Jodie Comer, Paul Mescal Take Acting Gold at Olivier Awards

Jodie Comer poses for photographers upon arrival at the Olivier Awards in London, Sunday, April 2, 2023. (AP)
Jodie Comer poses for photographers upon arrival at the Olivier Awards in London, Sunday, April 2, 2023. (AP)
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Jodie Comer, Paul Mescal Take Acting Gold at Olivier Awards

Jodie Comer poses for photographers upon arrival at the Olivier Awards in London, Sunday, April 2, 2023. (AP)
Jodie Comer poses for photographers upon arrival at the Olivier Awards in London, Sunday, April 2, 2023. (AP)

Screen stars Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer scored prizes at London’s Olivier Awards on Sunday for their first-ever West End stage roles, while a stage adaptation of Japanese animated classic “My Neighbor Totoro” won six trophies.

Irish actor Mescal – an Academy Award acting nominee this year for “Aftersun” – was named best actor in a play for his turn as the brutish Stanley Kowalski in “A Streetcar Named Desire” at the Almeida Theatre. Anjana Vasan won the best supporting actress award for playing Stella in Tennessee Williams’ scorching drama, which was named best revival.

Mescal, 27, said his rapid success “doesn’t feel real.”

“But it’s kind of happening at such a rate that there is no time to stop and think, ‘This is a phenomenal feeling,’” he said.

Liverpool-born Comer, 30, won the best actress in a play award for the one-person show “Prima Facie,” which she is taking to Broadway later this month. Suzie Miller’s drama about a lawyer dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault was also named best new play.

Comer, who shot to fame as star of TV spy series “Killing Eve,” gave a shoutout “to any kids who haven’t been to drama school, who can’t afford to go to drama school, who has been rejected from drama school -- don’t let anyone tell you that it isn’t possible.”

“My Neighbor Totoro” was named best entertainment or comedy play at the Oliviers, the UK equivalent of Broadway’s Tony Awards. Phelim McDermott won best-director trophy for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s magical coming-of-age film. It also took prizes for sound, lighting, costumes and sets.

“Standing at the Sky’s Edge,” an urban elegy set to the music of singer-songwriter Richard Hawley, was named best new musical, while an edgy, pared-down take on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s corn-fed classic “Oklahoma!” won the prize for best musical revival.

Arthur Darvill won the best-actor in a musical prize for playing Curly in “Oklahoma!” Katie Brayben was named best actress in a musical for playing televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in the Almeida Theatre’s “Tammy Faye.”

Musical Supporting performance trophies went to Beverley Knight for hiphop suffragette story “Sylvia” and Zubin Varla for “Tammy Faye.” Will Keen was named best actor in a play for playing Vladimir Putin in “Patriots,” a play about the Russian leader’s relationship with oligarch Boris Berezovsky.

Keen called his character a “living, breathing, internationally recognized villain.”

Veteran actor Derek Jacobi received a lifetime achievement award to celebrate his six-decade career.

Hannah Waddingham – a West End musical star before she found TV fame as the owner of a struggling soccer team on “Ted Lasso” -- hosted the ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall, which included performances from musical nominees including “The Band’s Visit,” “Sylvia,” “Tammy Faye,” “Oklahoma!” and “Sister Act.”

The prizes were founded in 1976 and named for the late actor-director Laurence Olivier. Winners are chosen by voting groups of stage professionals and theatergoers.



Spain Public Broadcaster Calls for ‘Debate’ over Israel’s Eurovision Participation

Yuval Raphael. (AP)
Yuval Raphael. (AP)
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Spain Public Broadcaster Calls for ‘Debate’ over Israel’s Eurovision Participation

Yuval Raphael. (AP)
Yuval Raphael. (AP)

Spain's public broadcaster said on Friday it has called for a "debate" over Israel's participation in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland due to "concerns" over the situation in war-torn Gaza.

RTVE has sent a letter to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which manages the event, "requesting a debate on the participation of Israeli public television (KAN)" in the contest, the Spanish public broadcaster said in a statement.

The Swiss city of Basel will host the glitzy annual extravaganza -- one of the world's biggest live television events which involves countries from Europe to Australia -- at the St. Jakobshalle indoor arena, with the semi-finals on May 13 and 15, and the final on May 17.

Public broadcasters of participating nations select the candidate which will represent them, so the absence of KAN would mean there is no Israeli performer at this year's event.

RTVE said it "reiterates its support" for Eurovision "but also acknowledges the concerns that the situation in Gaza and the participation of KAN public television are raising within Spanish civil society".

"It would be appropriate for the EBU to recognize the existence of this debate and provide a forum for discussion between EBU member broadcasters on the participation of Israeli public television," the statement added.

- October 7 survivor -

Thousands protested at last year's contest in the Swedish city of Malmo against Israel's participation against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Israeli competitor Eden Golan had to change her lyrics over their apparent references to the deadly Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war.

A survivor of that attack will represent Israel in Basel.

When Hamas gunmen killed more than 370 people at the Nova music festival, Yuval Raphael survived by hiding under a pile of bodies. She said she would be ready to face the kind of hostility Golan did.

Finland's public broadcaster Yle received two petitions last month demanding it push for Israel to be banned from the contest due to the war in Gaza.

One was signed by more than 500 music and culture industry professionals, while a public petition was signed by over 10,000 people.

Israel has won the contest four times, most recently in Lisbon in 2018.

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian gunmen launched a cross-border attack in Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

Israel's ensuing bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 51,000 people in the territory, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN has deemed its figures generally reliable.