West End musical Cabaret proved to be the hot ticket at the Olivier Awards as the show scooped seven gongs, including plaudits for stars Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley.
The revival of the hit show, which transformed the West End’s Playhouse Theatre into the Kit Kat Club, picked up seven of the 11 prizes it was nominated for.
It was named best musical revival while Redmayne won best actor in a musical for his portrayal of Emcee, the flamboyant master of ceremonies, and Buckley won best actress in a musical for her turn as Sally Bowles.
Liza Sadovy won best supporting actress in a musical for her role in the show while Elliot Levey won best supporting actor in a musical.
Rebecca Frecknall was named best director for her helming of the production, which also won the best sound gong.
Life Of Pi, based on Yann Martel’s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name, picked up five prizes at the ceremony, including best new play.
Star Hiran Abeysekera was named best actor while the seven actors who play the Tiger shared the best supporting actor prize.
Abeysekera told PA in the winners’ room that taking on the role was initially “quite a scary proposition” as the book is so beloved, but said they knew they had “something special” after their first dress run.
While Fred David, one of the seven actors of the Tiger, said during their acceptance speech that this award was “phenomenal” and a “landmark moment in puppetry across the board”.
He added: “Hopefully, it opens the door for more puppets in central roles in theatre in the future.”
Sheila Atim was named best actress for Constellations, which was named best revival, while Back To The Future won the best new musical prize.
Liz Carr won the best supporting actress prize for her role in A Normal Heart while Pride And Prejudice (Sort Of) was named best entertainment or comedy play.
The prizes were handed out in a star-studded ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall.
