Oliviers 2022

Green carpet = astroturf doesn't it?

Also, Eddie Redmayne appears to have turned up in his slippers.

I heard her say it too, and presumably she knows. I wonder if she's never been invited, or if she's just been touring, or a bit of both. 

I can imagine it would bomb tbh. Does anyone outside of London or the theatre industry even really know about them? If you're living up North somewhere and not a theatregoer you're hardly going to care who's winning best actor in a West End play.

When I was a kid up North, I was aware that there were shows in London, but only heard of the big musicals that everyone knew, I certainly didn't know anyone invested enough to watch the Oliviers. Seeing a national tour that came to your local was about as theatrical as it got.

Like of Pi was a bore. Then, so was the film.

Yes, I hate the way they edit music/dance performances on TV. The Anything Goes bit would have looked quite cool with them all moving in unison, but no, they cut to various shots as far away from the stage as possible.

What I’ve seen so far hasn’t made me want to book the shows I haven’t seen. Life of Pi left me cold, and I’ve never been into Bob Marley.

Seriously! Not a great look to give the disabled actor a less prominent spot while she makes a speech about disabled actors deserving to be given the same opportunities as non-disabled actors.

I was there in person - and Moulin Rouge, Get Up Stand Up as well as Frozen were outstanding! Some very moving speeches I thought too. Life of Pi people/supporters sat behind me and a great night for them. (Cabaret too...) I only got home around an hour ago so will probably watch the TV 'version' but I'm sad already to hear about Liz Carr. Her speech was brilliant!

Nice to see Spring Awakening reunited on there, since they had to finish their run early (and I didn’t get to see it.) Looked like it got a muted reception compared to the other performances though.

Also, it’s a bit weird that I saw the best ‘new’ musical over two years ago. Is it not technically a revival of the 2020 Manchester production? I know covid made the gap between the transfer a lot longer than it would have otherwise been, but still… it ain’t new. Just new to London, which I guess is all that matters.

The Oliviers this year, stats and other analysis and opinions:

- This season has all first time nominees in every performer category, and each also has a non-white performer nominated.

- Hiran Abeysekera is the first non-white actor since Chiwetel Ejiofor in 2008 to win Best Actor in a Play. I emphasize on race/ethnicity because the nominees in the drama categories are more often than not, white. Since Arinzé Kene was nominated for Best Actor in 2019, it has been 3 consecutive years/seasons that a non-white actor is nominated in the said category. While I would have love Ben Daniels to win his much-deserved second Olivier, I suspect he and Charles Edwards split votes, even if they are not in the same show, given they do have somewhat a similar profile as actors - that is, great character actors who bloom late on getting more plum leading roles. Hiran being the underdog/dark horse could have played on that factor.

- Most of the winners are productions which are lush, epic, at times dark, but mostly with some glimmer of hope in their themes. They may like topical plays about a pandemic performed during another pandemic or a Black actress taking on Shakespeare, they would rather reward an Austen comedy or Life of Pi. Even Cabaret is doom and gloom, but it is opulent doom and gloom, not austere.

- I just love the fact that subsidised theatres dominate the drama categories (even Life of Pi was from Sheffield before getting to the West End) given the pandemic, but it seems the audiences at the RAH aren’t really warming up to them? Aren’t subsidised productions sometimes more superior in quality than what is available at the West End? I guess that at the end of the day, awards shows are borderline narcissists and just use it for PR.

- Given that Cabaret won 7 awards out of 11 nominations, there are talks of a Broadway transfer. No show has really done sweeping all 4 acting category like this, I think? I would also count on Life of Pi’s potential Broadway chances. I hope they keep Hiran and the puppeteers for the Broadway transfer, unless the US equity intervenes.

- Macbeth aside, the Best Revival contenders are from the most contemporary works, Constellations which was from 2012, A Number dates back to 2002, and The Normal Heart was written in 1985. Constellations and The Normal Heart were both nominated for Best New Play at the Oliviers.

- The Critics Circle Theatre Awards really has ~taste~. I mean, this is the year their winners didn’t match to win the Oliviers, except for Jessie Buckley, Rebecca Frecknall, and Igor Memic who wrote Old Bridge, which won the Affiliate Award. The Circle even picked Spring Awakening over Cabaret for Best Musical!

I don't know anything about tap dancing but I thought she looked like she was struggling a bit, particularly in her solo bits.

Mind you, I thought Sutton Foster always looked like she wasn't putting much effort in so maybe it's supposed to look that way.

^ She was amazing! Singing through the whole ensemble when that's when Reno is meant to have a breather and then BELTING THAT NOTE. Fair play. Hope the Anything Goes new cast have an amazing first preview in Bristol tonight.