

    Lyricist Don Black received a special award, presented by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Duchess of Cornwall, for his contributions to musical theatre.

    The original awards were postponed in March due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

    Julian Bird, the ex ecutive producer of the Olivier awards and chief ex ecutive of the Society of London Theatre, said: "This is not how we had originally planned to celebrate this year’s outstanding Olivier nominees, but like so many others we have adapted to these challenging times. I am thrilled that we have been able to safely pull together this programme that will hopefully engage and inspire audiences at home while reminding them of the talent and vibrancy within our theatre industry."

    Olivier Awards 2020 Winners

    Best new play - 'Leopoldstadt'

    Best new musical - 'Dear Evan Hansen'

    Best new comedy - 'Emilia'

    Best revival - 'Cyrano De Bergerac'

    Best musical revival - 'Fiddler On The Roof'

    Best director - Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell ('Death Of A Salesman')

    Best actor - Andrew Scott ('Present Laughter')

    Best actress - Sharon D. Clarke ('Death Of A Salesman')

    Best supporting actor - Adrian Scarborough ('Leopoldstadt')

    Best supporting actress - Indira Varma ('Present Laughter')

    Best actor in a musical - Sam Tutty ('Dear Evan Hansen')

    Best actress in a musical - Miriam-Teak Lee ('& Juliet')

    Best supporting actor in a musical - David Bedella ('& Juliet')

    Best supporting actress in a musical - Cassidy Janson ('& Juliet')

    Best family show - 'The Worst Witch' at Vaudeville Theatre

    Best set design - Bob Crowley for 'Mary Poppins'

    Best lighting - Paule Constable ('The Ocean At The End Of The Lane' at National Theatre)

    Best new dance production - 'Ingoma'

    Best new opera production - 'Billy Budd'

    Best costume design - Joanna Scotcher ('Emilia')

    Best sound design - Emma Laxton ('Emilia')

    Best theatre choreographer - Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear ('Mary Poppins')

    Best original score - 'Dear Evan Hansen' (Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, Orchestration by Alex Lacamoire)

    Outstanding achievement in dance: Sara Baras for her choreography and performance in 'Ballet Flamenco - Sombras' at Sadler's Wells

    Outstanding achievement in opera - The Children's Ensemble for their performance in 'Noye's Fludde'

    Outstanding achievement in affiliate theatre - 'Baby Reindeer' at Bush Theatre

    Special award - Don Black

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     02 Jul: Bob Geldof has praised his late ex-wife Paula Yates for being instrumental in Live Aid
     02 Jul: Sir Brian May doesn't believe that his Queen bandmate Freddie Mercury has a secret daughter
     02 Jul: Scarlett Johansson has revealed that her twin brother Hunter was her most enthusiastic supporter at the premiere of Jurassic World Rebirth
     02 Jul: James Norton is "crazily grateful" for the "pain" of his split from Imogen Poots
     02 Jul: Rihanna's father died of cancer and other serious illnesses
     02 Jul: Sir David Beckham has had an operation to repair a broken wrist he suffered in 2003
     02 Jul: The largest collection of Princess Diana's belongings have gone up for auction
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    The spectre of a second-string opponent is just something the All Blacks have to deal with More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Woolworths is recalling potentially plastic-infused mince, sold in its North Island stores More...



     Today's News

    Accident and Emergency:
    A 34-year-old woman's died, after a two-vehicle crash last Thursday on State Highway Two in Tauranga 13:47

    Entertainment:
    Bob Geldof has praised his late ex-wife Paula Yates for being instrumental in Live Aid 13:36

    Business:
    Woolworths is recalling potentially plastic-infused mince, sold in its North Island stores 13:27

    Rugby League:
    The odds are shortening on Des Hasler being the first NRL head coach to be punted this season 13:07

    Entertainment:
    Sir Brian May doesn't believe that his Queen bandmate Freddie Mercury has a secret daughter 13:06

    Entertainment:
    Scarlett Johansson has revealed that her twin brother Hunter was her most enthusiastic supporter at the premiere of Jurassic World Rebirth 12:36

    Law and Order:
    Police are preparing to investigate a Gore toddler's death - for a third time 12:27

    Entertainment:
    James Norton is "crazily grateful" for the "pain" of his split from Imogen Poots 12:06

    Rugby League:
    Former Kiwis captain turned pundit Richie Barnett has explained why the Warriors can still finish in the NRL's top four, despite halfback Luke Metcalf's season-ending knee injury 11:57

    Law and Order:
    Cordons are up around a home in Auckland's Ponsonby - where a person was found dead last night 11:47


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd