LONDON—The Society of London Theatre has announced the nominees for the 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards. Due to the strength of the productions this year, three categories have been extended to include six nominations each. The Royal Court received the most nominations this year, including multiple ones for their productions of Enron—a co-production with Headlong and Chichester Festival Theatre—and Jerusalem, which gained six nominations each. The Court’s quota was pushed up to 15 with two nominations for The Priory and one for Mike Bartlett’s Cock. The Donmar Warehouse’s strong year, both at its home venue and at the Wyndham’s theatre, was also recognised, with 10 nominations spread across five different productions, while the National Theatre received nine nominations across six productions.

Commercial productions were also recognised, with A View From The Bridge (four nominations) and The Misanthrope (three nominations) among the leading contenders.

Among the headline-grabbing performers in the running for the play awards are Gillian Anderson, Rachel Weisz, James Earl Jones, Jude Law, Mark Rylance, Samuel West, Kiera Knightley and Mackenzie Crook.

Spring Awakening leads the musical categories with six nominations, closely followed by A Little Night Music (five), Sister Act (four) and Hello, Dolly! (four). Among the nominations for performances in new musicals, which include Rowan Atkinson, Sheila Hancock and Maureen Lipman, former Spice Girl Melanie Chisolm is recognised in the Best Actress in a Musical category for her take over in long-running musical Blood Brothers.

The new Laurence Olivier Audience Award will be chosen from a shortlist of five long-running productions. Theatregoers voting at Official London Theatre during January selected Wicked, The Phantom Of The Opera, We Will Rock You, War Horse and Billy Elliot The Musical as their favourite five long-running shows. Voting is now open again for theatregoers to choose their winner.

Commenting on the nominations for the 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards, Society of London Theatre President Nica Burns said: “In an outstanding year for drama, a whole new generation of playwrights step into the spotlight. Eight wonderful new plays—challenging, stimulating and inspiring—include two women in their 20s. Mirroring this, the voting for the best acting awards was so close that the nominations had to be increased, with some of the most exciting young acting talent around taking their place alongside some our most acclaimed screen stars. What a memorable year!”

The winners of the 2010 Laurence Olivier Awards will be announced at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel on 21 March.

Full list of nominees:

BEST ACTRESS
Gillian Anderson for A Doll’s House at the Donmar Warehouse
Lorraine Burroughs for The Mountaintop at Trafalgar Studio 1
Imelda Staunton for Entertaining Mr Sloane at Trafalgar Studio 1
Juliet Stevenson for Duet For One at the Almeida theatre and Vaudeville theatre
Rachel Weisz for A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST ACTOR
James Earl Jones for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof at the Novello theatre
Jude Law for Hamlet, Donmar at Wyndham’s theatre
James McAvoy for Three Days Of Rain at the Apollo theatre
Mark Rylance for Jerusalem at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre
Ken Stott for A View From The Bridge at the Duke of York’s theatre
Samuel West for Enron at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Hayley Atwell for A View From The Bridge at the Duke of York’s theatre
Michelle Dockery for Burnt By The Sun at the National Theatre, Lyttelton
Alexandra Gilbreath for Twelfth Night at the Duke of York’s theatre
Keira Knightley for The Misanthrope at the Comedy theatre
Rachael Stirling for The Priory at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court
Ruth Wilson for A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mackenzie Crook for Jerusalem at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre
Rory Kinnear for Burnt By The Sun at the National Theatre, Lyttelton
Tim Pigott-Smith for Enron at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre
Eddie Redmayne for Red at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST NEW PLAY
Enron by Lucy Prebble at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre
Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre
The Mountaintop by Katori Hall at Trafalgar Studio 1
Red by John Logan at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST NEW COMEDY
Calendar Girls by Tim Firth at the Noël Coward theatre
England People Very Nice by Richard Bean at the National Theatre, Olivier
Parlour Song by Jez Butterworth at the Almeida theatre
The Priory by Michael Wynne at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL
Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, book by Herbert and Dorothy Fields, at the Young Vic
Hello Dolly! book by Michael Stewart, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, based on the play ‘The Matchmaker’ by Thornton Wilder, at the Open Air theatre
A Little Night Music music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, suggested by a film by Ingmar Bergman, originally produced and directed on Broadway by Harold Prince, at the Garrick theatre
Lionel Bart’s Oliver! based on the original production by Sam Mendes, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

BEST NEW MUSICAL
Dreamboats And Petticoats book by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, at the Savoy theatre
Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, based on the Latent Image/Specific Films motion picture distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., at the Palace theatre
Spring Awakening music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater, based on the play by Frank Wedekind, at the Novello theatre
Sister Act music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner, at the London Palladium

BEST ENTERTAINMENT
Arturo Brachetti: Change written and directed by Sean Foley, original concept by Serge Denoncourt, based on the repertoire of Arturo Brachetti, at the Garrick theatre
Derren Brown: Enigma written by Derren Brown and Andy Nyman, at the Adelphi theatre
Morecambe by Tim Whitnall, at the Duchess theatre

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT
Melanie C for Blood Brothers at the Phoenix theatre
Patina Miller for Sister Act at the London Palladium
Samantha Spiro for Hello Dolly! at the Open Air theatre
Hannah Waddingham for A Little Night Music at the Garrick theatre
Charlotte Wakefield for Spring Awakening at the Novello theatre

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT
Rowan Atkinson for Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Aneurin Barnard for Spring Awakening at the Novello theatre
Bob Golding for Morecambe at the Duchess theatre
Alexander Hanson for A Little Night Music at the Garrick theatre
Tony Sheldon for Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical at the Palace theatre

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A MUSICAL OR ENTERTAINMENT
Sheila Hancock for Sister Act at the London Palladium
Maureen Lipman for A Little Night Music at the Garrick theatre
Kelly Price for A Little Night Music at the Garrick theatre
Iwan Rheon for Spring Awakening at the Novello theatre

BEST DIRECTOR
Rupert Goold for Enron at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre
Michael Grandage for Hamlet, Donmar at Wyndham’s theatre
Lindsay Posner for A View From The Bridge at the Duke of York’s theatre
Ian Rickson for Jerusalem at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre
Bijan Sheibani for Our Class at the National Theatre, Cottesloe

BEST REVIVAL
Arcadia directed by David Leveaux at the Duke of York’s theatre
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof directed by Debbie Allen at the Novello theatre
The Misanthrope directed by Thea Sharrock at the Comedy theatre
A Streetcar Named Desire directed by Rob Ashford at the Donmar Warehouse
A View From The Bridge directed by Lindsay Posner at the Duke of York’s theatre
Three Days Of Rain directed by Jamie Lloyd at the Apollo theatre

BEST THEATRE CHOREOGRAPHER
Matthew Bourne for Oliver! at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Bill T Jones for Spring Awakening at the Novello theatre
Anthony Van Laast for Sister Act at the London Palladium
Stephen Mear for Hello Dolly! at the Open Air theatre

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Burnt By The Sun designed by Mark Henderson at the National Theatre, Lyttelton
Enron designed by Mark Henderson the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre
Spring Awakening designed by Kevin Adams at the Novello theatre
Three Days Of Rain designed by Jon Clark at the Apollo theatre

BEST SET DESIGN
England People Very Nice designed by Mark Thompson with animation by Pete Bishop at the National Theatre, Olivier
Enron designed by Anthony Ward at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Noël Coward theatre
Jerusalem designed by Ultz at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre
Red designed by Christopher Oram at the Donmar Warehouse

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Hello Dolly! designed by Peter McKintosh at the Open Air theatre
Madame De Sade designed by Christopher Oram, Donmar at Wyndham’s theatre
The Misanthrope designed by Amy Roberts at the Comedy theatre
Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert- The Musical designed by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner at the Palace theatre

BEST SOUND DESIGN
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour designed by Christopher Shutt at the National Theatre, Olivier
Jerusalem designed by Ian Dickinson for Autograph at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court and now at the Apollo theatre
Mother Courage And Her Children designed by Andrew Bruce and Nick Lidster for Autograph at the National Theatre, Olivier
Spring Awakening designed by Brian Ronan at the Novello theatre

THE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR MOST POPULAR SHOW
Billy Elliot The Musical music by Elton John, books and lyrics by Lee Hall at the Victoria Palace
The Phantom Of The Opera music and book by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, book and additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe at His Majesty’s theatre
War Horse based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, adapted by Nick Stafford at the New London theatre
We Will Rock You based on the songs of Queen, by Ben Elton in collaboration with Brian May and Roger Taylor at the Dominion theatre
Wicked music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman at the Apollo Victoria theatre

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN AN AFFILIATE THEATRE
Soho Theatre/ Tiata Fahodzi for Iya Ile (The First Wife)
The Tricycle Theatre for The Great Game
The Royal Court for Cock at the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

BEST NEW OPERA PRODUCTION
The Royal Opera’s Der Fliegende Holländer at the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera’s Lulu at the Royal Opera House
English National Opera’s Peter Grimes at the London Coliseum
The Royal Opera’s Tristan Und Isolde at the Royal Opera House

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN OPERA
Anja Kampe for her performance in the Royal Opera’s Der Fliegende Holländer at the Royal Opera House
Stuart Skelton for his performance in English National Opera’s Peter Grimes at the London Coliseum
Nina Steme for her performance in the Royal Opera’s Tristan Und Isolde at the Royal Opera House
Michael Volle for his performances in the Royal Opera’s Lulu and Tristan And Isolde at the Royal Opera House

BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION
Russell Maliphant’s Afterlight at Sadler’s Wells
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s E=Mc² at Sadler’s Wells
The Brandstrup – Rojo project’s Goldberg at the Royal Opera House
Rambert Dance Company’s A Linha Curva at Sadler’s Wells
Fabulous Beast Dance’s The Rite Of Spring at the London Coliseum

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