"Harry Potter And The Cursed Child", a stage adaptation of J.K Rowling's fantastical world of witches and wizards, cast a magical spell at the Olivier Awards on Sunday, scooping nine wins at Britain's big night for theatre.
The critically-acclaimed production, which opened last year in London's West End, went in with 11 nominations. Its victorious haul made it "the most decorated production in the ceremony's history", awards organisers said.
The eighth story in the "Harry Potter" series, the play follows Rowling's young boy wizard and friends Ron and Hermione into adulthood. It took best new play, best actor, best actor and actress in a supporting role as well as best director.
"The power of imagination is infinite," director John Tiffany said in his acceptance speech. "We need it now more than ever."
Jamie Parker, who portrays the older Harry, won best actor, beating off competition from the likes of Ian McKellen and Ed Harris. Anthony Boyle, who plays Scorpius Malfoy, took best actor in a supporting role while best actress in a supporting role went to Noma Dumezweni, who plays an adult Hermione.
"Thank you J.K. Rowling for creating Hermione and...the privilege of being able to play Hermione is overwhelming and humbling," Dumezweni said.
The play also won best lighting design, best sound design, best costume design and best set design.
Other winners at the glitzy ceremony at London's Royal Albert Hall included children playing instruments in "School of Rock", composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of the 2003 comedy film, who won in the outstanding achievement in music category.
"Groundhog Day", an adaptation of the famed 1993 film starring Bill Murray, won best new musical as well as best actor in a musical for Andy Karl.
"Glee" actress Amber Riley scooped the best actress in a musical award for "Dreamgirls" while fellow cast member Adam J Bernard won best actor in a supporting role in a musical.
Billie Piper won best actress for "Yerma", an adaptation of the play by Federico Garcia Lorca, which won best revival.
"Jesus Christ Superstar" won best musical revival. "Our ladies of Perpetual Succour" won best new comedy while "Akhnaten" took the prize for best new opera production.
Actor and director Kenneth Branagh was honoured with the Special Award in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to British theatre".
Performances on the night included songs from musicals "The Girls", "Dreamgirls" and "School of Rock".
Reuters
Mon Apr 10 2017
A store assistant holds copies of the book of the play of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child parts One and Two at a bookstore in London, Britain July 31, 2016. REUTERS/Neil Hall/Files
Impact of cloud complexity on cybersecurity risk and AI's role in this mix
Organizations who are adopting multi-cloud or hybrid cloud environments are having to navigate new complexities that emerge as they expand on cloud. As these cloud environments lead to the expansion of attack surfaces, a global survey conducted by Gigamon found that 93% of IT and security leaders predict cloud security attacks will increase this year.
[Data & Statistik] Prestasi Bursa Malaysia setakat 16 Julai 2024
Jumlah dagangan meningkat kepada 5.36 bilion unit bernilai RM3.95 bilion daripada 4.58 bilion unit bernilai RM3.72 bilion pada Jumaat.
[Data & Statistik] Kedudukan MYR berbanding SGD setakat 16 Julai 2024
Niaga AWANI bawakan prestasi terkini prestasi MYR berbanding SGD.
[Data & Statistik] Prestasi ringgit setakat 16 Julai 2024
Ketua Ahli Ekonomi Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid berkata walaupun ringgit merosot, kontrak niaga hadapan Dana Fed menunjukkan bahawa penurunan kadar faedah mungkin akan berlaku pada September depan.
Sekurang-kurangnya 4 maut, insiden tembakan di masjid di Oman
Beberapa orang turut cedera akibat terkena tembakan di sekitar masjid di Wadi al-Kabir, Muscat.
Penjara menanti pesalah MH17 jika keluar dari Rusia - Pendakwa raya
Menurut Digna van Boetzelaer, kerajaan Belanda tidak pernah meminta ekstradisi mereka kerana Rusia tidak mengekstradisi rakyatnya sendiri.
E-invois dibimbangi tekan pengusaha PKS
Isu yang timbul ialah pengetahuan dan kos tinggi yang diperlukan untuk melaksanakannya, termasuk kos latihan dan penambahbaikan sistem dan perisian.
Tawaran pengambilalihan MAHB dimuktamad suku ketiga 2024 - MOF
Tawaran pengambilalihan Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) dijangka akan dimuktamadkan pada suku ketiga tahun ini dan ia perlu dipersetujui oleh sekurang-kurangnya 90 peratus pemegang saham sedia ada MAHB.
Kementerian Kewangan berkata memandangkan tawaran itu merupakan satu urusan transaksi komersial, maka ia tidak mendatangkan sebarang implikasi kewangan kepada kerajaan.
Kementerian Kewangan berkata memandangkan tawaran itu merupakan satu urusan transaksi komersial, maka ia tidak mendatangkan sebarang implikasi kewangan kepada kerajaan.
[KOLUMNIS] Masa depan industri perhubungan awam: Memperkukuh kepercayaan, keterlibatan melalui integriti, inovasi
Dengan sokongan tiga pertubuhan utama, ekosistem ini hadapi cabaran signifikan, namun berpotensi besar untuk berkembang dan berinovasi.
Jiwa SME: Kejayaan lebih 30 tahun dalam industri penternakan kambing
Osman Goat Farm, yang dimiliki oleh Osman Cheya Kutty dari Johor Bahru, telah bertahan lebih dari tiga dekad dalam industri penternakan. Dengan dedikasi dan inovasi, Osman Goat Farm telah membuktikan bahawa kesungguhan dan strategi yang tepat adalah kunci kejayaan dalam industri penternakan. Produk berkualiti tinggi dan teknologi terkini terus menjadi asas kepada kejayaan.