Paddington The Musical up for 11 Olivier Awards

Paddington The Musical has received 11 Olivier Award nominations, tied with Into The Woods.

American film star Rachel Zegler has been nominated for best actress in a musical for her West End debut in the lead role in Evita at The London Palladium.

The nominations were announced on Thursday ahead of the awards in April, which this year celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Hollywood stars Cate Blanchett and Rosamund Pike are both up for best actress, with Marianne-Jean Baptiste, Julia McDermott and Rosie Sheehy also nominated.

In the running for best actor are Bryan Cranston, Sean Hayes, Tom Hiddleston, Jack Holden and David Shields.

The most nominated plays are All My Sons, Kenrex and Stereophonic, with six each.

Paddington The Musical, which stars a life-like puppet Paddington Bear, was written by McFly’s Tom Fletcher and has received rave reviews since opening in December.

Its nominations include best new musical, best actor in a musical for both James Hameed and Arti Shah – who jointly perform the role of the bear – two nominations for best actress in a supporting role in a musical (Amy Booth-Steel and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt), the Sir Peter Hall award for best director (Luke Sheppard), and best set design.

It is up against Into The Woods – currently running at London’s Bridge Theatre – in many categories, including best actor in a musical (Jamie Parker), two nominations for best actor in a supporting role in a musical (Jo Foster and Oliver Saville), and the Sir Peter Hall Award for best director (Jordan Fein).

Blanchett has received a nod for her role in The Seagull at the Barbican Theatre, while Pike’s is for Inter Alia at the National Theatre, and Sheehy is nominated for Guess How Much I Love You, her second in a row following her nomination for last year’s Machinal.

Hiddleston is up for best actor for Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, while Cranston receives a nod for All My Sons, which is playing at Wyndham’s Theatre.

Hayes is nominated for best actor for Good Night, Oscar, along with outstanding musical contribution for his live piano performance of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue.

Nominees also include Paapa Essiedu, who will star in the upcoming Harry Potter series remake, for best actor in a supporting role for All My Sons, and Tracie Bennett for best actress in a supporting role in a musical for Here We Are – her seventh nomination over the years.

The other productions up for best new musical are Here We Are, the National Theatre’s staging of Stephen Sondheim’s last work; Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s summer production of Broadway hit Shucked; and The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry, the Chichester Festival Theatre transfer currently playing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

All My Sons has also received nods for best revival, best actress for Jean-Baptiste, best actress in a supporting role (Hayley Squires), and the Sir Peter Hall Award for best director(Ivo van Hove).

Among its six nominations, Kenrex is up for best new play, best actor (Jack Holden), the Sir Peter Hall Award For Best Director (Ed Stambollouian), and outstanding musical contribution (John Patrick Elliott for composition).

And Broadway transfer Stereophonic receives a nod for best actress in a supporting role for Lucy Karczewski, and best actor in a supporting role for Zachary Hart (who is double-nominated in the same category for both Stereophonic and The Seagull), among others.

An Olivier Awards spokesman said: “In what has been another outstanding year on London’s stages, bold new writing has sat alongside revelatory revivals, large-scale spectacle and intimate studio work, reflecting the breadth and vitality of the UK’s world-leading theatre industry.

“International stars and homegrown talent alike have lit up our stages, while creatives have pushed boundaries with remarkable imagination and skill.”

The Olivier Awards 2026 will be broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer with highlights on BBC Radio 2 on April 12.