Jodie Comer won the award for Best Actress for Prima Facie at the Olivier Awards. Reuters
Jodie Comer won the award for Best Actress for Prima Facie at the Olivier Awards. Reuters
Jodie Comer won the award for Best Actress for Prima Facie at the Olivier Awards. Reuters
Jodie Comer won the award for Best Actress for Prima Facie at the Olivier Awards. Reuters

Olivier Awards 2023: My Neighbour Totoro, Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer triumph


Razmig Bedirian
  • English
  • Arabic

The stage adaptation of the 1998 Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro, Academy Award-nominated actor Paul Mescal and Killing Eve actress Jodie Comer were among the big winners at the 2023 Olivier Awards.

The Laurence Olivier Awards, known as the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise the best in the UK capital’s theatre scene. This year's ceremony took place at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday.

From left: Jessica Hung Han Yun, winner of Best Lighting Design for My Neighbor Totoro, and Es Devlin and Tony Gayle, winners of the Best Sound Design award for My Neighbour Totoro. Getty Images
From left: Jessica Hung Han Yun, winner of Best Lighting Design for My Neighbor Totoro, and Es Devlin and Tony Gayle, winners of the Best Sound Design award for My Neighbour Totoro. Getty Images

My Neighbour Totoro, a Royal Shakespeare Company's adaptation shown at the Barbican Theatre, picked up six awards — the Noel Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Design, Best Set Design and Best Lighting Design. The play’s director, Phelim McDermott, also won the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director.

Mescal won the Best Actor award for A Streetcar Named Desire, a production at Almeida Theatre. The actor, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in Aftersun, beat Tom Hollander for Patriots, Rafe Spall for To Kill a Mockingbird, David Tennant for Good and Giles Terera for Blues for An Alabama Sky.

Comer won the best actress award for Prima Facie at the Harold Pinter Theatre. She was competing for the prize against Patsy Ferran for A Streetcar Named Desire, Mei Mac for My Neighbour Totoro, Janet McTeer for Phaedra, and Nicola Walker for The Corn is Green.

Prima Facie also won the award for Best New Play. Hey Duggee: The Live Theatre Show at Royal Festival Hall won the award for Best Family Show. Matt Cole won the Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on Newsies.

Paul Mescal, winner of the Best Actor award for A Streetcar Named Desire. Getty Images
Paul Mescal, winner of the Best Actor award for A Streetcar Named Desire. Getty Images

A Streetcar Named Desire was named winner of the Best Revival award, whereas Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! at the Young Vic won the Best Musical Revival Award.

Richard Hawley and Tom Deering won the award for Best Original Score or New Orchestrations for Standing at the Sky’s Edge at National Theatre.

Alcina by Royal Opera at Royal Opera House won in the Tait Award for Best New Opera Production category. The Outstanding Achievement in Opera award, meanwhile, was picked up by William Kentridge for his conception and direction of Sibyl at Barbican Theatre.

Arthur Darvill won the Best Actor in a Musical award for his performance in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. Katie Brayben was awarded Best Actress in a Musical for Tammy Faye at Almeida theatre.

Traplord by Ivan Michael Blackstock at 180 Studios was named the Best New Dance Production. In the Outstanding Achievement in Dance category, Dickson Mbi was awarded for his choreography of Enowate at Sadler’s Wells.

The P Word at Bush Theatre was awarded the Unusual Rigging Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre. Standing at the Sky’s Edge at National Theatre won the Best New Musical award.

Choreographer Dame Arlene Phillips was the recipient of the special award. Sir Derek Jacobi, an actor known for his work at the Royal National Theatre as well as for his film and television roles, won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Result

2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).

2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.

3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

The Saudi Cup race card

1 The Jockey Club Local Handicap (TB) 1,800m (Dirt) $500,000

2 The Riyadh Dirt Sprint (TB) 1,200m (D) $1.500,000

3 The 1351 Turf Sprint 1,351m (Turf) $1,000,000

4 The Saudi Derby (TB) 1600m (D) $800,000

5 The Neom Turf Cup (TB) 2,100m (T) $1,000,000

6 The Obaiya Arabian Classic (PB) 2,000m (D) $1,900,000

7 The Red Sea Turf Handicap (TB) 3,000m (T) $2,500,000

8 The Saudi Cup (TB) 1,800m (D) $20,000,000

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile

Name:​ One Good Thing ​

Founders:​ Bridgett Lau and Micheal Cooke​

Based in:​ Dubai​​ 

Sector:​ e-commerce​

Size: 5​ employees

Stage: ​Looking for seed funding

Investors:​ ​Self-funded and seeking external investors

THE BIO:

Sabri Razouk, 74

Athlete and fitness trainer 

Married, father of six

Favourite exercise: Bench press

Must-eat weekly meal: Steak with beans, carrots, broccoli, crust and corn

Power drink: A glass of yoghurt

Role model: Any good man

The%20specs
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
  • Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
  • Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
  • Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
  • For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
  • Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
  • Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
  • Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
  • Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
  • Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
  • Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.

Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pakistan Super League

Previous winners

2016 Islamabad United

2017 Peshawar Zalmi

2018 Islamabad United

2019 Quetta Gladiators

 

Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286

Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

MATCH INFO

Champions League last 16, first leg

Tottenham v RB Leipzig, Wednesday, midnight (UAE)

Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR

US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.

KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.

 

Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier

Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August

 

Group A

Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar

 

Group B

UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia

BOSH!'s pantry essentials

Nutritional yeast

This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.

Seeds

"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."

Umami flavours

"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".

Onions and garlic

"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."

Your grain of choice

Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."

Updated: April 03, 2023, 8:31 AM