Helen Mirren, James McAvoy, Rupert Everett and Kristin Scott Thomas are among the big names vying for Olivier Awards.
Nominees for the 2013 edition of the U.K. theater prizes were announced Tuesday morning. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," an adaptation of Mark Haddon's bestselling novel, picked up a leading eight nominations. The show focuses on a boy with Asperger's Syndrome and his efforts to track down the killer of his neighbor's dog. It scored nominations for Best Play, Best Actor for Luke Treadaway and Best Director for Marianne Elliott.
It was followed by a pair of musicals, "Top Hat," with seven nods, and "Sweeney Todd," with six.
Mirren is up for a prize for a familiar role. The stage and screen icon reprised her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in a new play by Peter Morgan, "The Audience." Unlike their previous collaboration, "The Queen," which scored Mirren a Best Actress Academy Award in 2006, the play does not focus on a particular event. Whereas that movie dissected the monarchy's response to the death of Princess Diana, "The Audience" follows the queen's weekly meetings with several prime ministers over six decades.
The Olivier Awards are considered to be one of the British theater world's highest honors. Winners will be announced on April 28.
Here's the complete list of nominees:
Best Actor
Rupert Everett – The Judas Kiss
James McAvoy – Macbeth
Mark Rylance – Twelfth Night
Rafe Spall – Constellations
Luke Treadaway – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Best Actress
Helen Mirren – The Audience
Hattie Morahan – A Doll's House
Billie Piper – The Effect
Kristin Scott Thomas – Old Times
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Paul Chahidi – Twelfth Night
Richard McCabe – The Audience
Adrian Scarborough – Hedda Gabler
Kyle Soller – Long Day's Journey Into Night
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Janie Dee – NSFW
Anastasia Hille – The Effect
Cush Jumbo – Julius Caesar (Donmar Warehouse)
Helen McCrory – The Last of the Haussmans
Nicola Walker – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Best New Play
Constellations
The Audience
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
This House
Best Director
Stephen Daldry – The Audience
Marianne Elliott – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Jeremy Herrin – This House
Simon McBurney – The Master and Margarita
Best Actor in a Musical
Michael Ball – Sweeney Todd
Alex Bourne – Kiss Me, Kate
Tom Chambers – Top Hat
Will Young – Cabaret
Best Actress in a Musical
Heather Headley – The Bodyguard
Imelda Staunton – Sweeney Todd
Summer Strallen – Top Hat
Hannah Waddingham – Kiss Me, Kate
Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical
Adam Garcia – Kiss Me, Kate
Debbie Kurup – The Bodyguard
Siân Phillips – Cabaret
Leigh Zimmerman – A Chorus Line
Best New Musical
Loserville
Soul Sister
The Bodyguard
Top Hat
Best Revival
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Macbeth
Old Times
Twelfth Night (Apollo theatre)
Best Musical Revival
A Chorus Line
Cabaret
Kiss Me, Kate
Sweeney Todd
Best Entertainment and Family
Cinderella (St James theatre)
Goodnight Mister Tom
Hansel and Gretel
Room on the Broom
Best Lighting Design
Paul Anderson – The Master and Margarita
Paule Constable – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Lee Curran – Constellations
Mark Henderson – Sweeney Todd
Best Sound Design
Ian Dickinson – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Paul Groothuis – Sweeney Todd
David McSeveney – Constellations
Gareth Owen – Top Hat
Best Costume Design
Bob Crowley – The Audience
Jon Morrell – Top Hat
Jenny Tiramani – Twelfth Night
Anthony Ward – Sweeney Todd
Best Set Design
Hildegard Bechtler – Top Hat
Miriam Buether and Wang Gongxin – Wild Swans
Bunny Christie and Finn Ross – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Tim Hatley – The Bodyguard
Best New Dance Production
Aeternum by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon
Cacti by Nederlands Dans Theater 2 at Sadler's Wells, choreographed by Alexander Ekman
A Streetcar Named Desire by Scottish Ballet at Sadler's Wells
Outstanding Achievement in Dance
Lez Brotherston for the set and costumes for Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty, New Adventures at Sadler's Wells
ILL-Abilities company in Breakin' Convention at Sadler's Wells
Marianela Nuñez for Aeternum, Diana & Actaeon and Viscera, the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House
Best Theatre Choreographer
Scott Ambler – Chariots of Fire
Bill Deamer – Top Hat
Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Stephen Mear – Kiss Me, Kate
Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre
Caroline Horton for You're Not Like the Other Girls Chrissy at the Bush theatre
The production of Red Velvet at the Tricycle theatre
The season of new writing at the Royal Court Upstairs
Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd for You Me Bum Bum Train, presented by Theatre Royal Stratford East
Best New Opera Production
Billy Budd, English National Opera at the London Coliseum
Caligula, English National Opera at the London Coliseum
Einstein On the Beach at the Barbican theatre
La Traviata, English National Opera at the London Coliseum
Outstanding Achievement in Opera
Edward Gardner for his conducting of The Flying Dutchman and Billy Budd at the English National Opera, London Coliseum
Bryan Hymel for his performances in Les Troyens, Robert le Diable and Rusalka at the Royal Opera House
Music Theatre Wales for In the Locked Room/Ghost Patrol at the Linbury theatre, the Royal Opera House
The stage management teams at English National Opera, London Coliseum and the Royal Opera House
BBC Radio 2 Audience Award
Billy Elliot the Musical
Matilda the Musical
The Phantom of the Opera
Wicked