Show goes on for Olivier Awards, even with UK theaters shut

Posted October 25, 2020 7:00 am

By JILL LAWLESS

LONDON (AP) - Andrew Scott and Ian McKellen were among acting winners as Britain's Laurence Olivier Awards celebrated the best of the London stage in bittersweet fashion Sunday night - most U.K. theaters remain closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Stage curtains came down when Britain went into lockdown in March, and the virus also scuttled the planned springtime ceremony for Britain's leading awards for theater, opera and dance. Instead the trophies were bestowed during a pre-recorded event streamed online and shown on British TV.

'œFleabag'ť star Scott was named best actor in a play for his turn as a narcissistic actor in Noel Coward's 'œPresent Laughter.'ť Sharon D. Clarke won the best actress prize for her performance as an American matriarch in Arthur Miller's 'œDeath of a Salesman.'ť Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell won directing award for the same production, which featured Black actors in the central roles of the struggling Loman family.

McKellen won a special Olivier - his seventh - for his one-man 80th birthday tour of the U.K., staged before the pandemic as a fundraiser for regional theaters. Choreographer Matthew Bourne won a record ninth Olivier, alongside collaborator Stephen Mears, for his fleet-footed work on 'œMary Poppins.'ť

Tom Stoppard's 'œLeopoldstadt," which addresses history and the Holocaust through the story of a Viennese Jewish family, was named best new play. The best musical trophy went to 'œDear Evan Hansen.'ť

Director Jamie Lloyd's production of 'œCyrano de Bergerac,'ť starring James McAvoy, was named best revival of a play, while a Trevor Nunn-directed production of 'œFiddler on the Roof'ť took the prize for best musical revival.

Britain lifted its full lockdown in June but remains under strict limits on social mixing as it tries to curb a new wave of coronavirus infections. A handful of theaters have reopened to reduced, socially distanced audiences, but many are still shut and relying on emergency funding from the government to stay afloat.

Olivier organizers say the next awards ceremony will likely not be until 2022, because so little work has been staged this year.

Prince Charles' wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, presented lyricist Don Black with a special Olivier Award for a six-decade career that includes lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals such as 'œSunset Boulevard'ť and 'œStarlight Express'ť and James Bond themes including 'œThunderball'ť and 'œDiamonds Are Forever.'ť

Camilla, who recorded her contribution at London's Palladium theater Tuesday, said Black's 'œwonderful lyrics have become part of the fabric of our lives.'ť

The duchess urged those working in theater to 'œplease remain resilient -- we need you and we have missed you.'ť

FILE - In this Oct. 30, 2019, file photo, actor Sir Ian McKellen poses for photographers at a photocall for the film "The Good Liar"at a central London hotel. McKellen and Andrew Scott were among acting winners as Britain's Laurence Olivier Awards celebrated the best of the London stage in bittersweet fashion Sunday night, Oct. 25, 2020 - most U.K. theaters remain closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.(Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File) The Associated Press

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