Olivier Awards 2025: Full list of winners
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Sian McBride
For those who couldn’t stay up late to watch the Olivier Awards because, have you ever stayed up past 10pm on a Sunday? Then don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. But boy, did you miss out on a great night of drama.
It was a year without a single runaway hit—no Harry Potter–level sweep or Cabaret–esque domination. Instead, the love was spread evenly across the board, with three productions - Fiddler on the Roof, Giant, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - each taking home three awards. And honestly? That’s a win for everyone. Theatre, like a good buffet, is best when there’s more than one dish to drool over. And with no one production hogging the limelight, it allows for a richer celebration of creativity, and a wider range of performances getting their flowers.
Speaking of flowers, Imelda Staunton’s latest win means she could probably open her own florist’s! The celebrated actor took home her fifth Olivier Award for her iconic performance in Hello, Dolly!, and just when you think she might take a break and put her feet up, she’s already lined up to return to the West End in Mrs Warren’s Profession next month - opposite her real-life daughter, Bessie Carter.
Family dramas were prominent in this year's ceremony too, with Lesley Manville winning her second Olivier Award for her performance as Odeipus’s wife (and mum), Jocasta. It was a hotly contested field, which also saw Indira Varma nominated for the same role (or be it a different production).
Unconventional families seemed to be the theme of this year's Oliviers, with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a musical based on the story of a man aging in reverse, snagging three awards, including Best New Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for John Dagleish. Meanwhile, Giant gave us John Lithgow as Roald Dahl, and now it’s given him his first Olivier Award. Romola Garai, who starred opposite Lithgow in the acclaimed production, also picked up her first win - but she had to beat herself to get it! Garai was twice nominated in the Best Supporting Role category for her performances in Giant and The Years, ultimately winning for the latter.
And let’s not forget Fiddler on the Roof, a production that proved tradition isn’t just for the shtetl. It bagged three awards, including Best Musical Revival showing that even if your show’s over 50 years old, you can still make waves with a modern audience.
So, what did we learn? Theatre is thriving. Legends are still slaying. Newcomers are getting their moment. And sometimes, the only person who can defeat Romola Garai... is Romola Garai.
Full list of Olivier 2025 winners
Best new musical
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - WINNER!
MJ the Musical
Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
Why Am I So Single?
Best set design
Jon Bausor for set design, Toby Olié and Daisy Beattie for puppetry design and Satoshi Kuriyama for projection design for Spirited Away at London Coliseum
Frankie Bradshaw for set design for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier
Es Devlin for set design for Coriolanus at National Theatre – Olivier
Tom Scutt for set design for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre – WINNER!
Best lighting design
Paule Constable and Ben Jacobs for Oliver! – WINNER!
Howard Hudson for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
Howard Hudson for Starlight Express
Aideen Malone for Fiddler on the Roof
Best new opera production Duke Bluebeard’s Castle by English National Opera at London Coliseum Festen by the Royal Opera at Royal Opera House – WINNER! L’Olimpiade by Irish National Opera and the Royal Opera at Royal Opera House The Tales of Hoffmann by the Royal Opera at Royal Opera House
Outstanding achievement in opera
Aigul Akhmetshina for her performance in Carmen at Royal Opera House
Allan Clayton for his performance in Festen at Royal Opera House – WINNER!
Jung Young-doo for his direction of Lear at the Barbican
Best family show
Brainiac Live at Marylebone theatre – WINNER!
Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas at Apollo Theatre
The Nutcracker at Polka theatre
Rough Magic at Shakespeare’s Globe – Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Best new production in affiliate theatre
Animal Farm at Theatre Royal Stratford East by George Orwell, adapted by Tatty Hennessy
Boys on the Verge of Tears by Sam Grabiner at Soho theatre – WINNER!
English by Sanaz Toossi at Kiln Theatre
Now, I See by Lanre Malaolu at Theatre Royal Stratford East
What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander at Marylebone Theatre
Best new dance production
Assembly Hall by Kidd Pivot, Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young at Sadler’s Wells – WINNER!
Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner by the National Ballet of Canada at Sadler’s Wells
Theatre of Dreams by Hofesh Shechter Company at Sadler’s Wells
An Untitled Love by A.I.M by Kyle Abraham at Sadler’s Wells
Outstanding achievement in dance
Sarah Chun for her performance in Three Short Ballets at Royal Opera House – Linbury theatre
Tom Visser for his lighting design of Angels’ Atlas as part of Frontiers: Choreographers of Canada – Pite/Kudelka/Portner at Sadler’s Wells
Eva Yerbabuena for her performance in Yerbagüena at Sadler’s Wells – WINNER!
Best actor in a supporting role
Jorge Bosch for Kyoto at @sohoplace
Tom Edden for Waiting for Godot at Theatre Royal Haymarket
Elliot Levey for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre – WINNER!
Ben Whishaw for Bluets at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre
Best actress in a supporting role
Sharon D Clarke for The Importance of Being Earnest at National Theatre – Lyttelton
Romola Garai for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre
Romola Garai for The Years at Almeida Theatre and Harold Pinter Theatre – WINNER!
Gina McKee for The Years at Almeida Theatre and Harold Pinter theatre
Best theatre choreographer
Matthew Bourne for Oliver! at Gielgud Theatre
Julia Cheng for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Hofesh Shechter for Oedipus at the Old Vic
Christopher Wheeldon for MJ the Musical at Prince Edward Theatre – WINNER!
Best costume design
Hugh Durrant for Robin Hood at the London Palladium
Sachiko Nakahara for Spirited Away at London Coliseum
Tom Scutt for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
Gabriella Slade for Starlight Express at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre – WINNER!
Best sound design
Nick Lidster for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre – WINNER!
Christopher Shutt for Oedipus at the Old Vic
Thijs van Vuure for The Years at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre
Koichi Yamamoto for Spirited Away at London Coliseum
Outstanding musical contribution
Mark Aspinall for musical supervision and additional orchestrations for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
Darren Clark for music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements and Mark Aspinall for musical direction, music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors Theatre – WINNER!
Dave Malloy for orchestrations and Nicholas Skilbeck for musical supervision for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse
Asaf Zohar for compositions and Gavin Sutherland for dance arrangements and orchestration for Ballet Shoes at National Theatre – Olivier
Best actress in a supporting role in a musical
Liv Andrusier for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
Amy Di Bartolomeo for The Devil Wears Prada at Dominion Theatre
Beverley Klein for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
Maimuna Memon for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse – WINNER!
Best actor in a supporting role in a musical
Andy Nyman for Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium
Raphael Papo for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
Layton Williams for Titanique at Criterion Theatre – WINNER!
Tom Xander for Mean Girls at Savoy Theatre
Best new entertainment or comedy play
Ballet Shoes adapted by Kendall Feaver at National Theatre – Olivier
Inside No 9 Stage/Fright by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith at Wyndham’s Theatre
Spirited Away adapted by John Caird and co-adapted by Maoko Imai at London Coliseum
Titanique by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle and Constantine Rousouli at Criterion theatre – WINNER!
Best director
Eline Arbo for The Years at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre – WINNER!
Jordan Fein for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
Nicholas Hytner for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre
Robert Icke for Oedipus at Wyndham’s theatre
Best actress
Heather Agyepong for Shifters at Duke of York’s Theatre
Lesley Manville for Oedipus at Wyndham’s theatre – WINNER!
Rosie Sheehy for Machinal at the Old Vic
Meera Syal for A Tupperware of Ashes at National Theatre – Dorfman
Indira Varma for Oedipus at the Old Vic
Best actor
Adrien Brody for The Fear of 13 at Donmar Warehouse
Billy Crudup for Harry Clarke at Ambassadors Theatre
Paapa Essiedu for Death of England: Delroy at @sohoplace
John Lithgow for Giant at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre – WINNER!
Mark Strong for Oedipus at Wyndham’s Theatre
Best revival
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde at National Theatre – Lyttelton
Machinal by Sophie Treadwell at the Old Vic
Oedipus by Robert Icke at Wyndham’s theatre – WINNER!
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett at Theatre Royal Haymarket
Best musical revival
Fiddler on the Roof, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book by Joseph Stein at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre – WINNER!
Hello, Dolly!, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart at the London Palladium
Oliver!, book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, new material and revisions by Cameron Mackintosh at Gielgud theatre
Starlight Express, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Richard Stilgoe at Troubadour Wembley Park theatre
Best actor in a musical
John Dagleish for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors theatre – WINNER!
Adam Dannheisser for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Myles Frost for MJ the Musical at Prince Edward theatre
Simon Lipkin for Oliver! at Gielgud theatre
Jamie Muscato for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse
Best actress in a musical
Chumisa Dornford-May for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at Donmar Warehouse
Lauren Drew for Titanique at Criterion theatre
Clare Foster for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Ambassadors theatre
Lara Pulver for Fiddler on the Roof at Regent’s Park Open Air theatre
Imelda Staunton for Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium – WINNER!
Best new play
The Fear of 13 by Lindsey Ferrentino at Donmar Warehouse
Giant by Mark Rosenblatt at Jerwood theatre Downstairs at Royal Court theatre – WINNER!
Kyoto by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson at @sohoplace
Shifters by Benedict Lombe at Duke of York’s theatre
The Years adapted by Eline Arbo, in an English version by Stephanie Bain at Almeida theatre and Harold Pinter theatre