A number of actors, writers and directors who began their careers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have been recognised at this year’s Olivier Awards.
Matilda The Musical was the success story of the night, winning an all-time record seven awards including Best New Musical. Co-written by Dennis Kelly, who won a Fringe First for Orphans at the Traverse Theatre in 2009, and Tim Minchin, a comedian who has become a Fringe regular following his Perrier Award winning debut at the Gilded Balloon in 2005, the show has taken London’s West End by storm.
The site-specific drama about sex-trafficking Roadkill, performed around the city as part of Traverse Theatre’s programme in 2010 was recognised as the Best Play in an Affiliate Theatre for its current run at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.
Amongst those recognised for acting were famous faces like Benedict Cumberbatch (Best Actor for Frankenstein) who made his Fringe debut as a student in 1998 in Rat in the Skull, Sheridan Smith (Best Performance in a Supporting Role for Flare Path) who appeared in National Youth Music Theatre’s Bugsy Malone in 1997 and Ruth Wilson (Best Actress for Anna Christie) who performed in a student production of The Hush in 2000.
Also among the accolades for Matilda The Musical, Matthew Warchus who took home the Best Director award started his career at the Fringe with his directorial debut Sejanus, His Fall.
Kath M Mainland, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society:
“It’s wonderful to see the Olivier Awards once again dominated by alumni of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It seals the Fringe’s reputation as the place for performers, writers and directors to start their careers, and for audiences to see the finest new theatre as well as the theatre stars of the future.”
For more information contact the Fringe Media Office at [email protected] or by telephone on 0131 240 1919.