The Olivier Award nominations have been announced, and once again, we have Oxford School of Drama Alumni featured on the nominations list. Regardless of accolades, we’re always so proud of the work our alumni produce, but it’s lovely to see some of their hard work being recognised on theatre’s biggest stage.
Olivier Award Nominations – Maimuna Memon and English featuring Nojan Khazai
Many congratulations to Maimuna Memon, who has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Sonya in Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812, which was at the Donmar Warehouse earlier this year. The musical has picked up four further nominations, including Best New Musical.
This is Maimuna’s second Olivier Award nomination following her 2023 nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for the National Theatre’s Standing at the Sky’s Edge.
Maimuna graduated from the Three Year Course in 2015 and has since gone on to have a varied and exciting stage and screen career. She appeared as Mary Magdalene in Tim Sheader’s Jesus Christ Superstar in both 2017 and 2020 at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre, her self-authored semi-autobiographical show Manic Street Creature won the Fringe First Award in 2022 before transferring to the Southwark Playhouse.
Maimuna is also a successful composer and musician, having composed the original music for the National Theatre’s 2024 production of The Grapes of Wrath and Wildcard Theatre’s Electrolyte in 2019. Her screen credits include Vedita in Domino Day and Anoushka in Sherwood, both for the BBC.
Another Olivier Award nomination we were thrilled to see was English at the Kiln Theatre and RSC for Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre, which featured Nojan Khazai in the role of Omid. Having graduated from the Three Year Course in 2022, English was Nojan’s professional stage debut.
Heartfelt congratulations go out to Maimuna for her nomination and to Nojan for his work on English!
The 2025 Olivier Award nominations are the third in a row to feature OSD alumni. Last year, we celebrated Tanya Reynold’s nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Play for her role in A Mirror alongside fellow OSD alumni and audition panel member Sarah Houghton. Then, in 2023, Maimuna was nominated for Standing at the Sky’s Edge.
We thought it would be nice to look back at some more incredible Olivier Award nominations our alumni have received over the years.
Catherine McCormack - 2001
In 2001, Catherine McCormack was nominated in the category of Best Supporting Actress for her role in Arthur Miller’s classic play All My Sons at the National Theatre. Directed by Howard Davies, Catherine McCormack starred alongside Julie Walters in this multi-award-winning production.
Catherine graduated from the Two Year Course, now the One Year Course, in 1993 and has since had an incredibly successful career both on stage and screen. In 2006 she was part of the original cast of the play The 39 Steps, she then went on to star as Nora in A Doll’s House, directed by Theatre legend Peter Hall. Her screen credits include the 1995 classic Braveheart alongside Mel Gibson, Queen Elizabeth I in the BBC miniseries Gunpowder, Treason & Plot, and Alex Tropper in the popular AppleTV+ series Slow Horses. Most recently, she starred alongside Colin Firth in Lockerbie: A Search For Truth, with fellow OSD alumni Rosanna Adams featuring as her daughter.
Catherine Steadman - 2016
Three Year Course alumni Catherine Steadman was nominated in 2016 for Best Supporting Actress following her role as Jean Tatlock in Tom Morton-Smith’s Oppenheimer. Directed by Angus Jackson, Oppenheimer began life at the RSC before transferring to London’s Vaudeville Theatre. Fun fact: this production also featured Tom McCall, current OSD Acting Tutor and audition panel member!
Since graduating in 2004, Catherine has worked on a number of notable projects, including the original cast of the multi-award-winning play That Face by Polly Stenham, and the leading role in the 2018 West End revival of Witness for the Prosecution. On screen, she has had memorable roles in Downton Abbey, Fresh Meat, The Inbetweeners, and The Tudors. Offstage, Catherine is also a successful writer, having authored a number of books including the #1 New York Times bestselling novel Something In The Water. Catherine is currently writing the screenplay for the adaptation of best-selling novel Then She Was Gone.
Ella Road - 2019
Ella Road, 2014 graduate of the One Year Course, had her debut play The Phlebotomist nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre at the 2019 Olivier Awards. Premiering at The Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in 2018 before transferring to the Main House in 2019. The play was also a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the oldest playwriting prize for women writing for English-speaking theatre.
Since The Phlebotomist’s debut, Ella has gone on to build a successful writing career with her second play, Fair Play, premiering at The Bush Theatre in 2021 to critical acclaim. She is working on two commissions, one for The Almeida Theatre and another for Hampstead Theatre. Ella has also written an episode of the forthcoming seventh season of Netflix’s Black Mirror and is currently writing and show running an as-yet untitled TV show for Sky as well as working on a slate of films in development.
Richard Gadd - 2020
Perhaps the most recognisable work on this list is Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer. Starting life as an Edinburgh Fringe show, Baby Reindeer was nominated in 2020 for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre after its run at the Bush Theatre. Baby Reindeer went on to win the Olivier Award, and Richard has since developed the show into the internationally renowned Netflix limited series of the same name.
The TV adaptation has gone on to win a variety of awards, including Outstanding Acting and Writing Awards at the 2024 Emmy Awards for Richard himself, as well as Critics Choice, Golden Globe, Independent Spirit, Screen Actors Guild, and Television Critics Association awards for the series and Richard’s co-star Jessica Gunning. Richard is currently filming his next project Half Man, for which he serves as creator, writer, producer, and lead actor alongside Jamie Bell. The series will be shown on BBC One in the UK and HBO in the USA.
The Olivier Awards will be hosted at The Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 6th April. Best of luck to Maimuna, and the team behind English, we’ll have our fingers crossed!
