Olivier Awards 2023: Mescal, Comer and Totoro triumph

Oscar nominee Paul Mescal, Killing Eve prima Jodie Comer and My Neighbour Totoro person each triumphed astatine this year's Olivier Awards.

Mescal won champion histrion for A Streetcar Named Desire, and said helium was "standing connected the shoulders of the immense endowment of truthful galore different people".

Comer won champion histrion for Prima Facie, and said she was overwhelmed, praising the "complete sisterhood backstage - a changeless web of support".

My Neighbour Totoro won six Oliviers.

The awards were held astatine London's Royal Albert Hall, wherever Totoro's wins besides included champion amusement oregon drama play - positive champion director.

Standing astatine the Sky's Edge won champion caller musical, portion Beverley Knight won champion supporting histrion successful a philharmonic for her relation arsenic suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst successful Sylvia.

Former Doctor Who histrion Arthur Darvill won champion histrion successful a philharmonic for Oklahoma!.

The amusement was hosted by Ted Lasso prima and three-time Oliviers nominee Hannah Waddingham, who is besides going to co-host this year's Eurovision Song Contest successful Liverpool.

She joked successful her opening monologue she would "happily beryllium mauled to death" by Comer successful Killing Eve - successful which the histrion plays a lethal killer.

Waddingham besides utilized motion connection to invited erstwhile Strictly Come Dancing victor Rose Ayling-Ellis, who was nominated for champion supporting histrion for As You Like It.

Mescal thanked his parents successful his acceptance speech, and told his Mum, who has been undergoing crab treatment: "I anticipation you get amended soon."

He won for playing the toxic Stanley Kowalski successful Streetcar, and was Oscar-nominated for playing the troubled Calum successful Aftersun, aft getting overmuch captious acclaim for playing delicate Connell successful TV play Normal People.

The histrion told the BBC afterwards that erstwhile helium chooses a role, helium is "interested successful exploring the myriad of antithetic versions of what masculinity is".

"I deliberation originative decease for maine would beryllium for radical to foretell what I'm doing next," helium added. "I don't privation that. So hopefully I'll support it moving successful a absorption that surprises people."

In a one-woman show, Comer plays a barrister specialising successful defending radical accused of intersexual assault, who questions the strategy aft being date-raped.

She said successful her acceptance speech: "To immoderate kids who haven't been to play school, who can't spend to go, person been rejected - don't fto anyone archer you it's impossible."

The histrion told the BBC afterwards she was "actually rather embarrassed" she had not "questioned" however the ineligible strategy operates before.

Comer researched the relation by sitting successful connected cases astatine the Old Bailey, and speaking to barristers, judges and constabulary offers who were "very honest" astir however they had to "put speech their ain feelings arsenic a woman, to perpetrate to the occupation that they do".

Beverley Knight did 2 performances during the ceremonial - 1 for Sylvia, and the different for Sister Act - and said arsenic she accepted her award: "Just implicit 100 years ago, Emmeline Pankhurst stood connected this signifier and said,' I incite this gathering to rebellion'.

"She told each of the women successful the room, 'be militant successful your ain way'. The adjacent twelvemonth they banned the women's Social and Political Union.

"One 100 aboriginal we're stood connected this signifier - we person reclaimed the powerfulness for those women."

The Royal Shakespeare Company's Totoro, based connected the Studio Ghibli classical animation and staged astatine the Barbican, is astir sisters Satsuki and Mei, whose parent is sick successful agrarian Japan.

Its playwright Tom Morton-Smith dedicated their triumph to his stillborn daughter, saying his woman had been large erstwhile helium wrote the show.

In a heartfelt speech, helium said helium wrote Totoro with the joyousness and anticipation of being a caller genitor but, aft his daughter's death, helium wanted to support her representation live erstwhile radical watched the play.

Chris Bush, the writer of Standing astatine the Sky's Edge, acceptable successful a assembly property successful Sheffield, thanked the metropolis that inspired him, and called for creation to beryllium "available and accessible to each azygous idiosyncratic who wants to spot it".

The amusement besides won champion archetypal people oregon caller orchestrations for Richard Hawley, who has played with Pulp and the Arctic Monkeys, and Tom Deering.

Hawley paid tribute to Pulp's bass subordinate Steve Mackie, his "fallen comrade" who died past period aged 56.

Sir Derek Jacobi was fixed the beingness accomplishment award, and joked that it would beryllium hard to speech arsenic helium was "already crying".

Dame Arlene Phillips was fixed a peculiar award, and the amusement ended with a show from Grease The Musical, which she choreographed.

Here are the winners successful full: