The new production of Miss Saigon won nine of its 12 nominations, including best actor and actress in a musical, best direction, best choreography and best musical revival. The musical, set during the Vietnam War and based on the opera Madame Butterfly, opened in London at the Prince Edward Theatre last May.
Lee Hall's adaptation of the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love - currently playing at London's Noel Coward Theatre - won best new play, while Memphis the Musical was named best new musical. Sheffield Theatres' Oliver! won the best regional production for the second consecutive year.
Talking Meltdown - Talking Heads co-founder David Byrne is to curate this year's Meltdown Festival at London's Southbank Centre. The singer said it would be "exciting" to follow in the footsteps of fellow music stars such as Jarvis Cocker, David Bowie, and Ray Davies. "I plan to invite performers I've seen . . . and others I've missed or have dreamed of seeing," he continued. Now in its 22nd year, the festival - traditionally an eclectic mix of music, film, performance and art - will run from 17 to 28 August.
Curtain Up! - An exhibition celebrating 40 years of theatre on Broadway and the West End is to run in both London and New York. Provisionally called Curtain Up!, the exhibition is timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Olivier Awards next year and will showcase past winners of the awards across performance and design. It will run first at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in February 2016, and then at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in the autumn of the same year. Both venues are collaborating with the Society of London Theatre on the exhibition. Curtain Up! is being designed by Tom Piper, who was behind the poppy art installation at the Tower of London to mark the centenary of the First World War.
The Last Time - Composer and big band leader James Last has announced his final tour. The 85-year-old German artist said the concerts "will mark the end of this chapter" in his life, and comes after he was seriously ill in September. "The main thing is that my fans have the best concerts of their lives and we will make this our 'happiest' concert yet," he said. The tour will include two dates at the Royal Albert Hall, with the final concert on 26 April in Cologne.
DJ Degree - Fatboy Slim has received an award from the university where he studied. The DJ and producer, real name Norman Cook, was given the University of Brighton's Alumnus Award for his contribution to the music industry and his support for the institution. The 51-year-old gained his degree in British Studies in the 1980s when the university was Brighton Polytechnic. At the ceremony, he told graduates that graduation marked the start of them embarking on their dreams. BBC News presenter Nicholas Owen also received an award. In his acceptance speech, he advised students: "If you see a door a quarter open, always go through it. There is nothing worse than having regrets."
Folk News - Joan Baez and Passenger have been announced as the headliners for this year's Cambridge Folk Festival. The event at Cherry Hinton Hall, between 30 July and 2 August, will also feature singer songwriters Frank Turner and Joan Armatrading. Folk singer Peggy Seeger, who appeared at the first festival in 1965, is also on the bill.
(Jim Evan
