Lenny Henry to Host the 2015 Olivier Awards

On the heels of the 2015 Olivier Awards nominations announcement, the Daily Mail writes that Lenny Henry will host the ceremony at the Royal Opera House on Sunday, April 12.

Henry, who will appear in EDUCATING RITA at Chichester this summer, is best known for his work as a stand-up comic and presenter and founder of the charity Comic Relief. He has also appeared on the London stage in Shakespeare's OTHELLO, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS and more.

Memphis The Musical and Beautiful - The Carole King Musical lead this year's nominations list with nine and eight, respectively. Both productions are also nominated for the Outstanding Achievement in Music Award, alongside first-time Olivier Award nominees Fatboy Slim and David Byrne for Here Lies Love and Ray Davies for Sunny Afternoon. The Donmar Warehouse's City Of Angels also receives five nominations, including Best Director for Artistic Director Josie Rourke.

In the Best Actor category Mark Strong and Richard Armitage both receive nominations for roles in Arthur Miller plays A View From The Bridge and The Crucible, competing with previous Olivier Award nominees James McAvoy and Tim Pigott-Smith. Best Actress nominations have been given to Gillian Anderson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Imelda Stauntonand Penelope Wilton.

The Young Vic will have cause to celebrate with 11 nominations in total, the most for any individual venue, including two Best Revival nominations for A View From The Bridge and A Streetcar Named Desire. All of the contenders for Virgin Atlantic Best New Play, King Charles III, The Nether, Taken At Midnight, and Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, originated in subsidised venues.

Nominees for the Magic Radio Best Musical Revival include Cats, City Of Angels, Miss Saigon and The Gershwins' Porgy And Bess, with notable performance nods to Nicole Scherzinger for her first major theatrical role in Cats andJon Jon Briones for his role as the Engineer in Miss Saigon.

The Best New Comedy category will see three very different productions, The Play That Goes Wrong, Handbagged and Shakespeare In Love, all vying for the award.

The shortlist for the much coveted This Morning Audience Award, the only Olivier Award voted for by the public, is comprised of Billy Elliot The Musical, Matilda The Musical, Jersey Boys and Wicked.

Photo by Richard Young/Rex/Rex USA.