The Royal Shakespeare Company’s hit family production Matilda The Musical leads this year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard nominations, recognised in an impressive 10 categories, the maximum number of eligible awards for a musical at this year’s awards.
Announced today at the May Fair Hotel, all four young actresses who share the role of Roald Dahl’s magical character are nominated collectively for Best Actress in A Musical.
Fellow cast member Bertie Carvel is nominated for the Best Actor in a Musical Award for his fearsome performance as Miss Trunchbull, while Paul Kaye is shortlisted for the Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical Award and Matthew Warchus is nominated in the Best Director category.
Matilda The Musical faces competition from another family-friendly musical, Shrek The Musical, to take home the Best New Musical Award. Based on the DreamWorks film about a swamp dwelling ogre, Nigel Lindsay is nominated for his role as the green unlikely hero.
Other family productions in this year’s shortlist include Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner’s Potted Potter, the team behind last year’s Olivier Award nominated Potted Panto, and David Wood’s The Tiger Who Came To Tea. Both productions are nominated in the Entertainment and Family Award category.
The most prestigious award’s ceremony in London’s Theatreland will take place at the Royal Opera House on 15 April. You can follow all the action on the day on www.olivierawrds.com, by watching live on the BBC Red Button, listening to BBC Radio 2, or attending the Covent Garden Piazza event where the public can enjoy performances from some of London favourite shows and watch all the action unfold live on a big screen relay.