KINKY BOOTS, BECKHAM, Branagh, Cumberbatch Lead Olivier Awards Nominations!

The nominations for the Olivier Awards 2016 with MasterCard, the most prestigious event in the UK's theatrical calendar, were announced today (Monday 29 February) by past winners Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton at Rosewood London, the awards' official hotel partner.

The awards, which this year celebrate their 40th anniversary, will take place on Sunday 3 April at the Royal Opera House. Public tickets for the event are available from Tuesday 1 March for MasterCard cardholders at www.Priceless.com/London

The Best Actor and Best Actress categories reflect the incredible wealth of talent that has graced the West End stage in the past year. In the Best Actor category there are nominations for Kenneth Branagh, Kenneth Cranham, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adrian Lester and Mark Rylance. The nominees for Best Actress are Gemma Arterton, Denise Gough, Nicole Kidman, Janet McTeer and Lia Williams.

Dame Judi Dench earns her 15th Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role having previously won six awards and one special award, the most of any performer. Also nominated in that category are Michele Dotrice, Melody Grove and Catherine Steadman.

Chichester Festival Theatre's production of Gypsy and Kinky Boots dominate in the musical categories with eight and seven nominations respectively. Imelda Staunton receives her 11th nomination for her performance as Mama Rose with her co-stars Dan Burton and Peter Davison being nominated as Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical and Lara Pulver nominated as Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical

The nominees for MasterCard Best New Musical demonstrate the diversity shown on the London stage this year with nominees Bend It Like Beckham, In The Heights, Kinky Boots and Mrs Henderson Presents.

Shakespeare's Globe has reason to be celebrating with the transfers of their productions of Farinelli And The King and Nell Gwynn receiving 10 nominations between them. The transfer of Farinelli And The King is nominated for Virgin Atlantic Best New Play while Nell Gwynn, which transferred to the Apollo, is nominated for Best New Comedy.

English National Opera has received four nominations in the opera categories while the Royal Opera House receives three. English National Opera's production of The Force Of Destiny is nominated for Best New Opera Production as well as receiving recognition in the Outstanding Achievement in Opera category for Tamara Wilson and the English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra. In the dance categories there are nominations for the Barbican, London Coliseum, Royal Opera House and Sadler's Wells.

Voting for the Magic Radio Audience Award, the only category voted for entirely by members of the public, will close at 12:00 noon on Friday 11 March. This year there are 16 eligible long-running shows and votes can be cast via www.olivierawards.com

The star-studded Olivier Awards 2016 with MasterCard ceremony will be broadcast in the UK on ITV and Mellow Magic and on the Olivier Awards' new YouTube channel (youtube.com/OlivierAwards) worldwide outside the UK.

FULL NOMINATIONS LIST FOR THE OLIVIER AWARDS 2016 WITH MASTERCARD

Best Revival

• Hamlet at Barbican Theatre
• Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Donmar Warehouse
• Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at National Theatre, Lyttelton
• The Winter's Tale at Garrick Theatre

Best New Comedy

• A Christmas Carol at Noël Coward Theatre
• Hand To God at Vaudeville Theatre
• Nell Gwynn at Apollo Theatre
• Peter Pan Goes Wrong at Apollo Theatre

Best Costume Design

• Gregg Barnes for Kinky Boots at Adelphi Theatre
• Hugh Durrant for Nell Gwynn at Apollo Theatre
• Jonathan Fensom for Farinelli And The King at Duke of York's Theatre
• Katrina Lindsay for Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix Theatre

Blue-i Theatre Technology Award for Best Set Design

• Hildegard Bechtler for Oresteia at Almeida Theatre
• Es Devlin for Hamlet at Barbican Theatre
• Jonathan Fensom for Farinelli And The King at Duke of York's Theatre
• Anna Fleischle for Hangmen at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court & Wyndham's Theatre

White Light Award for Best Lighting Design

• Neil Austin for The Winter's Tale at Garrick Theatre
• Natasha Chivers for Oresteia at Almeida Theatre
• James Farncombe for People, Places And Things at National Theatre, Dorfman
• Mark Henderson for Gypsy at Savoy Theatre

Best Sound Design

• George Dennis for The Homecoming at Trafalgar Studios 1
• Tom Gibbons for People, Places And Things at National Theatre, Dorfman
• Christopher Shutt for The Father at Wyndham's Theatre
• Christopher Shutt for Hamlet at Barbican Theatre

Best New Opera Production

• Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci at Royal Opera House
• The Force Of Destiny at London Coliseum
• Morgen Und Abend at Royal Opera House

Outstanding Achievement in Opera

• English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra for The Force Of Destiny, Lady Macbeth Of Mtsensk and The Queen Of Spades at London Coliseum
• Felicity Palmer for The Queen Of Spades at London Coliseum
• Sir Antonio Pappano for his conducting of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, Guillaume Tell and Król Roger at Royal Opera House
• Tamara Wilson for The Force Of Destiny at London Coliseum

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Mark Gatiss for Three Days In The Country at National Theatre, Lyttelton
• Michael Pennington for The Winter's Tale at Garrick Theatre
• Tom Sturridge for American Buffalo at Wyndham's Theatre
• David Suchet for The Importance Of Being Earnest at Vaudeville Theatre

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Judi Dench for The Winter's Tale at Garrick Theatre
• Michele Dotrice for Nell Gwynn at Apollo Theatre
• Melody Grove for Farinelli And The King at Duke of York's Theatre
• Catherine Steadman for Oppenheimer at Vaudeville Theatre

Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre

• Barbarians at The Clare, Young Vic
• Phil Dunster for his role in Pink Mist at Bush Theatre
• Pat Kinevane and Fishamble for Silent at Soho Theatre
• Violence And Son at Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court

Virgin Atlantic Best New Play

• Farinelli And The King at Duke of York's Theatre
• The Father at Wyndham's Theatre
• Hangmen at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court & Wyndham's Theatre
• People, Places And Things at National Theatre, Dorfman

Best Actor

• Kenneth Branagh for The Winter's Tale at Garrick Theatre
• Kenneth Cranham for The Father at Wyndham's Theatre
• Benedict Cumberbatch for Hamlet at Barbican Theatre
• Adrian Lester for Red Velvet at Garrick Theatre
• Mark Rylance for Farinelli And The King at Duke of York's Theatre

Best Actress

• Gemma Arterton for Nell Gwynn at Apollo Theatre
• Denise Gough for People, Places And Things at National Theatre, Dorfman
• Nicole Kidman for Photograph 51 at Noël Coward Theatre
• Janet McTeer for Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Donmar Warehouse
• Lia Williams for Oresteia at Almeida Theatre

Best Entertainment and Family

• Alice's Adventures Underground at The Vaults
• Dr. Seuss's The Lorax at The Old Vic
• I Want My Hat Back at National Theatre, Temporary Theatre
• Peter Pan at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
• Showstopper! The Improvised Musical at Apollo Theatre

Best New Dance Production

• He Who Falls (Celui Qui Tombe) by Compagnie Yoann Bourgeois at the Barbican

• Romeo Et Juliette by Les Ballets de Monte Carlo at London Coliseum

• Woolf Works by Wayne McGregor at Royal Opera House

Outstanding Achievement in Dance

• Alessandra Ferri for her performances in Chéri and Woolf Works at Royal Opera House
• Javier De Frutos for his choreography of Anatomy Of A Passing Cloud at the Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
• Sasha Waltz for her choreography of Sacre at Sadler's Wells

Autograph Sound Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music

• Bend It Like Beckham - Music by Howard Goodall, Lyrics by Charles Hart and Orchestrations by Howard Goodall and Kuljit Bhamra at Phoenix Theatre
• Farinelli And The King - Claire van Kampen for Musical Arrangements, the Musicians and Iestyn Davies and the Singers who alternated the singing role of Farinelli at Duke of York's Theatre
• In The Heights - Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda at King's Cross Theatre
• Kinky Boots - Music and Lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, Music Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Stephen Oremus at Adelphi Theatre

Best Theatre Choreographer

• Carlos Acosta and Andrew Wright for Guys And Dolls at Savoy Theatre
• Drew McOnie for In The Heights at King's Cross Theatre
• Stephen Mear for Gypsy at Savoy Theatre
• Jerry Mitchell for Kinky Boots at Adelphi Theatre

Best Director

• Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh for The Winter's Tale at Garrick Theatre

• Matthew Dunster for Hangmen at Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at Royal Court & Wyndham's Theatre

• Robert Icke for Oresteia at Almeida Theatre

• Jonathan Kent for Gypsy at Savoy Theatre

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• David Bedella for In The Heights at King's Cross Theatre

• Dan Burton for Gypsy at Savoy Theatre

• Peter Davison for Gypsy at Savoy Theatre

• Gavin Spokes for Guys And Dolls at Savoy Theatre

Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical

• Preeya Kalidas for Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix Theatre

• Amy Lennox for Kinky Boots at Adelphi Theatre

• Lara Pulver for Gypsy at Savoy Theatre

• Emma Williams for Mrs Henderson Presents at Noël Coward Theatre

Best Musical Revival

• Bugsy Malone at Lyric Hammersmith

• Guys And Dolls at Savoy Theatre

• Gypsy at Savoy Theatre

• Seven Brides For Seven Brothers at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Best Actor in a Musical

• Ian Bartholomew for Mrs Henderson Presents at Noël Coward Theatre

• Killian Donnelly for Kinky Boots at Adelphi Theatre

• David Haig for Guys And Dolls at Savoy Theatre

• Matt Henry for Kinky Boots at Adelphi Theatre

• Jamie Parker for Guys And Dolls at Savoy Theatre

Best Actress in a Musical

• Tracie Bennett for Mrs Henderson Presents at Noël Coward Theatre

• Natalie Dew for Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix Theatre

• Laura Pitt-Pulford for Seven Brides For Seven Brothers at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

• Imelda Staunton for Gypsy at Savoy Theatre

• Sophie Thompson for Guys And Dolls at Savoy Theatre

MasterCard Best New Musical

• Bend It Like Beckham at Phoenix Theatre

• In the Heights at King's Cross Theatre

• Kinky Boots at Adelphi Theatre

• Mrs Henderson Presents at Noël Coward Theatre

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