This weekend’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard marked my seventh year in a row working backstage at the event, interviewing the winners as they come off stage and having the enormous privilege of being one of the first to congratulate these theatre giants – not literally, stages would have to be miles away from the audience to get the perspective right if that was the case – and pass them a glass of champagne. It may all sound terribly glamorous, but throw in a 12 hour working day beforehand, a fair few nights working late and a frantic 15 minute window to throw your dress on and grab your Dictaphone, and the picture of dishevelled disarray in heels would be fairly accurate.
This year was different. For the first year ever, new hotel partner Rosewood London allowed one of its stunning suites to be taken over by styling partners Bumble and bumble and Mac to pamper, prep and polish lucky nominees and presenters… and me.
While a slightly overtired journalist with no make-up on and a lion’s mane of fluffy hair – seriously, see the first photo above for proof – will certainly have made me the least exciting person to arrive in front of their mirrors that afternoon, each of the perfectly groomed stylists’ enthusiasm for the Olivier Awards, and desire to create a look that felt comfortable and unique to each person, would have made anyone feel like A-list royalty.
Check out the photos above to see behind the scenes at the Olivier Awards Styling Suite, as wide barrelled tongs were used to tame frizzy tresses and a combination of magically bronzing make-up, classic smokey eye shadows – that trend shows no signs of disappearing from the red carpet anytime soon, according to Mac – and surprisingly heavy false eyelashes set me up for a long evening behind the scenes at the Royal Opera House.