The National Theatre’s production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time won seven awards at last night’s Olivier Awards, equalling the record set last year by Matilda The Musical.

As well as Best New Play, Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel featured the following winners: Luke Treadaway for Best Actor, Nicola Walker for Best Supporting Actress, Marianne Elliott for Best Director, Paule Constable for the White Light Award for Lighting Design, Bunny Christie and Finn Ross for the XL Video Award for Best Set Design and Ian Dickinson and Adrian Sutton for Best Sound Design. The Curious Incident is currently playing at the Apollo Theatre, following a successful West End transfer in March. It’s one of the best shows I’ve seen in recent years, so if you’re able to book a ticket, go! The show is now booking until January 2014.

The Audience, currently playing at the Gielgud Theatre and Sweeney Todd which ran at the Adelphi Theatre in the summer took two actor awards each: Helen Mirren won Best Actress for portraying The Queen and Richard McCabe took Best Supporting Actor for playing Harold Wilson in the former; Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton won Best Actor in a Musical and Best Actress in A Musical for their roles in Sweeney Todd. The brilliant Sondheim musical also won the prize for Best Musical revival.

Elsewhere, there were prizes for Top Hat, currently on at the Aldwych Theatre for Best New Musical, Costume Design and Choreography. Leigh Zimmerman won Best Performance in a Supporing Role in a Musical for A Chorus Line at the London Palladium. And long-runner Billy Elliot won the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award – voted for by the members of the public.

For a full list of winners, go to officiallondontheatre.co.uk

Congratulations to everyone involved. Do you agree with the judges’ choices? Let us know in the comments below.

In other news, the National Theatre’s West End transfer of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has extended its run at the Apollo Theatre by 14 weeks, following huge demand for tickets. It now runs from 1 March to 31 August.

After a sell-out run at the Chichester Festival Theatre, Private Lives is coming to the Gielgud Theatre this summer. Starring Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor as the divorced couple who fall in love again, this classic Noel Coward comedy is directed by Jonathan Kent and runs from 22 June. Anthony Calf and Anna-Louise Plowman reprise their roles as the pair’s newly hitched and soon-to-be-spurned other halves.

Finally, don’t miss all the excitement building around the Olivier Awards. Firstly, theatre fans are being called on to vote for their favourite long-runner. Then there’s the news that Sheridan Smith (one of my favourite actresses) is going to be hosting the event. And not only is the show being broadcast live on BBC Radio 2, there’ll be highlights on ITV following the ceremony AND a live event for theatre fans in Covent Garden on the night. Put 28 April in your diaries now for a lot of theatrical fun.

London Casting News:

• Mariah Gale, Jamie Parker, Emma Cunniffe and Matthew Marsh will star in Proof at the Menier Chocolate Factory from March
• Jennifer Ellison is donning her wellingtons to join the cast of Singin’ In The Rain next month, when it splashes into its second year at the Palace Theatre
• Olivier Award winner Henry Goodman leads the cast of Lindsay Posner’s forthcoming production of The Winslow Boy at the Old Vic, opening in March
• Singer songwriter Declan Bennett and Croatian actress Zrinka Cvitešić are going to lead the cast of the Tony Award-winning musical Once when it opens at the Phoenix Theatre from 16 March

Many of 2012′s theatrical highlights were Shakespearean. The World Shakespeare Festival created some amazing dramatic moments, from Stephen Fry’s yellow stockings at The Globe to a Julius Caesar set in modern day Africa from the RSC. There were also triumphs for Sheridan Smith as Hedda Gabler, and some impressive displays of stamina in the 8-hour GATZ.

Theatre in London is more exciting than ever in 2013. There’s plenty more Shakespeare for you to look forward to, as well as some newer treats. Here are just some of the shows I’m looking forward to in the coming months:

1. Quartermaine’s Terms, Wyndham’s Theatre from 23 Jan
See Rowan Atkinson return to the London stage for the first time in 25 years this month. He’s starring as the well-meaning but hopeless teacher St John Quartermaine in Simon Gray’s tragicomedy at Wyndham’s Theatre. Quartermaine’s Terms is set in a 1960s English language school and is a humorous but moving account of several years in the lives of seven teachers.

2. Old Times, Harold Pinter Theatre from 12 Jan
If you enjoyed watching the BBC adaptation of Restless over the Christmas holidays, here’s a chance to catch the ever-brilliant Rufus Sewell in the flesh. He’s playing opposite Kristin Scott Thomas and Lia Williams in Harold Pinter’s erotically charged and compelling drama, Old Times. Directed by Ian Rickson, Old Times will be the first Harold Pinter play to be staged at the newly named Harold Pinter Theatre.

3. Macbeth, Trafalgar Studios from 9 Feb
Another month, another big name comes to the West End. From February, you can see James McAvoy, best known for his big-screen roles in films like Atonement and The Last King of Scotland playing Macbeth, directed by Jamie Lloyd at the Trafalgar Studios. This Macbeth is part of a longer season of political plays under the banner “Trafalgar Transformed”.

4. The Audience, Gielgud Theatre from 15 Feb
If you’re a fan of 2006 film The Queen, you’ll love The Audience opening at the Gielgud later this year. Like that film, The Audience is also written by Peter Morgan, and stars Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II. Directed by Stephen Daldry, The Audience imagines the weekly meetings between The Queen and her 12 Prime Ministers. Look out for Haydn Gwynne as Thatcher, Robert Hardy as Churchill and Rufus Wright as David Cameron.

5. Peter And Alice, Noel Coward Theatre from 9 Mar
In March, the Michael Grandage Company presents Peter And Alice, a new play exploring a meeting between the real-life inspirations for Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. Written by John Logan, Peter And Alice is the story of Alice Liddell Hargreaves and Peter Llewelyn Davies who meet at the opening of a Lewis Carroll exhibition in 1932. It stars Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw as the eponymous leads.

6. Relatively Speaking, Wyndham’s Theatre from 14 May
Following the success of A Chorus of Disapproval, another Alan Ayckbourn play opens in the West End in May. Relatively Speaking stars Felicity Kendal, Kara Tointon, Jonathan Coy and Max Bennett at Wyndham’s Theatre in what’s sure to be a brilliant comedy of British manners.

What London theatre shows are you looking forward to in 2013? Let us know in the comments below.

Fans of the Kneehigh Theatre Company are in for a treat as their production of Steptoe and Son comes to London next year. Following a successful run at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the two-hander based on scripts from the original TV series will play from 19 March at the Lyric Hammersmith. Kneehigh founding member and joint Artistic Director Mike Shepherd and Dean Nolan will reprise their roles in London.

Dominic Cooke’s last season as Artistic Director of the Royal Court has been announced this week. Following the hugely successful Clybourne Park, Cooke will direct Bruce Norris’ third play The Low Road in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs. Young playwright Polly Stenham will premiere her third Royal Court play No Quarter in the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, while Anthony Neilson will close the season with the intriguingly named A New Play, which he will both write and direct. Visit the Royal Court Theatre’s website to find out more.

Finally, more Strictly Come Dancing news: Russell Grant returns to the West End next year to once again share the stage with his Strictly Come Dancing partner Flavia Cacace in the return of Midnight Tango at the Phoenix Theatre. Grant is taking the role of bar owner Carlos, whose downtown Buenos Aires-establishment becomes the setting for the explosive story.

London Theatre Cast News:

• Haydn Gwynne will star as Margaret Thatcher opposite Helen Mirren’s Elizabeth II in Peter Morgan’s The Audience at the Gielgud Theatre from February; Robert Hardy and Paul Ritter will play Winston Churchill and John Major in the fascinating-sounding new play
• Gavin Lee is taking over from Tom Chambers as lead Jerry Travers in Top Hat from February; with Charlotte Gooch replacing Summer Strallen as Dale Tremont from 27 November
• Sophiya Haque, Harry Hepple, Mark Lewis Jones and John Marquez join Simon Russell Beale in Privates On Parade, which kicks off the newly formed Michael Grandage Company’s first season next month
• Tamsin Greig and Roger Lloyd Pack will appear in the forthcoming production of The Trojan Women, which opens at the Gate Theatre later this month

Firstly: Wicked fans can rejoicify! The show has reached its 6th birthday today. One of my favourite West End shows, Wicked seems like such a fantastic fixture in the West End, I thought it might’ve been around for longer. If you haven’t seen this great musical yet, you should book now! Here’s to the next six years…

The second piece of exciting news is from the Gielgud Theatre, looking ahead to next year. From 15 February, Helen Mirren will be starring in Peter Morgan’s new play The Audience at the venue. The play examines one of the most fascinating meetings in British public life; the weekly discussion between the Queen and the Prime Minister. From Winston Churchill to David Cameron, The Audience imagines what might have been said in those pivotal meetings over the years, the confessions and questions from Prime Ministers, and the advice, suggestions and occasional teasing offered by the Queen. This will be Mirren’s second time playing the monarch; she won an Oscar, Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her portrayal of Elizabeth II in Morgan’s silver screen offering The Queen.

Finally, if you’re thinking ahead to Christmas, there’s an exciting-sounding new Punchdrunk show coming to East London’s Discover Children’s Story Centre from 29 November. Called The House Where Winter Lives, the show will transform the Stratford venue’s basement into a “magical frozen forest” for the delight of three to six year-olds.

London Theatre Cast News:

• Downton Abbey’s Matt Milne joins the cast of Tennessee Williams’ The Hotel Plays in a unique staging at the Grange Holborn Hotel from 4 October
• Actor and comedian Julian Barratt, best known for appearing opposite Noel Fielding in The Mighty Boosh, is appearing in the Royal Court’s NSFW from 25 October.

No tickets to the Games? Perhaps you’d prefer a trip to the theatre instead. London’s theatres have responded to the Olympics fever spreading across the city with a slew of particularly sporty shows. Take your pick from the following:

Chariots of Fire at the Gielgud Theatre, Until 10 Nov
A fantastic display of 1920s sportsmanship, this show takes the Oscar-winning film and transforms it into an inventive piece of theatre. With a wonderful cast and a gorgeous score, Chariots of Fire will leave you feeling really patriotic about Team GB as you’re treated to the story of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddel’s triumphs from another age.

1936 at Sadler’s Wells, Until 5 Aug
Sadler’s Wells is recreating a darker side of the Olympic Games this summer with 1936 – Tom McNab’s examination of the power and the politics behind the Berlin Games hosted by Nazi Germany in the titular year. The political compromises and manipulations are laid bare; although the athletes are still given the chance to shine, McNab’s piece asks if sport can ever surpass politics.

Complete World of Sports at the Arts Theatre, Until 25 Aug
The silly (but hugely clever) chaps from the Reduced Shakespeare Company are back in town this time with a show about sport. This is the European premiere of the Complete World of Sports, and the team have had to make a few amendments to suit our slightly different sporting tastes in the UK. Wherever you’re from, you’re sure to enjoy their irreverent take on sporting history, featuring everything from cavemen’s games to the clichés of modern sports commentators.

Playing The Games at the Criterion Theatre, Until 12 Aug
The Criterion Theatre is running a whole series of events, plays, talks and suchlike to celebrate the Games. As well as Sporting Stories Before Bedtime (10 Aug) by Brian Blessed, Stephen Fry and Eddie Izzard, there’s an evening of entertainment from Alan Davies and some top lunchtime conversations between actors and stars. The two theatre shows that form part of Playing The Games are After The Party by Serge Cartwright (about two best friends trying to make their dreams come true as the Olympics roll into their neighbourhood) and Taking Part by Adam Brace, the story of a Congolese security guard with plans to swim for his country at the 2012 Olympics.

Run, Brer Rabbit, Run at the Chickenshed Theatre Until 4 Aug
If you’re looking for a child-friendly sports show to entertain the little ones, Run, Brer Rabbit, Run from Chickenshed might be the perfect solution. Based on the traditional Brer Rabbit stories, Run, Brer Rabbit, Run features the well-known characters causing mayhem when they collide with the present day London Olympics. Your kids’ imaginations can run wild as they follow the mischievous Brer Rabbit and his friends on crazy adventures and cheer them on as they go for gold! The show is suitable for babies to kids up to the age of seven.

Sports Play at the Chelsea Theatre, 30 July-4 Aug
Sports Play is the English language premiere of Austrian Elfriede Jelinek’s cool, clever 1998 play about the marketing and sale of the human body and of emotions in sport. In this show, Jelinek considers sport as a medium for chauvinism and fanaticism – sport as war – but with her trademark mix of anger and irony.

Endure: A Run Woman Show at the Riverside Studios, 2-5 Aug
If all that sporting action makes you want to get involved, here’s a novel idea from the Riverside Studios. Endure invites you to follow actress and runner Melanie Jones across 5kn of public parklands, walking, running and engaging physically with the performer in what’s described as “an immersive dance theatre performance experience”! You’ll be loaned an MP3 player to listen to the rich narrative and musical soundtrack while the performance unfolds. Jones’ show will give you an intimate view into the mind and body of a marathon runner: if you’re a fan of quirky theatre, this is one show you just can’t miss!

Have you seen any more sporty theatre shows in London? Let us know in the comments below.

In other cast news, Joanna Riding’s been announced for new musical Lend Me A Tenor at the Gielgud Theatre. She’s currently at the same venue in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. I wonder if she can keep the same dressing room?!

There’s more news for musicals fans (hurrah!):

• A stage adaptation of Top Hat starring Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen (in the roles made famous by tap-dancing king and queen Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) is coming to the West End in spring 2012, following a UK tour.
• Road Show, the latest musical by Stephen Sondheim, will get a UK premiere at the Menier Chocolate Factory this summer, with a cast led by David Bedella.
• Musical comedy Betwixt! comes to the Trafalgar Studios from July, bringing a bizarre mix of music, writer’s block, disembodied heads, sex-crazed nymphs and hunchbacks to the venue.

On a more serious note, there’ll be yet another King Lear in the capital next year. This time, the venue’s the Almeida Theatre, Michael Attenborough’s directing and Jonathan Pryce is the ageing monarch.

Finally, the transformed Cottesloe theatre is hosting four new plays by four playwrights new to the National this summer:

• Sam Holcroft’s Edgar And Annabel features a young married couple in a world of freedom fighters and a police state in crisis
• The Swan by DC Moore follows a family preparing for a wake in a South London pub
• Prasanna Puwanarajah’s Nightwatchman challenges ideas of politics, sport and national pride through the story of a female cricketer preparing to make her England debut
• Tom Basden’s black comedy There Is A War is set in a land ravaged by an ever-raging civil war

The plays will be performed as two double bills from 8 July until 30 August.

First up this week, congratulations to Clybourne Park, which has won another award! As well as winning Best New Play at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards, the Critics Circle Theatre Awards, the South Bank Sky Arts Theatre Award and the Olivier Awards, playwright Bruce Norris has now won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, which includes a cool $10,000 reward. It’s a great show, and is booking until 7 May if you fancy seeing a winner!

There’s lots of casting news around this week:

• Samantha Womack (best known for playing Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders) will play lead role Nellie Forbush when the Tony Award-winning Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific comes to the Barbican this summer
• Andrew Buchan (who you’ll recognise from TV’s Garrow’s Law) is going to play Bolingbroke opposite Eddie Redmayne’s Richard II at the Donmar in December
• Star Wars actor Denis Lawson is heading back to the Royal Court for the first time in 20 years ain Anya Reiss’s drama The Acid Test, which starts next month
• And Haydn Gwynne, Chuk Iwuji and Gemma Jones (from Spooks!) are to appear alongside Kevin Spacey in Richard III, the final instalment of Sam Mendes’s Bridge Project, which plays at the Old Vic from 29 June

Finally, news of a new musical coming to London: Lend Me A Tenor opens at the Gielgud theatre in June. It’s the story of the failing Grand Opera Company of Ohio in 1934, which is about to be saved by the arrival of the world’s greatest tenor, Tito Merelli. When he’s unexpectedly incapacitated, the meek director’s assistant has to find a replacement. Add a scheming soprano, a tenor-struck ingénue, a jealous wife and the Cleveland Police department, and you’ve got the makings of a fab new musical comedy on the West End.

Kneehigh Theatre Company’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg opened in London’s West End this week. The story, based on Jacques Demy’s 1964 film, follows two young lovers torn apart by war and circumstance. We asked some audience members what they thought of the show.

“I was very pleasantly surprised by Umbrellas – beautifully staged and seamlessly performed, it never drags or becomes over-wrought, and there’s a delight around every corner. Loved it.”
Iain, 43, Tufnell Park

“I thought The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was a charming musical with a sweet love story and an inspiring overall message that life goes on or c’est la vie! The fantastic set and fabulous costumes capture the setting of France during the 1950s/ 60s. The character of Maitresse played by Meow Meow really stood out as the alluring, sexy and captivating narrator of this quirky production. ”
Aly, 31, Greenwich

“Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a very original and unusual musical which makes it even more fascinating. The main storyline is conventional but the creative direction makes it more appealing. It has love, humour, beauty, eroticism, great music and lyrics… and all this gets better as the play develops. I loved all the stage changes and the use of the space to theme the different acts. I also thought the use of puppets was magical. The main love song is absolutely beautiful and supported by the incredible voices of the main two characters. However, the main star is definitely Meow Meow who steals the whole show with the act led by the song ‘Without You’.”
Maria, 25, Herne Hill

“I loved The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – it’s a bit like watching one of those cool French Stella Artois adverts made into a musical. Right from the start, when the ever-watchable Meow Meow makes her introduction, you’re pulled into a world of mid-century small-town France where people mambo with helium balloons, struggle to sell umbrellas for a living, and fall in love at first sight. Carly Bawden, who plays Genevieve, has a gorgeous voice, perfectly suited to the part. It’s a quirky romantic musical that’s sung nearly all the way through (like Les Mis), so it’s probably not to everyone’s taste, but I think the talented cast, innovative staging and gorgeous, soaring score make this a really refreshing new West End show.”
Zoe, 30, Peckham Rye

“Umbrellas of Cherbourg was the perfect accompaniment to a spring evening in London. Light, pretty, charming and lyrical I loved the whole 1950s French ambiance of the play. Meow Meow’s introduction and fillers gave it an injection of neo-burlesque sass and the clever use of sets meant it was a delight to watch. Pitch-perfect.”
Sally, 37, Haringay

Happily, the original writers (Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn) have kept much of the classic comedy that makes the TV show so watchable. And the actors taking over from Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne, the excellent comic David Haig and the ever-brilliant Henry Goodman (read our interview with the latter here) are just as skilled as those they replace.

The script is updated, with references to BlackBerrys, the coalition, and the financial crisis, and packs in many laughs about politics, political relationships, foreign policy, and the BBC.

We asked a few audience members what they thought of the show:

Jonny, 25, Tunbridge Wells
Yes, Prime Minister was an enjoyable night out. Henry Goodman and David Haig combined impeccably, and although not hilarious, it was witty and entertaining. It also made sense for me, despite having seen very little of the original series. Worth going for Sir Humphrey Appleby’s (Henry Goodman) over-educated hyperbolic piffle alone!

Jo, 27, Battersea
Henry Goodman was as brilliant as ever – a complete chameleon actor who does justice to every role he plays, and his Sir Humphrey is no different. An hour and a half is possibly too long for the plot line (which flips between witty satire and pure farce), but this is not just a re-hash of the old Yes, Prime minister series, as the writers have adeptly updated the issues and context whilst retaining the style of the TV show.  

Madelene, 37, London
The new version of Yes, Prime Minister is not a far distance away from the original television version, sharp wit and killer lines, as well as a comical view of who may actually guide our political decisions.

Jane, 30, London
 Yes, Prime Minister was pleasing and nostalgic, although the update feels a bit old fashioned in comparison to shows like The Thick Of It. The supporting cast were excellent, especially Jonathan Slinger as Bernard.

Jenny, 27, Essex
I’m not really familiar with the TV show but I enjoyed the stage version of Yes, Prime Minister. Although the plot was pretty thin, the play was full of jokes and kept me amused all the way through. David Haig was great as the Prime Minister and it’s always a treat to see Henry Goodman on stage. This was the first comic role I’d seen him play. I’d say he’s more suited to a dramatic role than comedy, but he did make a very smooth Sir Humphrey!

Stephen, 37, Oxford
Good fun. Longer and more extreme than the TV series, the writers seem to have become more bitter and cynical over the years, but hasn’t everyone? Glad to see that Sir Humphrey is still a Balliol man.

Yes, Prime Minister plays at the Gielgud until 15 July next year. Book tickets here. Have you seen the show? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.