Judi Dench earned a record-setting eighth Olivier Award in London Sunday for her performance in The Winter’s Tale.
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The full Olivier Awards will be screened on ITV3 tonight from 11pm.
The actress thanked her singing teacher as she explained: “We felt we were doing something special every night”. “It was a tremendous production, a wonderful show and I’m very proud of Imelda”.
Mark Gatiss was the victor of the Best Supporting Actor Olivier for Three Days in the Country and Robert Icke was recognized as Best Director for Oresteia.
Founded in 1976, the Oliviers celebrated their 40th anniversary with an exuberant ceremony that featured numbers from nominated musicals including “Guys And Dolls”, “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Bugsy Malone”, a performance by a pink-haired Lauper and prize presenters including “The Hobbit” star Luke Evans, musical diva Shirley Bassey and “Game of Thrones” star Kit Harington.
Gough won Best Actress for her role in People, Places and Things at the National Theatre’s Dorfman Theatre on London’s South Bank.
In her acceptance speech, Gough lamented the lack of diversity among nominees – an issue that overshadowed February’s Oscars. “I love a good challenge and I’m really excited to do it”. As she was collecting the award, she joked that she was livid for winning because she had lost a bet with her grandson. She was also said to be overwhelmed by the evening’s activities.
While the actress, who presented an award during the ceremony, was talking about the year in threatre, Dame Judi interrupted to say: “Don’t believe a word she says”.
“With that lot I felt like the little old corner shop”, he said. “Who wants to be put in a auto in the garage?”
Dame Judi Dench and Daniel Massey performing a scene from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Waste in May 1985. He wrote that Dench was perhaps “making up for lost time” because she was filming and starring in the films Esio Trot, with Dustin Hoffman and Richard III in 2014.
He teared up as he thanked his agent, Stephanie Randall, saying “the things that’s happened to her and the way she’s been on this play has been fantastic”.
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She drew strong reviews for her leading role in the musical ‘Cabaret’ in 1968 and has developed a reputation as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, which has been her forte throughout her career.
