Paddington Bear has had quite a week in Britain. On Sunday the beloved marmalade-eating bear dominated the Olivier Awards at London's Royal Albert Hall winning seven prizes including best new musical. By Monday his statue in Southampton city centre had its bench smashed by vandals overnight leaving locals both proud and frustrated in equal measure.
The West End production Paddington The Musical collected the biggest haul of the night at the Oliviers which marked their 50th anniversary this year. The show picked up best new musical along with awards for best director, costume design and set design. The two performers who bring Paddington to life on stage at the Savoy Theatre shared the best actor in a musical prize between them. James Hameed operates the voice and remote puppetry while Arti Shah physically embodies the bear in each performance. The pair described their work as a kind of guardianship saying they often read each other's minds on stage.
