Record Breaking 'Matilda' Cleans Up At Olivier Awards

'Matilda' was the talk of the Olivier Awards after scooping a mighty seven prizes at the annual stage performance awards in London at the weekend. The event was held at the Royal Opera House in London and it was a riotous occasion for all involved, with the production picking up a record breaking tally, beating out 'Nicholas Nickleby' which had taken six in 1980. Both were and are RSC production.

Tim Minchin collected the Best New Musical prize for the show and paid tribute to "the little twerps." Other successful stars meanwhile were Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller who were jointly crowned Best Actor for their dual performances in Danny Boyle's 'Frankenstein' staging. It was Miller who arrived to accept the award, paying tribute to Boyle for "bringing together so many elements" and his "weird way of doing stuff," according to the BBC.

Other winners included 'Les Miserables' which won the BBC Radio 2 Audience award, whilst special recognition was given to lyricist Sir Tim Rice and Dame Monica Mason who will soon leave her position of 54 years as director of the Royal Ballet. It was 'Matilda's' night though, as it took other awards including Best Actor In A Musical, given to Bertie Carval for his cross-dressing performance as tyrannical headmaster Ms Trunchbull, whilst four children jointly shared Best Actress In A Musical.