Jodie Comer and Paul Mescal have been nominated for this year’s Olivier Awards, which honor the best of London’s theater. Comer is nominated for best actress for her highly praised solo performance Prima Facie.
Mescal has been nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance in A Streetcar Named Desire, in addition to his recent Oscar nomination.
My Neighbor Totoro, a stage version of the 1988 animated feature, has the most nominations overall with nine.
The version of the Studio Ghibli classic performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company got five-star reviews last year.
My Neighbor Totoro is closely followed by Standing at the Sky’s Edge, a musical about three generations living in a Sheffield apartment, which just transferred from the Sheffield Crucible to the National Theatre.
It has eight nominations, including one for rock singer Richard Hawley for best original score.
Prima Facie is a one-woman performance about Tessa, a lawyer who specializes in defending individuals accused of sexual assault.
Nevertheless, after being raped by a coworker, she begins to question the legal system as she becomes the plaintiff in her own trial.
Reviewers hailed the Liverpool-born actress’s West End debut performance as “phenomenal.”
Meanwhile, Mescal was acclaimed for his “heart-stoppingly hazardous” performance as Stanley Kowalski in the revival of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams at the Almeida theater.
The Irish actor faces heavy opposition from David Tennant, Tom Hollander, Rafe Spall, and Giles Terera for the prize for best actor.
Mescal will soon learn if he has received a comparable award at the Oscars in Hollywood for the film Aftersun.
Other acting nominees for the Olivier Awards are Beverley Knight, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Nicola Walker, and Caroline Quentin.
Executive producers Claire Walker and Hannah Essex remarked,
“It’s great to see such a wide variety of individuals recognized for their contributions to the business.”
The ceremony, named for the great English actor Sir Laurence Olivier, will take place at the Royal Albert Hall in London on April 2.
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