Olivier Awards: Company, Come From Away and The Inheritance among the big winners

A gender-swapping revival of Company, a musical about 9/11 and a seven-hour play about gay men in New York were the biggest winners at the Olivier Awards.

Each of the shows took away four prizes at the ceremony, which celebrates the best of UK theatre and West End shows.

Company, which retells Stephen Sondheim’s musical about a 30-something playing the field through the lead character of a woman, Bobbie, rather than a man, picked up the awards for best supporting actor and actress, best musical revival and best set design.

Come From Away, which tells the story of the Canadian town of Gander, where thousands of aeroplane passengers were diverted in the aftermath of 9/11, was named best new musical, and also won the awards for outstanding achievement in music, choreography and sound design.

Director Marianne Elliott said the show’s success was partly down to “a wind of change blowing in the industry, where celebrating female stories is not only possible, but absolutely vital”.

The Inheritance, which deals with the impact of the AIDS epidemic, was named best new play, as well as winning the awards for best actor and director, and lighting design.

Writer Matthew Lopez said after the ceremony that the play marked the end of a long journey from fear to acceptance over his sexuality.

“I grew up in the 1990s in the panhandle of Florida which is very religiously conservative area,” he said. “I grew up in the midst of the AIDS epidemic.

“I was seven when I first understood what was going on in the world. I grew up equating being gay with dying.

“It took years to accept who I was and claim my place in the world. This play feels like a culmination of that very long journey.”

Kyle Soller, who was named best actor for his role in the play, beating competition from veteran British actors Sir Ian McKellen and David Suchet, said he felt the show was “doing so much more than theatre”.

“I’ve never worked on a job where I felt like I was working on something so much grander than myself,” he said.

“It’s like I’m doing a service, to be representing a community with so much hurt, and so much pain.”

Choreographer Matthew Bourne won this year’s special award, meaning he equals Dame Judi Dench for the most Oliviers won – eight.

Other winners included Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who was named best actor in a musical for his portrayal of Ike Turner in Tina, the Tina Turner musical.

Summer And Smoke picked up two prizes, with the play’s star Patsy Ferran beating competition from the likes of Gillian Anderson to be named best actress.

Sharon D Clarke, for her performance as the maid to a family in the American south in the 1960s in Caroline, Or Change, was named best actress in a musical.

The Duchess of Cornwall was among the attendees at the event, which took place at the Royal Albert Hall and was hosted by comedian Jason Manford.

She got a shout out from Danny Dyer, who presented an award, saying: “Shout out to the duchess up there. No Charlie tonight I see. I’ll pop up and see you later.”

(c) Sky News 2019: Olivier Awards: Company, Come From Away and The Inheritance among the big winners