LONDON – Musical Sunset Boulevard and play Dear England led nominations for the Olivier Awards on March 12, with a spate of famous names from film and television including Sarah Jessica Parker, Joseph Fiennes and Sarah Snook also receiving nods at London’s top theatre honours.

A new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, featuring American singer Nicole Scherzinger as movie star Norma Desmond, had 11 nominations, including in all the acting categories in a musical as well as for Best Musical Revival.

Soccer play Dear England received nine nominations, including a Best Actor nod for Fiennes for his portrayal of England manager Gareth Southgate. Fiennes’ co-star Gina McKee was also nominated for Best Actress In A Supporting Role.

The contenders for Best Actress include Succession (2018 to 2023) star Snook for The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Sophie Okonedo for Medea, Laura Donnelly for The Hills Of California, Sheridan Smith for Shirley Valentine and Parker for Plaza Suite, in which she stars opposite her husband, American actor Matthew Broderick.

It is the first time Sex And The City (1998 to 2004) star Parker and Snook have been nominated at the awards, which are named after the famed British actor Laurence Olivier.

Fiennes’ fellow contenders for Best Actor include other famous names: Andrew Scott for Vanya, James Norton for A Little Life, Mark Gatiss for The Motive And The Cue and David Tennant for Macbeth.

A stage play based on American hit science-fiction series Stranger Things (2016 to present) got five nods, including in the Best Director category for Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin.

Called Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the play takes place in 1959, two decades before the period explored in the Netflix TV show created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer.

2024’s Olivier Awards will take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on April 14. REUTERS