Rachel and Ruth triumph again...

It is the day of the Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards. The usual suspects were all nominated, including, of course, Rachel Weisz and Jude Law. Yet while Weisz won Best Actress, Law, perhaps surprisingly, lost out to Mark Rylance for his performance in 'Jerusalem'. 'A Streetcar Named Desire' continued its success as Ruth Wilson pipped Keira Knightley to win Best Supporting Actress for the Donmar Warehouse production. 'War Horse' unfortunately was beaten in the Audience Award for the Most Popular Show, as 'Wicked' swept the people's vote after four failed nominations in 2007.

Hollywood's finest vie for West End title...

The nominations for the Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards have been announced today. Among the names are those who now are seemingly synonymous with awards. Rachel Weisz and Gillian Anderson are pitted head to head in 'Best Actress' category, for their roles in Williams' 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and Ibsen's 'A Doll's House' respectively. The contenders for 'Best Supporting Actress' are similarly strong, including Ruth Wilson for her work alongside Weisz, and Hollywood star Keira Knightley for her performance in newly opened play 'The Misanthrope'. A theatre awards ceremony cannot proceed without recognition for a famous personality in the guise of Shakespeare, and so it is not surprising that Jude Law is nominated for 'Best Actor' as the Danish prince himself, Hamlet. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 21 March.