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.

This year’s Olivier Award nominations have been announced, with the National Theatre’s hit show The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time leading the way with eight possible prizes, including Best New Play.

Simon Stephens’ adaptation is also in the running for Best Actor for Luke Treadaway, Nicola Walker for Best Supporting Actress, as well as its creative team, with nominations for director Marianne Elliott, sound designer Ian Dickinson, lighting designer Paule Constable and set designers Bunny Christie and Finn Ross.

Two other productions scoring highly in the nominations are Top Hat and The Bodyguard with seven and four nominations each. Both have received nods in the coveted Best New Musical accolade alongside Loserville and Soul Sister. The lovely Tom Chambers, star of Top Hat, fights for the Best Actor in a Musical against six-time nominated Sweeney Todd star Michael Ball; Kiss Me, Kate’s Alex Bourne; and musical theatre newcomer and star of Cabaret, Will Young. For full details, go to the Official London Theatre website. The winners will be announced at a star-studded ceremony, hosted by double Olivier Award-winner Sheridan Smith and Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville, on 28 April at the Royal Opera House.

The Young Vic has announced three new productions for their Maria theatre later this year. The venue’s smaller auditorium will host Trash Cuisine, a co-production with Belarus Free Theatre; The Secret Agent co-produced with theatre O; and new David Greig play The Events between May and November this year. The three shows are linked by dark themes of political violence and terror. As if in contrast, Fevered Sleep’s acclaimed show for 3 to 5-year-olds, Brilliant, returns to the venue from 3 to 13 July, with its dreamlike world made of light.

In addition, the Soho Theatre has news of two new dramas with an international flavour as part of its summer programme. Kathrine Kressmann Taylor’s classic pre-war drama Address Unknown will be performed in a new French-and-English version in June with Belgian theatremaker Valentijn Dhaenens’ look at the manipulative nature of rhetoric, Bigmouth, following in July. The new pieces join a spring/summer line-up that includes The Life And Sort Of Death Of Eric Argyle, Verity Bargate Award winner Pastoral, and tale of returning soldiers developed with former servicemen, Glory Dazed.

Finally, Northern Broadsides critically acclaimed production of Rutherford & Son will transfer to the St James Theatre this summer. Directed by Jonathan Miller, Rutherford & Son will play at the Victoria-based theatre from 4 to 29 June with the Northern Broadsides Artistic Director Barrie Rutter in the lead role of John Rutherford.

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

Firstly, there’s been another big birthday in Theatreland. Congratulations to War Horse, which celebrated its fifth anniversary on the London stage this week. The show’s been seen on stage by more than 1.6 million people in London, including the Queen, and remains one of London’s most popular productions.

From National Theatre long-runners to transfers: I’ve learnt that the National’s critically acclaimed production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time will transfer to the West End next year following its sell-out season at the Southbank venue. Adapted from Mark Haddon’s novel by acclaimed playwright Simon Stephens, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time plays at the Apollo Theatre from 1 March with Luke Treadaway reprising his role as the 15-year-old autistic maths genius Christopher Boone.

And there’s news of another new West End show opening next year: From Here to Eternity features lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Stuart Brayson and is based on James Jones’ award-winning 1951 novel, rather than the classic film. I’ve no cast news yet, but the show will be directed by Tamara Harvey, and starts previews at the Shaftesbury Theatre in September next year

Finally, looking ahead to next summer, the Open Air Theatre has announced a new stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice and a re-imagining of The Winter’s Tale for children aged six and older for its 2013 season. These two shows join the previously announced productions of To Kill A Mockingbird and the first-ever Rodgers and Hammerstein production at the venue, The Sound Of Music. It sounds like we can look forward to another great summer at this ever-brilliant venue.

London Theatre Cast News:

• Zoë Wanamaker returns to the West End next year to star in David Leveaux’s production of Peter Nichols’ black comedy Passion Play at the Duke of York’s Theatre
• Jonathan Bonnici, Denton Chikura, Tunji Falana, Sandy Grierson, Éva Magyar, Itxaso Moreno, Adura Onashile, Tahirah Sharif, Harmage Singh Kalirai, Ony Uhiara and Hemi Yeroham will appear in Mary Zimmerman’s new play, The Arabian Nights at the Tricycle Theatre from 30 November to 12 January
• Nadia Clifford, Geoffrey Freshwater, Eve Pearce and Timothy Watson will join Maureen Lipman and Tracy-Ann Oberman in Terry Johnson’s production of Old Money at the Hampstead Theatre from 29 November to 12 January
• Joining Oliver Ford Davies in Goodnight Mister Tom are Louise Collins, Joanne Howarth, Aoife McMahon, Freya Parker, Georgina Sutton, Alan Vicary, Jonathan Warde and Emma Drysdale, as well as Elisa de Grey, Bradley Hall and Osmund Bullock
• Gina McKee and Anna Maxwell Martin join Tamzin Outhwaite in the transfer of Hampstead Downstairs’ sell-out production Di And Viv And Rose to the venue’s main space from 17 January to 23 February