Frontmezzjunkies reports: Paddington, Into the Woods, Punch, and more take top honours as London’s theatre season finds its defining moment

By Ross

It always begins with a list, but it never really ends there.

Taking in the Olivier Awards winners this evening as I feverishly write about Broadway openings, it feels like a continuation of something brewing on the back burner for months. When the nominations were announced, I wrote about a season shaped by scale, spectacle, and a remarkable range of voices. What becomes clear now, with the winners revealed, is how much of that energy has carried through to the finish line, and how many of those stories continue to resonate well beyond a single night of recognition.

At the centre of the evening was Paddington: The Musical, a production that has quietly and steadily built momentum throughout the season, ultimately taking home Best New Musical. It is a win that speaks to the appetite for work that balances warmth, craft, and a sense of theatrical possibility. Alongside it, Into the Woods claimed Best Musical Revival, reaffirming the enduring strength of Sondheim’s work when placed in the right hands.

In the play categories, Punch emerged as Best New Play, continuing a run that has already captured attention across multiple stages. All My Sons took Best Revival, a production that has clearly struck a chord with both critics and audiences alike. These are works that do not simply rest on reputation. They demand engagement, and are rewarded for it.

For me, what makes this list particularly exciting is how many of these productions I’ve been able to experience firsthand. Seeing Into the Woods and All My Sons in London gave me a sense of how deeply rooted this season was in performance and craft. Experiencing Punch earlier this year at Manhattan Theatre Club reinforced just how powerful that storytelling can be, even across different audiences and spaces. And Kenrex, which took home Best Actor for Jack Holden, is already on my mind again as it prepares to begin its Off-Broadway run in New York this month. It is the kind of work that stays with you, and seeing it recognized here only deepens that anticipation.

The acting categories reflect that same strength. Rosamund Pike’s win for Inter Alia is one I’m particularly eager to follow up on, knowing that another trip to London is already taking shape around moments like that. Rachel Zegler’s recognition for Evita, a production sure to cross the ocean to Broadway next season (so it won’t compete with SLW’s Cats: The Jellicle Ball), continues her remarkable trajectory, while the supporting categories highlight a depth of performance that has defined this season from top to bottom.

And then there are the surprises, or perhaps the confirmations, depending on how closely you’ve been watching. Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! taking home Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play feels like a natural extension of the response it generated Off-Broadway. I was lucky enough to see it in that earlier run, and its voice continues to carry, now firmly embedded in the broader conversation.

What stands out most, looking at this full list, is not a single dominant narrative, but the range of work being recognized. From intimate new writing to large-scale revivals, from experimental pieces to crowd-pleasing musicals, this season has refused to settle into one identity. It has instead reflected a theatre culture that is willing to stretch, to experiment, and to trust audiences to meet it there.

There are still shows I haven’t seen, of course. Paddington: The Musical now sits firmly at the top of my should-see list, and given the number of awards it has collected, it feels less like a question of if it will travel further, and more like when. Just like Jamie Lloyd’s version of Evita. That sense of movement, of work continuing beyond its original run, is part of what makes this moment feel so thrilling and alive.

When I wrote about the nominations, I was looking at a field of possibilities. Now, with the winners announced, that possibility hasn’t narrowed. It has sharpened. These productions, these performances, these stories have found recognition, but they have also found momentum. And that is what stays with me. Not just who won, but the feeling of a season that continues to unfold, stretching across cities and stages, carrying its energy forward. The list may mark a moment, but the work itself keeps moving, waiting for the next room, the next audience, the next chance to land.

Below is the full list of winners from this year’s Olivier Awards, a snapshot of a season that continues to resonate well beyond the ceremony itself:

Full Winners List:

Best New Musical

• Here We Are
• Shucked
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
• Paddington: The Musical – Winner

Best Musical Revival

• American Psycho
• Evita
• Into the Woods – Winner
• The Producers

Best New Play

• 1536
• Inter Alia
• Kenrex
• Punch – Winner

Best Revival

• All My Sons – Winner
• Arcadia
• Much Ado About Nothing
• The Seagull

Noël Coward Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play

• The Comedy About Spies
• Every Brilliant Thing
• Paranormal Activity
• Oh, Mary! – Winner

Best Actress

• Cate Blanchett – The Seagull
• Marianne Jean-Baptiste – All My Sons
• Julia McDermott – Weather Girl
• Rosamund Pike – Inter Alia – Winner
• Rosie Sheehy – Guess How Much I Love You?

Best Actor

• Bryan Cranston – All My Sons
• Sean Hayes – Good Night, Oscar
• Tom Hiddleston – Much Ado About Nothing
• Jack Holden – Kenrex – Winner
• David Shields – Punch

Best Actor in a Musical

• Marc Antolin – The Producers
• James Hameed & Arti Shah – Paddington: The Musical – Winner
• Andy Nyman – The Producers
• Jamie Parker – Into the Woods
• Diego Andres Rodriguez – Evita

Best Actress in a Musical

• Katie Brayben – Into the Woods
• Danielle Fiamanya & Georgina Onuorah – Brigadoon
• Jane Krakowski – Here We Are
• Rachel Zegler – Evita – Winner
• Jenna Russell – The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Isis Hainsworth – Arcadia
• Julie Hesmondhalgh – Punch – Winner
• Lucy Karczewski – Stereophonic
• Hayley Squires – All My Sons
• Sophie Thompson – When We Are Married

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Hammed Animashaun – Dealer’s Choice
• Paapa Essiedu – All My Sons – Winner
• Zachary Hart – The Seagull
• Zachary Hart – Stereophonic
• Giles Terera – Oh, Mary!

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• Trevor Ashley – The Producers
• Corbin Bleu – The Great Gatsby
• Tom Edden – Paddington: The Musical – Winner
• Jo Foster – Into the Woods
• Oliver Savile – Into the Woods

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• Tracie Bennett – Here We Are
• Amy Booth-Steel – Paddington: The Musical
• Kate Fleetwood – Into the Woods
• Victoria Hamilton-Barritt – Paddington: The Musical – Winner
• Georgina Onuorah – Shucked

Best Director

• Jordan Fein – Into the Woods
• Luke Sheppard – Paddington: The Musical – Winner
• Ed Stambollouian – Kenrex
• Lyndsey Turner – 1536
• Ivo van Hove – All My Sons

Best Theatre Choreographer

• Fabian Aloise – Evita – Winner
• Ellen Kane – Paddington: The Musical
• Drew McOnie – Brigadoon
• Lynne Page – American Psycho

Best Costume Design

• Enver Chakartash – Stereophonic
• Linda Cho – The Great Gatsby
• Gabriella Slade & Tahra Zafar – Paddington: The Musical – Winner
• Tom Scutt – Into the Woods

Best Set Design

• Paul Tate dePoo III – The Great Gatsby
• Tom Pye & Ash J Woodward – Paddington: The Musical – Winner
• Tom Scutt – Into the Woods
• David Zinn – Stereophonic

Best Lighting Design

• Robbie Butler – Punch
• Jon Clark – Evita
• Aideen Malone & Roland Horvath – Into the Woods – Winner
• Joshua Pharo – Kenrex

Best Sound Design

• Adam Fisher – Into the Woods
• Gareth Owen – Paddington: The Musical
• Giles Thomas – Kenrex – Winner
• Ryan Rumery – Stereophonic

Outstanding Musical Contribution

• Matt Brind – Paddington: The Musical
• Will Butler & Justin Craig – Stereophonic
• Chris Fenwick & Sean Hayes – Good Night, Oscar – Winner
• John Patrick Elliott – Kenrex

Best Family Show

• The Boy at the Back of the Class – Winner
• The Boy With Wings
• The Firework-Maker’s Daughter
• The Three Little Pigs

Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre

• Ben and Imo
• The Glass Menagerie – Winner
• The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs
• Miss Myrtle’s Garden
• The Shitheads

Best New Dance Production

• Into the Hairy – Winner
• Mimi’s Shebeen
• Random Taranto
• She’s Auspicious

Best New Opera Production

• Dead Man Walking – Winner
• The Makropulos Case
• Tosca
• Die Walküre

Special Awards

• Special Award: Elaine Paige
• Outstanding Contribution to Dance: Wayne McGregor
• Outstanding Contribution to Opera: Danielle de Niese
• Industry Recognition Award: Betty Laine, Linda Tolhurst, David Wood