Olivier Awards: Central’s president, Michael Grandage, nominated

The nominees for the 2011 Laurence Olivier Awards have been announced, and Central is delighted that two of its alumni, Michael Grandage and Nick Manning, and one honorary fellow, Paule Constable, have made the list. Michael Grandage (Acting ‘84) returned to Central in Autumn 2009 to take the lead as President, alongside his work as Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse.

It is for this work on King Lear at the Donmar that Grandage is now being recognised in the form of a Best Director nomination. The production has been widely acclaimed, with five-star reviews from The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Financial Times and Guardian.

Nominated for Best Sound is the Lyric Hammersmith theatre’s Head of Sound, Nick Manning (Stage Management ’94). His work in Ghost Stories has given the horror-themed play’s audience enough thrills that it has also been nominated for Best Entertainment. An air of secrecy surrounds the show to protect the surprises created by the creative team, including Manning, Sean Holmes, Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson.

‘We use sound to play with people’s emotions, their sense of fear,’ Manning says. ‘We researched how sound is used in horror films and brought those techniques to the theatre to make audience members jump out of their seats. Sound ratchets up the tension in the horror genre, and generally, I think it works… which is rather fun!’

A Best Lighting Design nomination went to Paule Constable, who was given an honorary fellowship to Central at the December 2010 graduation ceremony, for her work on Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre. She is an award-winning lighting designer whose work has featured in the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Opera and Complicite, amongst many others.