Sweeney Todd star Imelda Staunton has won the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as the title character’s pie-making sidekick Mrs Lovett in Jonathan Kent’s hit revival.
The actress, who has spent the last two years hosting the prestigious ceremony, was nominated alongside her fellow presenter and Sweeney Todd co-star Michael Ball at this year’s Olivier Awards with MasterCard, with the musical as a whole gaining recognition in the Best Musical Revival category.
For Staunton, the win marks the third Olivier Award of her career, having previously won for performances in Into The Woods, and A Chorus Of Disapproval and The Corn Is Green. Well known for her on screen roles in the Harry Potter films and BBC period drama Cranford, the actress’ other recent stage outings include Entertaining Mr Sloane at the Trafalgar Studios, and There Came A Gypsy Riding and A Delicate Balance at the Almeida theatre.
When the musical opened at the Adelphi theatre last year following a successful run at Chichester Festival Theatre, Staunton was described by the Evening Standard’s Henry Hitchings as “winningly funny and deeply irreverent as the cook whose inedible pies, previously a mix of grease and grit, are now furnished with new ingredients”, while Charles Spencer of The Telegraph said that it was “impossible to praise too highly Imelda Staunton’s performance”.
Staunton spoke to us backstage after collecting the award and admitted to learning the role a year and a half before they started rehearsals, saying: “I listened to Angela Lansbury for about two years. For me, it’s like doing Shakespeare to music because it’s very complicated and terribly rewarding, and now to get a prize!”
The British actress fought off stiff competition from The Bodyguard’s leading lady Heather Headley, Top Hat star Summer Strallen and Kiss Me, Kate’s Hannah Waddingham to take home the award.
