Andrew Scott urged those in the theatre industry to "keep the faith" as he accepted his best actor Olivier Award on Sunday night.

The Fleabag star emerged victorious in his category for his role in Noel Coward's Present Laughter and shared a positive message about staying optimistic amid the coronavirus pandemic and its ongoing effects on the industry.
Telling others to "keep the faith", Andrew said: "I can't wait to be back on the boards and having a laugh again as soon as we can."

Admitting he was "genuinely thrilled" to win an Olivier, the actor added: "A sense of humour that is incredibly important for us people in the theatre. It's something that's helped us all survived in the last few months during this incredibly arduous time."

Sharon D. Clarke took home the best actress gong for her role in Death of a Salesman, which also earned Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell the best director prize.

Delivering a poignant speech as she accepted the gong at the audience-free London Palladium, Elliott said: "This is a happy day and this is a sad day, because of what theatre was, and because none of us know when it will properly return.

"Any shows that are happening right now are, let's make no bones about it, running at a loss. All our theatre practitioners are mainly freelancers and a lot of them have slipped through the cracks, and have not had any benefits since March. But it is a happy day because it reminds us of what theatre is, what it can do, and how it can touch hearts, minds and souls."

Other winners on the night included Andrew's co-star in Present Laughter, Indira Varma, who took home the best supporting actress prize, while Adrian Scarborough won the best supporting actor gong for Leopoldstadt.

Tom Stoppard's work was also named best new play, while & Juliet was among the big winners in the musical genre - with prizes for best actress in a musical for Miriam-Teak Lee, best supporting actor in a musical for David Bedella, and best supporting actress in a musical for Cassidy Janson.

The main list of winners is as follows:

Best actor: Andrew Scott - Present Laughter
Best actress: Sharon D. Clarke - Death of a Salesman
Best supporting actor: Adrian Scarborough - Leopoldstadt
Best supporting actress: Indira Varma - Present Laughter
Best new play: Leopoldstadt
Best new musical: Dear Evan Hansen
Best revival: Cyrano De Bergerac
Best musical revival: Fiddler On The Roof
Best actor in a musical: Sam Tutty - Dear Evan Hansen
Best actress in a musical: Miriam-Teak Lee - & Juliet
Best supporting actor in a musical: David Bedella - & Juliet
Best supporting actress in a musical: Cassidy Janson - & Juliet
Best director: Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell - Death Of A Salesman.

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