First hosted in 1976, it is fair to say that the Laurence Olivier Awards are one of the high-points of theatre-land’s calendar. Named after the giant that was Lord Olivier, the awards are presented annually and normally have all the generic titles such, as best actress, best actor etc. However Matilda won a record number of awards this year after being standing room only for every performance thus far.

Matilda moved down from Stratford-upon-Avon last year, opening in November 2011. The playwright is Dennis Kelly, and the comedian Tim Minchin is the composer/lyricist.

The award with the most gravitas was Best Actress in a musical, which was presented to the four young ladies who play the title character, Eleanor Worthington Cox, ten, Cleo Demetriou, ten, Kerry Ingram, twelve and Sophie Kiely also twelve. These four beat veteran actresses to gain their accolade such as Sarah Lancashire, 47, Kat Fleetwood, 39, and 29 year-old Scarlet Strallen.

Previously the youngest actors or actresses to win these awards were the ‘pint-sized’ actors, who played the title character in Billy Elliot. Aged between 13 and 15 years old, they shared the Best Actor in a musical award back in 2006.