Catch This Year’s Olivier Award-Winning Shows in London

Each spring, the biggest names in West End theatre put on their glad rags and assemble at the Royal Albert Hall for the glitzy Olivier Awards with Cunard. This year's ceremony began with the gothic extravagance of the gondola scene from musical theatre legend Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. “The boat you just saw? That’s how Andrew’s getting home,” quipped host Nick Mohammed. The awards that followed overwhelmingly honoured a very different and rather cuddlier British legend: Paddington Bear. The wonderfully whimsical musical he's inspired scooped up a whopping seven awards, including Cunard Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (for its duo of Paddingtons, singer James Hameed and fur-suited performer Arti Shah), and of course Best Costume Design for its astonishingly realistic recreation of the bear himself. Another unsurprising big winner was Jamie Lloyd's limited run, massively hyped Evita from last year, whose star Rachel Zegler won best actress in a musical. Other big winners of the 2026 Olivier Awards with Cunard included James Graham's emotive drama Punch (Best New Play), true crime thriller Kenrex (Best Actor, Best Sound Design), and the stellar Arthur Miller revival All My Sons (Best Revival).

There are still plenty of opportunities to catch the winners of this year's Olivier Awards in the West End. What's more, if you show your Official London Theatre booking email or physical ticket purchased from the Official London Theatre Ticket Booth in Leicester Square for a same-day show from now until Sunday May 10, you'll receive a free glass of fizz or drink with a qualifying purchase at a participating venue (limited to one drink per person, offers where alcohol is served are for customers aged 18+ only, and terms and conditions apply).

Here's more on the garlanded shows you should book this spring.

There's no need to find a child to bring to this hit musical (although older kids will adore it).It's full of high stakes drama, emotive themes, and hummable tunes. And if you're doubtful that a costumed performer can rival the huggability of the Ben Whishaw-voiced bear in the hit movies, fear not: audible “awws” greet the duffel coat-wearing Paddington as he shuffles onto the stage each night.
Savoy Theatre. Booking until February 2028.

Stephen Sondheim's fantastical fable won Best Musical Revival at this year's Oliviers, and it's richly deserved. Jordan Fein's production is full of wit, light and shade. Its first act is a mashup of classic fairytales, with the stories of Rapunzel, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood ingeniously twisted together into the tale of a couple's desperate quest to have a child. Then, the payoff comes in a gut punch of a second act, when these fictional characters are forced to confront the agonies of the real world.
Bridge Theatre. Booking until May 30. Then transferring to Noël Coward Theatre from September 22 – January 9 2027.

The winner of the Noël Coward Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play is a deliriously funny show, straight from Broadway, that riffs on the story of President Abraham Lincoln's rebellious wife. Doctor Who star Catherine Tate is just about to step into the title role, of a sweary, drunken, and very silly spouse who constantly torments her famous husband, and harbours dreams of stardom all of her own.
Trafalgar Theatre. Booking until July 18.

Rosamund Pike won best actress for her powerful performance as an embattled Crown Court Judge in this tense legal drama, which premiered at the National Theatre before landing a West End transfer. She's determined to root out the gendered injustice in the legal system. But she's weighed down her struggles with friendships and family in this moving, must-see exploration of the strains of working motherhood.
Wyndham's Theatre. Booking until June 20.

Created in partnership with Official London Theatre.