BritBox to Stream 2024 Olivier Awards with Hannah Waddingham

Awards season may have ended for film, but for live theater and television, the season is hitting the main event, as those disciplines still function on seasons that begin in the summer and end in the spring. While the Emmys will wait until the fall to hand out statues, late spring means it's time for the Tonys in the U.S. and the TV BAFTAs and Olivier Awards across the pond. The former will be held in May, and BritBox has previously confirmed that it will be broadcasting those live, the same way it did for the Film BAFTAs earlier in 2024. As for the 2024 Laurence Olivier Awards, those take place this coming weekend, on Sunday, April 14, 2024, and BritBox will be carrying them live as well for U.S. viewers with everyone's favorite, Hannah Waddingham, as host.

Like the Tonys, which are perennially not that big of an audience draw outside your hardcore theater nerds, the Olivier Awards don't seem to be an awards show that would be drawing that large of a demand. However, this year's crop of nominees is about as a-list a lineup as it gets, both for Anglophiles and the causal American lookie-loo. David Tennant, for example, is nominated in the Best Actor category, which means there will almost certainly be at least a bit of Doctor Who shenanigans (and maybe some Good Omens ones). We also have the Battle of the Hot Priests as Grantchester's OG Hot Priest, James Norton, goes up against Nu-Hot Priest Andrew Scott.

For those looking for a preview of the upcoming TV miniseries Dear England, the stage play of the same name on which it's based is tied for second overall with nine nominations, so fans will get an idea of what it's about, especially if it sweeps the drama awards. Meanwhile, in musicals, Operation Mincemeat has been remade with song and dance and landed eight nominations, but its chances of taking down the Sunset Boulevard revival juggernaut, with 11 nods overall, are slim.

Here's the full list of nominations for Sunday's broadcast:

Here's the full list of Sunday's nominees.

Best New Play

• Dear England by James Graham at the National Theatre
• The Hills of California by Jez Butterworth at the Harold Pinter Theatre
• The Motive & the Cue by Jack Thorne at the National Theatre
• Till the Stars Come Down by Beth Steel at the National Theatre

Noël Coward Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play

• Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo & Franca Rame, adapted by Tom Basden at the Lyric Hammersmith & Theatre Royal Haymarket
• Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim at the Gielgud Theatre
• Stranger Things: The First Shadow by Kate Trefry at the Phoenix Theatre
• Vardy vs Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial adapted by Liv Hennessy at the Ambassadors Theatre

Best Revival

• The Effect by Lucy Prebble at the National Theatre
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare at the Donmar Warehouse
• Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell at the Duke of York’s Theatre
• Vanya by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Simon Stephens at the Duke of York’s Theatre

Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director

• Stephen Daldry & Justin Martin for Stranger Things: The First Shadow
• Rupert Goold for Dear England
• Jamie Lloyd for Sunset Boulevard
• Sam Mendes for The Motive & the Cue

Best Actor

• Joseph Fiennes for Dear England
• Mark Gatiss for The Motive & the Cue
• James Norton for A Little Life
• Andrew Scott for Vanya
• David Tennant for Macbeth

Best Actress

• Laura Donnelly for The Hills of California
• Sophie Okonedo for Medea
• Sarah Jessica Parker for Plaza Suite
• Sheridan Smith for Shirley Valentine
• Sarah Snook for The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Will Close for Dear England
• Paul Hilton for An Enemy of the People
• Giles Terera for Clyde’s
• Luke Thompson for A Little Life
• Zubin Varla for A Little Life 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Lorraine Ashbourne for Till the Stars Come Down
• Priyanga Burford for An Enemy of the People
• Haydn Gwynne for When Winston Went to War With the Wireless
• Gina McKee for Dear England 
• Tanya Reynolds for A Mirror

Best New Musical

• The Little Big Things music by Nick Butcher, lyrics by Nick Butcher & Tom Ling, book by Joe White at @sohoplace
• Next to Normal music by Tom Kitt, book & lyrics by Brian Yorkey at the Donmar Warehouse
• Operation Mincemeat music, lyrics & book by David Cumming, Felix Hagan, Natasha Hodgson & Zoë Roberts at the Fortune Theatre
• A Strange Loop music, lyrics & book by Michael R Jackson at the Barbican Theatre

Best Musical Revival

• Groundhog Day music & lyrics by Tim Minchin, book by Danny Rubin at The Old Vic
• Guys & Dolls music & lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling & Abe Burrows at the Bridge Theatre
• Hadestown music, lyrics & book by Anaïs Mitchell at the Lyric Theatre
• Sunset Boulevard music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics & book by Don Black & Christopher Hampton at the Savoy Theatre

Best Actor in a Musical

• David Cumming for Operation Mincemeat
• Tom Francis for Sunset Boulevard
• Daniel Mays for Guys & Dolls
• Charlie Stemp for Crazy for You

Best Actress in a Musical

• Natasha Hodgson for Operation Mincemeat
• Caissie Levy for Next to Normal
• Nicole Scherzinger for Sunset Boulevard
• Marisha Wallace for Guys & Dolls

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• Jak Malone for Operation Mincemeat
• Cedric Neal for Guys & Dolls
• David Thaxton for Sunset Boulevard
• Jack Wolfe for Next to Normal 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• Grace Hodgett Young for Sunset Boulevard
• Zoë Roberts for Operation Mincemeat
• Amy Trigg for The Little Big Things
• Eleanor Worthington-Cox for Next to Normal

Best New Opera Production

• Blue by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum
• Innocence by the Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House
• Picture a Day Like This by the Royal Opera at the Royal Opera House
• The Rhinegold by the English National Opera at the London Coliseum

Outstanding Achievement in Opera

• Antonio Pappano for his role as Musical Director of the Royal Opera House
• Belarus Free Theatre Company for King Stakh’s Wild Hunt at the Barbican Theatre
• Marina Abramović for her concept & design of 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at the London Coliseum

Best New Dance Production

• Broken Chord by Gregory Maqoma & Thuthuka Sibisi at Sadler’s Wells
• The Rite of Spring by Seeta Patel at Sadler’s Wells
• La Ruta by Gabriela Carrizo at Sadler’s Wells
• Time Spell by Michelle Dorrance, Jillian Meyers & Tiler Peck at Sadler’s Wells

Outstanding Achievement in Dance

• Isabela Coracy for her performance in NINA: By Whatever Means at the Barbican Theatre
• Jonzi D for his artistic direction of Breakin’ Convention 2023 International Festival of Hip-Hop Dance Theatre at Sadler’s Wells
• Rhiannon Faith for her community-focused conception of Lay Down Your Burdens at The Pit at Barbican

Best Family Show

• Bluey’s Big Play by Joe Brumm at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall
• Dinosaur World Live by Derek Bond at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
• The House With Chicken Legs book by Sophie Anderson, adapted by Oliver Lansley at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
• The Smeds & the Smoos book by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler, adapted by Tall Stories at the Lyric Theatre

Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre

• Blue Mist by Mohamed-Zain Dada at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court Theatre
• A Playlist for The Revolution by AJ Yi at the Bush Theatre
• Sleepova by Matilda Feyişayo at the Bush Theatre
• The Swell by Isley Lynn at the Orange Tree Theatre
• The Time Machine: A Comedy by Steven Canny & John Nicholson at the Park Theatre

Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer

• Fabian Aloise for Sunset Boulevard
• Ellen Kane & Hannes Langolf for Dear England
• Arlene Phillips with James Cousins for Guys & Dolls
• Mark Smith for The Little Big Things
• Susan Stroman for Crazy for You

Outstanding Musical Contribution

• Tom Brady for musical supervision & arrangements, Charlie Rosen for orchestrations for Guys & Dolls
• Matt Brind for musical supervision, arrangements & orchestrations for Just for One Day
• Steve Sidwell for orchestrations, Joe Bunker for musical direction for Operation Mincemeat
• Alan Williams for musical supervision & musical direction for Sunset Boulevard

Best Sound Design

• Paul Arditti for Stranger Things: The First Shadow
• Dan Balfour & Tom Gibbons for Dear England
• Adam Fisher for Sunset Boulevard
• Gareth Fry for Macbeth

Best Costume Design

• Bunny Christie & Deborah Andrews for Guys & Dolls
• Ryan Dawson Laight for La Cage Aux Folles
• Hugh Durrant for Peter Pan
• Marg Horwell for The Picture of Dorian Gray

Best Set Design

• Miriam Buether for set design, 59 Productions for video design for Stranger Things: The First Shadow
• Bunny Christie for Guys & Dolls
• Es Devlin for set design, Ash J Woodward for video design for Dear England
• Soutra Gilmour for set design, Nathan Amzi & Joe Ransom for video design for Sunset Boulevard

Best Lighting Design

• Jon Clark for Dear England
• Jon Clark for Stranger Things: The First Shadow
• Paule Constable for Guys & Dolls
• Jack Knowles for Sunset Boulevard

The 2024 Laurence Olivier Awards will be livestreamed on BritBox on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at 8 p.m. BT, 3 p.m. ET, 12 noon PT.