Hairspray Scoops Four Olivier Awards

West End musical 'Hairspray' has won four awards at this year's Laurence Olivier Awards.

The stage musical was named best new musical, while newcomer Leanne Jones won the award for best actress in a musical for her role as Tracy Turnblad.

Michael Ball was also named best actor in a musical for his role as Tracy's mother Edna, while Tracie Bennett scooped the award for best performance in a supporting role in a musical for her role as Tracy's nemesis Velma Von Tussle.

'Hairspray', which is based on the cult 1988 John Waters film, the story is set in 1960s Baltimore and follows a teenager as she tries to win a place on her local television dance show.

Andrew Lloyd Webber received the Society of London Theatre Special Award for his achievements in London's Theatreland and across the world.

The composer of several of the longest running musicals in West End History, including 'The Phantom Of The Opera', 'Cats', Starlight Express' and 'Evita, Lloyd Webber's recent successes include the reality television shows 'How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?' and 'Any Dream Will Do', which found new stars for West End shows 'The Sound Of Music' and 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat'.

He also placed rising West End star Summer Strallen into the teen soap 'Hollyoaks' to raise her profile with a musical storyline before she replaced Connie Fisher as Maria in 'The Sound Of Music'.

Other winners at the awards included Kristin Scott Thomas, who was named best actress in the play category for her role in 'The Seagull' and Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was named best actor his starring role in 'Othello'.

Rupert Gould was named best director for 'Macbeth'. The production, which starred Best Actor nominee Patrick Stewart, was set in an Eastern bloc dictatorship. The play also won a Best Lighting Award.

'Rafta Rafta', which starred Meera Syal, won the award for best new comedy. The play was an adaptation of Bill Naughton's 'All In Good Time' by 'East Is East' author Ayub Khah-Din.

'A Disappearing Number', which was an exploration of the extraordinary mathematical collaboration between the Indian genius Srinivasa Ramanujan and Cambridge mathematician GH Hardy, was named best new play.

(KMcA)