The 2026 nominations for the Olivier Awards have been announced, with Australians Cate Blanchett, Trevor Ashley and Suzie Miller among this year’s nominees, recognised for oustanding contributions to London theatre.

Cate Blachett in the Barbican production of The Seagull. Photo supplied

Cate Blanchett has been nominated for Best Actress for her turn as Arkadina in the Barbican’s production of The Seagull. Adapted from Chekhov by Duncan Macmillan and Thomas Ostermeier, the work was also nominated for Best Revival, while Zachary Hart earned his second nod for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his Simon Medvedenko.

Suzie Miller’s Inter Alia has earned a nomination for Best New Play; the award the Melbourne-born playwright took home in 2023 for Prima Facie.

Presented at the National Theatre and starring Rosamund Pike, Inter Alia follows Jessica Parks – a mother and Crown Court Judge – as her professional and personal lives begin to bleed into one another and her son is accused of sexual assault. After its world premiere season in London last year, Inter Alia is set for a return to the West End later this month.

Rosamund Pike in Inter Alia. Photo courtesy National Theatre Live

“In Inter Alia, Miller again proves her command of both form and thematic territory in a taut, unsettling three-hander that interrogates power, privilege and the corrosive blind spots of the justice system,” wrote Limelight’s Jason Blake in a four-and-a-half star review.

Pike has also been nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of Parks, up against Blanchett, Marianne Jean-Baptiste (All My Sons), Julia McDermott (Weather Girl) and Rosie Sheehy (Guess How Much I Love You?).

For his role as director Roger De Bris in the Garrick Theatre’s production of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, Trevor Ashley has received a nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical. The production has also been nominated for Best Musical Revival, with its stars Marc Antolin (Leo Bloom) and Andy Nyman (Max Bialystock) up for Best Actor in a Musical.

Up for Best New Opera Production this year are the English National Opera’s Dead Man Walking and three Royal Opera House productions: Oliver Mears’ productions of Tosca and Die Walküre, and The Makropulos Case directed by Katie Mitchell.

Bryan Cranston (All My Sons), Sean Hayes (Good Night, Oscar), Jane Krakowski (Here We Are) and Tom Hiddleston (Much Ado about Nothing) are also among the nominees this year, as is Cole Escola’s breakout hit Oh, Mary!, nominated for  the Noël Coward Award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play.

The full list of 2026 Olivier Award nominees can be found here.