Olivier Awards: Seven things we learned at the ceremony

It was a nighttime of precocious play astatine the Olivier Awards, with plentifulness of tearful speeches, but the stars were each smiles arsenic they arrived - not slightest due to the fact that the prima was shining.

My Neighbour Totoro, the stunning signifier adaptation of the 1988 Studio Ghibli film, dominated the night.

Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer each won their acting categories, portion determination was occurrence for the musicals Standing astatine the Sky's Edge and Oklahoma!.

But speech from the large wins determination was truthful overmuch other going connected - present are 7 things we learned.

Ted Lasso prima Waddingham started her acting vocation successful philharmonic theatre, and it showed.

She opened this year's ceremonial with the awards' archetypal ever archetypal philharmonic number, written by Pippa Cleary, who wrote The Great British Bake Off Musical.

Waddingham wholly held her ain connected stage, singing with performers from different shows.

She besides managed to marque the assemblage laugh, comfort a weeping winner and laughter astatine herself erstwhile she fluffed a line, blowing a raspberry successful frustration.

"Godammit, I wanted to get done the full thing," she said. "Can we spell back? Oh that's annoyed maine now, unreal it didn't hap - archetypal clip presenting!"

Knight looked astonishing erstwhile she arrived successful head-to-toe achromatic latex adorned with golden snakes - she adjacent had idiosyncratic carrying the backmost of her dress, truthful it didn't resistance connected the grassy, sustainable greenish carpet.

She sang doubly during the ceremony, for suffragette philharmonic Sylvia - which won her an Olivier - and besides for Sister Act, astir a vocalist who goes into witnesser extortion by pretending to beryllium a nun.

That's a batch of costume changes - however did she negociate it? With precision timing.

"I virtually americium similar John Cleese successful the movie Clockwise [a movie astir an obsessively punctual headmaster], infinitesimal by minute, successful wigs, and successful and retired of costumes," she said.

It's a bully occupation Cleese's headmaster stuck to wearing suits successful the movie - if he'd had to alteration from achromatic latex into a nun's habit, he'd decidedly person been late.

Last year's champion supporting histrion victor Liz Carr was successful a stunning outfit and, if you look closely, you'll spot her pinkish bolero apical is adorned with words.

It turns retired that Carr thinks she whitethorn person won successful 2022 due to the fact that she delivered a almighty monologue by her character, Dr Emma Brookner, successful The Normal Heart.

So the Silent Witness prima decided that, this year, she'd deterioration the speech, which was "very beloved to my heart".

Carr added however excited she was for her upcoming relation successful the 2nd bid of BBC Two's Good Omens. The programme volition besides diagnostic Sir Derek Jacobi, who was astatine the Oliviers for his beingness accomplishment award.

Carr is besides going to look successful the 3rd play of Netflix's bid The Witcher, and said: "I'm getting smaller roles, but successful bigger things, since I won past twelvemonth - but nary theatre work. I'm hopeless to tread the boards again."

Casting directors, instrumentality note.

Hey Duggee, the hugely fashionable CBeebies show, successfully transferred to the signifier and won the Olivier for champion household show.

Matthew Xia and Vikki Stone, who adapted the TV amusement astir Duggee - the person of The Squirrel Club - for unrecorded performances, told america it was a "category that tin often get a spot mislaid successful the mix".

"Children's theatre is truly important, it's wherever formative opinions are made, and we consciousness truly passionate astir it," they said.

Xia described it arsenic a "mosh pit down astatine the beforehand of the South Bank Centre, with loads of two-year-olds raving similar their lives depended connected it".

Stone added she wanted to marque definite we "didn't skimp" connected the music.

"It's banging - it's genuinely the benignant of strategy you'd enactment into a monolithic concert," she says. "So the parents, who were astir apt partying successful the 90s and aboriginal 2000s, tin get a consciousness of that - but with their under-fives - each astatine harmless levels."

If you're missing your raving days since having children, this mightiness perchance assistance span the gap. Maybe.

The signifier and surface actor, who won a champion histrion Olivier successful 2015 for A View From a Bridge, spoke to america astir wherefore helium thinks the Oliviers are truthful special.

They're for radical who person "earned their spurs doing thing incredibly difficult", Strong says. "Real endowment is required".

"I deliberation signifier is the yardstick you measurement yourself against, and if you tin transportation a play implicit the people of an evening - beginning, mediate and an extremity and moving assemblage - past I deliberation that's incredibly important.

"I deliberation I've been much moved successful unrecorded theatre than I've ever been successful a movie theatre," helium adds.

Darvill, who won champion histrion successful a musical, for Oklahoma!, said helium thought the revival of the amusement had been truthful fashionable due to the fact that "it's astir what radical bash for love, and however they travel unneurotic to make a community".

But what astir playwright David Hare saying precocious that "musicals person go the leylandii of theatre, strangling everything successful their path"? Andrew Lloyd Webber surely disagreed with him.

"Well, I don't privation to accidental excessively much," says Darvill, but helium does add: "I uncertainty he's seen our amusement due to the fact that I don't deliberation musicals are strangling theatre. I deliberation there's country for everything.

"There should beryllium much plays connected successful the West End, but I don't deliberation it's due to the fact that specifically our amusement is taking the spot of one."

"It's specified a fantastic household to beryllium portion of, I conscionable emotion seeing however it changes and evolves. I'm excited for Ncuti, due to the fact that I deliberation he's going to person specified a large time," helium says.

"You go portion of thing that volition beryllium with you for the remainder of your life. And that's truly special."

"I emotion British theatre," says the award-winning Matilda composer and lyricist Tim Minchin, adding that helium thinks it has a "very antithetic vibe from crossed the pond".

Given he's sung astatine erstwhile Royal Variety Performances, is helium going to beryllium progressive successful the upcoming coronation for King Charles?

"I'm not definite you'd get me," helium laughs, but past tells america helium did look successful a 2017 spoof Hamlet sketch celebrating Shakespeare, with nary different than Prince Charles, arsenic helium was past known.

"Look it up," helium says, and truthful we do, lone to observe it besides featured Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Judi Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch, David Tennant, Paapa Essiedu, Harriet Walter and Rory Kinnear.

"Yeah, it was a beauteous star-studded sketch," helium recalls with a grin. Having watched it, we tin spot wherefore it made him smile.