2026 Olivier Awards Nominations Announced—Paddington The Musical and Into the Woods Lead With 11 Nods Each

London’s biggest theater honors will be hosted by Nick Mohammad on April 12, highlighting Broadway crossovers including Much Ado About Nothing, Every Brilliant Thing and Oh, Mary!

News

by Sophia Rubino • Mar 5, 2026

Paddington Bear in "Paddington The Musical"
(Photo: Johan Persson)

What to Know

2026 Olivier Awards nominations were announced March 5 with Paddington The Musical and Bridge Theatre’s Into the Woods leading the field with 11 nominations each, including Best New Musical and Best Musical Revival, respectively
Broadway was heavily represented among this year’s nominees, with shows like Punch, Every Brilliant Thing, Oh, Mary! and the newly announced Much Ado About Nothing recognized; stars including Cate Blanchett, Bryan Cranston, Sean Hayes, Rachel Zegler, Jane Krakowski and Tom Hiddleston earned acting nominations
Winners of the 2026 Olivier Awards will be revealed April 12, hosted by Nick Mohammed, with the ceremony broadcast on BBC Two and streaming on iPlayer

The nominations for the 2026 Olivier Awards have been announced, recognizing artists and productions for performances in Britain’s West End. Many friends of Broadway such as Rachel Zegler, Cate Blanchett and Tom Hiddleston received acting nominations. The annual awards will take place on April 12 at the Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Ted Lasso actor Nick Mohammed. The event will be broadcast on BBC Two and stream via iPlayer.

Paddington The Musical and Into the Woods were each nominated for Best New Musical and Best Musical Revival, respectively. Here We Are, Shucked and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry also garnered nominations for Best New Musical, while The Producers and American Psycho nabbed Best Musical Revival nominations.

Familiar Broadway faces receiving acting nominations include Cate Blanchett, Bryan Cranston, Sean Hayes, Tom Hiddleston, Jamie Parker, Diego Andres Rodriguez, Katie Brayben, Jane Krakowski, Jenna Russell, Rachel Zegler, Tracie Bennett and Corbin Bleu. Bleu was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for playing Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby at London Coliseum, a role he will reprise on Broadway beginning March 30.

James Graham's Punch, recently seen on Broadway, was nominated for Best New Play, and Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play nominees Every Brilliant Thing and Cole Escola's Oh, Mary! are currently running. You can catch Best New Play nominee Kenrex at off-Broadway's Lucille Lortel Theatre starting April 15, and Jamie Lloyd’s Much Ado About Nothing on Broadway this fall.

The recent revival of All My Sons, Kenrex and Stereophonic each received six nominations, leading the play category. Last year’s awards celebrated Broadway transferred plays Giant (winner, Best New Play), The Fear of 13 (nominee, Best New Play) and Titanique (winner, Best Entertainment or Comedy Play).

Read the full list of nominations for 2026 on the Olivier Awards website.