UK's Olivier Awards Canceled, Other Theatre Awards Postponed

The Olivier Awards 2019 with Mastercard - Show

The Coronavirus pandemic has turned the theatre world upside down.

The 2020 Olivier Awards has been canceled. The show was originally set for April 5 at Royal Albert Hall in London. According to Deadline, the Organizer the Society of London Theatre made the call Tuesday as the UK government ramped up its restrictions in the fight against coronavirus. The Olivier Awards celebrate the very best in British theatre since 1976.

Organizers are working “on how to properly honor and announce this year’s winners, and will release further information soon.”

Additionally, The Helen Hayes Awards and the 76th Annual Theatre World Awards Ceremony have been postponed until further notice.

Read the full statement from The Helen Hayes Awards below:

It's with great care and consideration for our community that we announce the postponement of the 2020 Helen Hayes Awards, originally scheduled for May 18 at The Anthem. Our industry and communities are facing great uncertainty and we know it best to act with caution and concern. At this time, we are planning to reschedule the community celebration for late August. Following our standard processes, tickets will be available two months before the event, and recipients will be announced when the ceremony takes place.

The 76th Annual Theatre World Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway debuts has been postponed from June 1 to sometime this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In the interest of safety, the 2020 Theatre World Awards has been postponed," said Theatre World Awards President Dale Badway in a statement. "We hope to gather for our always spectacular evening sometime this fall. We are following governmental guidelines to practice social distancing, in hopes that our recipients, audiences, members and friends stay well and healthy. At this critical time, all of us at the Theatre World Awards would like to focus on the care and well-being of everyone in our Theatre World community and continue on with the awards tradition when appropriate."

More details to follow.

Photo: Getty