Oliviers 2018: ‘Hamilton’ Dominates With Record-Breaking Nominations

In news that will come as a surprise to precisely zero theatre fans, ‘Hamilton’ has set a new record for the Olivier Awards, becoming the most nominated show in its 43 years.

The rap musical, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, centres around a reimagined version of the life of US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.

Following its monster success on Broadway, a West End production opened to rave reviews at the tail end of last year, and it’s now received an impressive 13 nominations at the Oliviers.

The 'Hamilton' West End cast

This breaks a record previously held by ‘Hairspray’ and ‘Harry Potter And The Cursed Child’, which both received 11 Olivier nominations when they first opened in London.

Among the 13 ‘Hamilton’ nominations are nods for Best Actor In A Musical for leading men Jamael Westman and Giles Terera, Best Director for Thomas Kail and, of course, Best New Musical, alongside ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’, ‘An American In Paris’ and ‘Girl From The North Country’.

Of the four nominees for Best Supporting Actor In A Musical, three of them are from the ‘Hamilton’ cast, with Cleve September, Jason Pennycooke and Michael Jibson going up against Ross Noble from ‘Young Frankenstein’.

The Olivier nominations were revealed in a Facebook livestream by Alexandra Burke and Elaine Paige on Tuesday (6 March). Check them out in full below…

Best New Play

‘Network’

‘The Ferryman’

‘Ink’

‘Oslo’

 

Best Actor

Andrew Garfield (‘Angels In America’)

Bryan Cranston (‘Network’)

Andrew Scott (‘Hamlet’)

Paddy Considine (‘The Ferryman, The Ferryman’)

 

Best Actress

Lesley Manville (‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’)

Imelda Staunton (‘Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?’)

Audra McDonald (‘Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar & Grill’)

Laura Donnelly (‘The Ferryman, The Ferryman’)

 

Best Supporting Actress

Imogen Poots (‘Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?’)

Bríd Brennan (‘The Ferryman’)

Denise Gough (‘Angels In America’)

Dearbhla Molloy (‘The Ferryman’) 

'Angels In America' has also had its share of nominations

Best Supporting Actor

Peter Polycarpou (‘Oslo’)

John Hodgkinson (‘The Ferryman’)

James McArdle (‘Angels In America’)

Bertie Carvel (‘Ink, Ink’)

 

Best New Comedy

‘The Miser’

‘Labour Of Love’

‘Dry Powder’

‘Mischief Movie Night’

 

Best New Musical

‘Hamilton’

‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’

‘Girl From The North Country’

‘An American In Paris’

 

Best Actor In A Musical

Giles Terera (‘Hamilton’)

John McCrea (‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’)

Jamael Westman (‘Hamilton’)

Ciarán Hinds (‘Girl From The North Country’) 

Everybody's talking about 'Hamilton'... but it's been an amazing year for 'Jamie' too

Best Actress In A Musical

Imelda Staunton (‘Follies’)

Janie Dee (‘Follies’)

Josie Walker (‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’)

Shirley Henderson (‘Girl From The North Country’)

 

Best Supporting Actor In A Musical

Michael Jibson (‘Hamilton’)

Ross Noble (‘Young Frankenstein’)

Jason Pennycooke (‘Hamilton’)

Cleve September (‘Hamilton’)

 

Best Supporting Actress In A Musical

Sheila Atim (‘Girl From The North Country’)

Tracie Bennett (‘Follies’)

Rachel John (‘Hamilton’)

Lesley Joseph (‘Young Frankenstein’)

 

Best Director

Rupert Goold (‘Ink’)

Marianne Elliott (‘Angels In America’)

Dominic Cooke (‘Follies’)

Thomas Kail (‘Hamilton’)

Sam Mendes (‘The Ferryman’)

 

Revival

‘Angels In America’

‘Witness For The Prosecution’

‘Hamlet’

 

Musical Revival

‘On The Town’

‘42nd Street’

‘Follies’

 

New Dance Production

‘Grand Finale’

‘Tree Of Codes’

 

Set Design

Vicki Mortimer (‘Follies’)

Rob Howell (‘The Ferryman’)

Bunny Christie (‘Ink’)

 

Theatre Choreographer

Kate Prince (‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’)

Randy Skinner (‘42nd Street’)

Christopher Wheeldon (‘An American In Paris’)

Andy Blankenbuehler (‘Hamilton’)

Bill Deamer (‘Follies’)

 

Costume Design

Vicki Mortimer (‘Follies’)

Roger Kirk (‘42nd Street’)

Paul Tazewell (‘Hamilton’)

Hugh Durrant (‘Dick Whittington’)

 

New Opera Production

‘La Bohème’

‘The Exterminating Angel’

‘Semiramide’

 

Entertainment And Family

‘Gangsta Granny’

‘Five Guys Named Moe’

‘Dick Whittington’

This year’s Olivier Awards will be held on 8 April.