Olivier winner Michael Jibson as King George III in Hamilton

Proving that its success is truly well-earned, Hamilton picked up seven Olivier Awards last night.

The Olivier Awards are like the Oscars of West End theatre. They were first awarded in 1976 and have been presented every year since. The awards are far-ranging, covering straight theatre, musicals, dance and opera, and the production teams behind each.

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With seven wins, Hamilton has become the joint highest winning musical at the Oliviers ever. It tied with Matilda which also won seven awards in 2012.

Unfortunately it was unable to break the record for most Oliviers ever won by a single play.

That position was taken last year by Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. Still, despite not beating Harry Potter for number of awards, Hamilton did become the most Olivier-nominated play ever this year, with thirteen nods.

The other major winner of the evening was Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, directed by Sam Mendes. The play picked up awards for Best New Play, Best Director, and Best Actress.

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Beloved British comedian and Shakespearean actress Catherine Tate hosted the award show.

Here’s the full list of winners and nominees — with winners in bold

Best actor

  • Bryan Cranston, Network
  • Paddy Considine, The Ferryman
  • Andrew Garfield, Angels in America
  • Andrew Scott, Hamlet

Best actress

  • Laura Donnelly, The Ferryman
  • Lesley Manville, Long Day’s Journey into Night
  • Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
  • Imelda Staunton, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best director

  • Sam Mendes, The Ferryman
  • Dominic Cooke, Follies
  • Marianne Elliott, Angels in America
  • Rupert Goold, Ink
  • Thomas Kail, Hamilton

Best new play

  • The Ferryman
  • Ink
  • Network
  • Oslo

Best new musical

  • Hamilton
  • An American in Paris
  • Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
  • Girl from the North Country
  • Young Frankenstein

Best actor in a supporting role in a musical

  • Michael Jibson, Hamilton
  • Ross Noble, Young Frankenstein
  • Jason Pennycooke, Hamilton
  • Cleve September, Hamilton

Best actress in a supporting role in a musical

  • Sheila Atim, Girl from the North Country
  • Tracie Bennett, Follies
  • Rachel John, Hamilton
  • Lesley Joseph, Young Frankenstein

Outstanding achievement in music

  • Hamilton
  • Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
  • Follies
  • Girl from the North Country

Best new dance production

  • Flight Pattern
  • Goat
  • Grand Finale
  • Tree of Codes

Outstanding achievement in dance

  • Francesca Velicu, Le Sacre du Printemps
  • Rocio Molina, Fallen From Heaven
  • Zenaida Yanowsky, Symphonic Dances

Best entertainment and family

  • Dick Whittington
  • David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny
  • Derren Brown: Underground
  • Five Guys Named Moe

Best theatre choreographer

  • Andy Blankenbuehler, Hamilton
  • Bill Deamer, Follies
  • Kate Prince, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
  • Randy Skinner, 42nd Street
  • Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

Best musical revival

  • Follies
  • 42nd Street
  • On the Town

Best actor in a musical

  • Giles Terera, Hamilton
  • Ciaran Hinds, Girl from the North Country
  • John McCrea, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie [pictured]
  • Jamael Westman, Hamilton

Best actress in a musical

  • Shirley Henderson, Girl from the North Country
  • Janie Dee, Follies
  • Imelda Staunton, Follies
  • Josie Walker, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

Best revival

  • Angels in America
  • Hamlet
  • Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
  • Witness for the Prosecution

Best new comedy

  • Labour of Love
  • Dry Powder
  • Mischief Movie Night
  • The Miser

Outstanding achievement in affiliate theatre

  • Killology
  • The B*easts
  • The Red Lion
  • The Revlon Girl

Best lighting design

  • Howell Binkley, Hamilton
  • Paule Constable, Angels in America
  • Paule Constable, Follies
  • Jan Versweyveld, Network

Best sound design

  • Nevin Steinberg, Hamilton
  • Tom Gibbons, Hamlet
  • Gareth Owen, Bat Out of Hell
  • Eric Sleichim, Network

Best costume design

  • Vicki Mortimer, Follies
  • Hugh Durrant, Dick Whittington
  • Roger Kirk, 42nd Street
  • Paul Tazewell, Hamilton

Best set design

  • Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
  • Bunny Christie, Ink
  • Rob Howell, The Ferryman
  • Vicki Mortimer, Follies

Best actor in a supporting role

  • Bertie Carvel, Ink
  • John Hodgkinson, The Ferryman
  • James McArdle, Angels in America
  • Peter Polycarpou, Oslo

Best actress in a supporting role

  • Denise Gough for Angels in America
  • Brid Brennan for The Ferryman
  • Dearbhla Molloy for The Ferryman
  • Imogen Poots for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Best new opera production

  • Semiramide
  • La Boheme
  • The Exterminating Angel

Outstanding achievement in opera

  • Joyce DiDonato and Daniela Barcellona, Semiramide
  • Paul Brown, Iolanthe
  • Roderick Williams, The Return Of Ulysses

The reason for the Hamilton Olivier Awards success

Since arriving in the London theatre scene in December 2017, Hamilton has become a huge hit.

Tickets for the show are almost impossible to get your hands on (unless you try some of these tricks).

In many ways, Hamilton‘s success comes as a surprise. The musical is not stereotypical in any way.

It tells the story of America’s so-called forgotten founding father, Alexander Hamilton, a morally grey, precocious genius who fought in the American revolutionary war and went on to create banking institutions which survive to this day.

Unlike traditional musicals, his story is told mostly through hip-hop rather than ballads.

Jamael Westman, who plays the lead in Hamilton, explained its success to the BBC at the Oliviers:

“(Hamilton is) breaking down barriers, it’s breaking down the understanding we have of musical theatre.

“This is re-imagining what it can be, using the hip-hop form and more contemporary types of song and the use of language that is almost Shakespearean.

“It’s changing the way that we see theatre and is breaking boundaries. That’s why it’s been recognised.”

No doubt Hamilton‘s success will cast a long shadow which will be seen in many musicals going forward.