Jude Law, Kim Cattrall, and Rupert Friend among the Celebrities out in force at the Laurence Olivier
22 March, 2010
by: Spoonfed Theatre Team
Adding fuel to the debate over the presence of film and TV stars in Broadway and the West End, the Laurence Olivier Award stocks up on celebs including Rosmund Pike, Kim Cattrall and Duncan James in the presenting bill.
The celebrity-infused Laurence Olivier Awards ceremony took place last night at Grosvenor House Hotel with one or two surprises thrown in to what must feel like Groundhog day for the likes of Rachel Weisz, Mark Rylance and Mark Goold.
Weisz came away with Best Actress for A Street Car Named Desire at Donmar Warehouse: no shocker there. Similar story for Rylance who won Best Actor for Jerusalem and Mark Goold was winner of the Best Director award for Enron presented to him by Kim Cartrall and Simon Paisley Day stars of Private Lives. Heavyweight nominees who missed out were Jude Law and James McAvoy, both nominated for Best Actor in Hamlet and Three Days of Rain respectively.
Keira Knightley was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress in The Misanthrope but that went to Ruth Wilson for her part in A Streetcar Named Desire. And everyone nodded and clapped in agreement when Dame Maggie Smith was awarded the Society of London Theatre Award.
The most unexpected triumph of the evening came from the winner of Best Play: The Mountaintop by Katori Hall. Despite being pitted against Jerusalem and Enron, Hall's portrait of the last night of the life of Martin Luther King has made her the first black woman to win the award.
The celebrity force at the Olivier Awards will be the subject of debate as to whether it's a welcome boost to the rising profile of performing arts or a knock to its calibre. It's undoubtedly got people talking and here are our pick of the tweets:
alphadawg7 in London-Where the heck were the noms for Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart for Waiting for Godot? That experience was EPIC!
sjc_home4tea for the love of god, if you're going to give Maggie Smith an award at least let us have a glimpse of her lovely son.
eleanorturney Maggie Smith last night, looking at her statuette: "Larry still looks cross... he didn't always look like that"! Brill.
princesspinkete How come Spring Awakening won so many #Oliviers? Didn't it close early? Is that not a sign that it's not the best new musical?
Weez Not sure whether to be amused or disgusted by morons who think that good musicals can't close early (i.e. Spring Awakening).
Photo Credit: Tristram Kenton
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