The announcement of this year’s Olivier winners will be broadcast on ITV this Sunday, the 25th October at 10.20pm. In lieu of a live ceremony the programme, mostly pre-filmed at The London Palladium, will celebrate the winners and nominees as well as honouring some very special figures who have made significant contributions to the industry over the past 18 months.
Sunday evening is hosted by Jason Manford and viewers can tune into the Official London Theatre YouTube from 9.30pm for the start of the evening’s proceedings and then move to ITV at 10.20pm. Viewers outside of the UK will be able to watch the entire programme on the Official London YouTube channel.
Listeners will be able to also enjoy a highlights show on Magic Radio from 8pm until 10pm on Monday 26th October, with extended coverage across the week on digital radio station Magic at the Musicals.
Sharon D. Clarke will be performing and paying tribute to Don Black as he receives the Olivier Special Award for contribution to theatre. In a career spanning six decades, Black has written lyrics for theatre productions including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love and Whistle Down the Wind, and for music artists including Quincy Jones, Lulu, Meat Loaf and Michel Legrand.
Don Black will be presented his award by Lord Lloyd Webber and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. The Duchess will be making a poignant speech about the importance of live theatre.
Ian McKellen will be honoured in his 80th year for his Ian McKellen On Stage tour which visited over 80 theatres, with profits going towards different causes at each theatre, from repairs to outreach programmes and talent development.
The show will also feature performances from nominees Sam Tutty, star of Dear Evan Hansen, and Miriam-Teak Lee, star of & Juliet.
Julian Bird said, “This is not how we had originally planned to celebrate this year’s outstanding Olivier nominees, but like so many others we have adapted to these challenging times. I am thrilled that we have been able to safely pull together this programme that will hopefully engage and inspire audiences at home whilst reminding them of the talent and vibrancy within our theatre industry.
In response to the pandemic, we have set up the Theatre Artists Fund spearheaded by Sam Mendes to help the many talented freelancers in our industry who are in financial hardship. As part of the broadcasts there will be a special feature with Sam and some of the recipients of the grant.”