The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon has walked away with the coveted MasterCard Best New Musical prize at the Olivier Awards 2015 with MasterCard.
The British-born hit saw off competition in a highly contested category that included Broadway imports Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, Here Lies Love and Memphis The Musical.
Talking to Official London Theatre backstage at the awards, the show’s West End producer Sonia Friedman said: “We’re a bit stunned. It’s a long evening and through the course of the night you work out all the different odds and ramifications of not winning. And then you hear your name and just think ‘Jesus, we did it’. It’s so rewarding when you do something that you know is giving the audience a brilliant night out.”
Featuring a book by previous Olivier Award winner Joe Penhall, Sunny Afternoon charts the euphoric highs and agonising lows of The Kinks against the backdrop of a Britain caught between the conservative 50s and swinging 60s featuring many of the iconic rock band’s greatest hits.
The critically acclaimed show, which has been described as a “Joyous production” with a “First-rate” cast by The Guardian, opened at the Hampstead Theatre in May 2014 before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre, where it currently resides, in October the same year.
Sunny Afternoon stars John Dagleish and George Maguire as Ray and Dave Davies alongside Ned Derrington and Adam Sopp as their fellow band members, and sees songs including Lola, Waterloo Sunset and You Really Got Me brought to life on stage by the quartet of musicians.
At the annual Nominees Lunch last month, Maguire spoke about how he hoped that both the Olivier Awards judges and audiences could see that the connection between the musical’s performers and characters was “Something genuine to watch and enjoyable for everyone”.
Those judges and audiences no doubt agreed, as not only has the musical taken home one of tonight’s most prestigious awards, but it has also extended its West End run three times. The show is currently booking until 24 October.
