Nominations for the 2018 Olivier Awards are in! And it’s another record setting year. Find out who the top contenders are, who might win two Olivier Awards to add to the four she already has (hint: it’s Imelda Staunton), why we’re betting on Hamilton, and everything else you need to know about theatre’s biggest night.

Hamilton Continues to Make History

If there’s one constant in this year’s Olivier Award nominations, it’s Hamilton. Passionately smashin’ every expectation, the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical rounded up a record-breaking 13 nominations. If you’re counting, that’s two more than Harry Potter and the Cursed Child brought in last year – and that was a record at the time!

The show’s nominations include Best New Musical, Outstanding Achievement in Music (for Lin-Manuel Miranda), Best Director (Thomas Kail), Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design, and Best Theatre Choreographer, plus six acting nominations.

In some categories, Hamilton will even be competing against itself. Best Actor in a Musical pits Giles Terera (Aaron Burr) against Jamael Westman (Alexander Hamilton). Hopefully it won’t come down to a duel.

Meanwhile, Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical includes not one, not two, but three Hamilton cast members: Michael Jibson (King George), Jason Pennycooke (Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson), and Cleve September (John Laurens / Philip Hamilton). Ross Noble (Igor in Young Frankenstein) is the sole nominee for that category not in Hamilton.

Hamilton actress Rachel John (Angelica Schuyler) has also been nominated, for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical.

What Other Shows Are On the Table?

Following close on Hamilton‘s heels is the National Theatre’s revival of Follies: with ten total nominations including Best Director (Dominic Cooke), Best Set Design, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Actress (Janie Dee), and Best Musical Revival.

Besides Hamilton, contenders for Best New Musical are An American In Paris, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Girl From the North Country, and Young Frankenstein.

If you’ve been following London theatre at all this year, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman is leading the play nominations with eight total. It’s up against Ink, Network, and Oslo in the Best New Play category. And director Sam Mendes, actress Laura Donnelly, and actor Paddy Considine are all nominees.

Close behind is Angels In America (no surprise there, either) with seven nominations. It’s up for Best Revival, with Marianne Elliot nominated for Best Director, and several cast nominations.

Other contenders across the board are Girl From the North Country, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Ink, Hamlet at the Almeida Theatre, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Network, and Oslo. Ink, Oslo, Network, and The Ferryman are all up for Best New Play.

Acting Nominations Are … Intense

You don’t have to look far to find out just how crazy this year’s nominations are. In Best Actress, who could choose between Imelda Staunton, Audra McDonald, Lesley Manville, and Laura Donnelly? Then again, Imelda Staunton has already won four Olivier Awards and Audra McDonald has six Tony Awards to her name. So maybe it’s time to give something to first-time nominee Laura Donnelly.

Staunton could also win elsewhere: she’s up for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Follies. Will she win two awards in one night? We wouldn’t put it past her.

The pressure is also on for Best Actor: Bryan Cranston, Andrew Garfield, and Andrew Scott are all nominees – not to mention Ferryman actor Paddy Considine. Aside from Scott (who’s a previous Olivier Award-winner), all these actors are first-time nominees. In fact, there seem to be a lot of first-time nominees this season, which is very exciting.

Some other notable nominations are John McCrea and Josie Walker (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), and Shirley Henderson and Ciarán Hinds (Girl From The North Country).

Affiliate Theatres Need Some Love, Too

Let’s not forget the nominees for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre, though, because scooping up an Olivier nomination for an off-West End show is pretty impressive. The contenders are The B*easts at Bush Theatre, Killology at Jerwood Theatre Upstairs At The Royal Court Theatre, The Red Lion at Trafalgar Studios 2, and The Revlon Girl at Park Theatre.

In Case You Needed Reminding

So um, the Olivier Awards are kind of a big deal. Going on 36 years now, they’re basically the most prestigious awards you can get in the world of theatre.

This year, the Olivier Awards ceremony will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 8 April. Don’t miss it!

Full List of 2018 Olivier Nominees