The Olivier Awards with MasterCard has been praised by its nominees for the wealth of “risky” and “important” theatre being recognised at the awards.
Talking to Official London Theatre at the annual Olivier Awards Nominees Lunch, director Rupert Goold and actor Richard Goulding, who are both nominated for their work on King Charles III, applauded the judges for rewarding the cutting edge work of subsidised theatres.
Goulding said: “The Oliviers are really important to promote what we do in the theatre and I think it’s great that theatres like the Almeida and the Young Vic are being nominated. It’s real risky theatre that’s being represented and that’s fantastic.”
The actor, whose performance as Prince Harry in Mike Bartlett’s royal drama earned him a Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination, said of the play: “It really does something important, fun, entertaining, thought-provoking. It’s everything that theatre really should be.”
While Goulding admits that his initial reaction to the script wasn’t that of reading a sure-fire hit – “A play in verse about the royal family. What are Mike Bartlett and Rupert Goold thinking?” – he commended those who took the chance in bringing it to the stage: “I heap praise on the Almeida and Rupert and Mike and all the producers for taking that risk.”
King Charles III joins a wealth of new plays that enjoyed so much success at their original venues that they made the trip to the West End, yet few of the parties involved ever thought they’d end up in the heart of Theatreland.
Fellow Virgin Atlantic Best New Play nominee Taken At Midnight, which has been described by one of its stars, John Light, as “An important play”, transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket following its premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre.
Despite its three nominations, Light admits that he had no idea the piece would go on to be such a triumph: “We were joking in Chichester that there shouldn’t be an interval because people might not come back after it. I knew when I read it that it was very good and it felt like reading a classic play but I had no idea of the impact it was having with the audiences.”
Boasting arguably the most incredible journey to the West End is Best New Comedy nominee The Play That Goes Wrong, which started life at Islington’s Old Red Lion Theatre before transferring to the Trafalgar Studio 2 and, later, to its current home at the Duchess Theatre.
Jonathan Sayer, who wrote the side-splitting show alongside Henry Lewis and Henry Shields, spoke about what their Olivier Award nomination meant to the company: “It shows that if you’ve got an idea and you’re passionate, and you take some risks, you can achieve something that’s really quite special.”
To find out whether any of these risks will be rewarded with one of London theatre’s most prestigious accolades, follow us on Twitter during the prize-giving on Sunday 12 April or tune into ITV1 at 22:15 after the ceremony, when all will be revealed.
