Sharon D. Clarke & More Performers Announced for the 2020 Olivier Awards
(Photo: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images)
Details regarding the 2020 Olivier Awards have arrived! As previously reported, they are taking place on October 25 at 6:20PM ET. Hosted by the previously announced Jason Manford, the ceremony will be broadcast on ITV and Magic Radio. Mostly pre-taped at the London Palladium, the program will feature acceptance speeches, unique performances, interviews and more.
Sharon D. Clarke, who took home her second Olivier Award last year for her performance in Caroline, Or Change, will perform and pay tribute to Don Black as he receives a special award for contribution to theater. In a career spanning six decades, Black has written lyrics for such shows as Aspects of Love and Whistle Down the Wind and for music artists including Quincy Jones, Lulu, Meat Loaf and Michel Legrand. Andrew Lloyd Webber and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall will present Black with the award.
The show will also feature performances from nominees Sam Tutty, star of Dear Evan Hansen, and Miriam-Teak Lee, star of & Juliet. Ian McKellen will be honored in for his Ian McKellen On Stage tour, which visited over 80 theaters with profits going toward different causes at each venue—from repairs to outreach programs. In addition, there will be a special feature with Sam Mendes and a few of the recipients of the Theatre Artists Fund, which he spearheaded.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic shuttering theater doors for the majority of the year, it’s been announced that the next Olivier Awards ceremony will take place in April 2022. A plan to celebrate theater in 2021 is still to be announced.
The 2020 Olivier Award nominations were announced on March 3. The show with the most nominations is & Juliet with nine. Director Trevor Nunn's revival of Fiddler on the Roof received eight nominations. Dear Evan Hansen, which won the Best Musical Tony in 2017 and transferred from Broadway, was nominated for seven awards. The most-nominated plays, with five each, are Death of a Salesman and Rosmersholm. Click here to see a full list of the 2020 Olivier Award nominees.
