My Neighbour Totoro, the new stage adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s beloved 1988 animated film, has been nominated for nine Olivier awards at next month’s ceremony.
Brought to the Barbican by the Royal Shakespeare Company and composer Joe Hisaishi, the production is nominated for categories including best entertainment or comedy play, best director (Phelim McDermott), best theatre choreographer (Basil Twist), best original score (Hisaishi and Will Stuart) and best actress (Mei Mac).
The show, praised by the Guardian for its “astonishing puppetry, magical music and huge emotional impact”, is up against the similarly lauded Standing at the Sky’s Edge, which received eight nominations – the most for a musical.
The National Theatre production, which is set in Sheffield and premiered in the city in 2019, has earned Pulp’s Richard Hawley his first Olivier nomination for best original score or new orchestrations. Other nominations include best new musical, best director, best actress and best supporting actress. A Guardian review called it “a spine-tingling and sentimental love song to the steel city”.
Meanwhile, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! has received seven nominations, including best musical revival. The show, which recently transferred to the West End after sellout runs on Broadway and at the Young Vic, has also gained acting nominations for Arthur Darvill, Anoushka Lucas, Liza Sadovy and Marisha Wallace.
With six nominations apiece are: A Streetcar Named Desire, with nods for actors Paul Mescal, Anjana Vasan and Patsy Ferran; The Band’s Visit, the musical adapted from the eponymous Israeli film; and To Kill a Mockingbird, Bartlett Sher’s staging of Harper Lee’s novel that has earned Rafe Spall, Pamela Nomvete and David Moorst acting nominations.
Jodie Comer is nominated for best actress for her West End debut in Prima Facie, which received five nominations overall, including best new play and best director. The one-woman drama, about a lawyer who specialises in defending men accused of sexual assault until she is assaulted herself, was a hit with critics last year.
Among the best actor nominees are David Tennant, for a new production of CP Taylor’s play Good, which is up for four awards including best revival, and Tom Hollander for Patriots, a new play by Peter Morgan set during the fall of the Soviet Union, which is nominated in three categories.
In the musical acting categories, Katie Brayben and Andrew Rannells are both in contention for their roles in new musical Tammy Faye, which was scored by Elton John and Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, and tells the story of the televangelist Tammy Faye Messner. Beverley Knight is nominated for her role in The Old Vic’s new suffragette musical, Sylvia, and Clive Rowe for his performance in Sister Act.
Six actors from For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy gained nominations in a single category. The original cast – Mark Akintimehin, Emmanuel Akwafo, Nnabiko Ejimofor, Darragh Hand, Aruna Jalloh and Kaine Lawrence – are all nominated for their West End debut.
The National Theatre has had a strong year, boasting 16 nominations across six of its productions – Standing at the Sky’s Edge, Blues for an Alabama Sky, The Crucible, Phaedra, The Corn Is Green and Jack Absolute Flies Again.
While some nominees – including Janet McTeer and Hugh Durrant – are no stranger to the Olivier awards, it is a big year for first-time actor nominations, with 27 people receiving their first nod. This includes Comer, Mescal, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Caroline Quentin and Sharon Small.
Claire Walker and Hannah Essex, co-CEOs of the Society of London Theatre and executive producers of the Olivier awards, said it was “incredible to see such a diverse range of people honoured for their outstanding contributions to the industry”.
They added that this year’s event, which will be hosted by Hannah Waddingham, “will be the ultimate celebration of theatre” with “show-stopping performances and an electric atmosphere in the Royal Albert Hall come Sunday 2 April”.
