Olivier Award-winning actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Spacey, Lesley Manville, Eddie Redmayne, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Ball have all received nods in the Queen’s 2015 Birthday Honours list.
Cumberbatch, who makes his London stage return this summer in Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre after sharing the 2012 Best Actor Olivier Award with his Frankenstein co-star Jonny Lee Miller, receives a CBE for services to Performing Arts and Charity.
Current Everyman star Ejiofor, who walked away with 2008’s Best Actor prize for his performance in Othello, receives the same nod for services to Drama.
Manville, who took home the 2014 Best Actress Olivier Award for her role in Ghosts, joins Oscar winner and 2010 Olivier recipient Redmayne, and two-time Olivier Award winner Ball to accept OBEs.
Manville and Redmayne are both recognised for services to Drama, while Ball, whose most recent West End role saw him take on the murderous title character in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, receives his honour for services to Musical Theatre.
Reacting to his Honour on Twitter, Ball said:
Michael Ball OBE…OMG!! I’m fit to burst with pride and gratitude. A wonderful honour. Thank you so much to those who helped make it happen
— Michael Ball OBE (@mrmichaelball) June 12, 2015
Outgoing Old Vic Artistic Director Spacey, who was given a Special Award at the Olivier Awards 2015 with MasterCard, will leave the acclaimed Waterloo venue later this year a Knight, having been awarded an honorary KBE for services to Theatre, Arts Education and International Culture.
Tweeting about his Knighthood, Spacey said:
Overwhelmed to be made an Honorary Knight. Appreciate everyone sending their good wishes & thanks to the Queen! @BritishMonarchy
— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) June 13, 2015
Another actor who’s a recognisable face when it comes to the Olivier Awards after hosting this year’s illustrious ceremony is Lenny Henry. The actor and comedian, whose London stage credits include the 2013 West End transfer of the Theatre Royal Bath’s Fences, joins Spacey in gaining a coveted Knighthood for services to Drama and Charity following his previous CBE.
Fellow comic actor Martin Clunes, whose stage credits include Julius Caesar and Much Ado About Nothing at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, also receives an OBE.
Some of the directors who have worked with this year’s acting recipients have also earned recognition on the Queen’s 2015 Birthday Honours list. Paulette Randall, who directed Henry in Fences, earns an MBE for services to Drama. Former Almeida Theatre Artistic Director Jonathan Kent, whose revival of Sweeney Todd, starring Ball, took home three Olivier Awards in 2013, earns an OBE, while Chichester Festival Theatre Artistic Director Jonathan Church, whose West End directing credits include Singin’ In The Rain, receives a CBE for services to Theatre.
Alongside a plethora of theatre names honoured on the Birthday Honours list is a handful of acclaimed dance talent. Edward Watson, whose performance in The Metamorphosis at the Linbury Studio, earned the performer the 2012 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance receives an MBE, with choreographer Mark Baldwin, whose company Rambert has received a pair of the prestigious accolades since he became Artistic Director in 2002, receiving an OBE.
As Theatreland prepares for the return of the incredible free musical theatre festival West End LIVE this weekend, the event’s founder Councillor Robert Davis is awarded an MBE for services to Planning and Local Government. Now in its 11th year, West End LIVE will take place this Saturday and Sunday in Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square.
For a full list of the Queen’s 2015 Birthday Honours, click here.
