Life of Pi, the stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s Booker-winning novel featuring giant puppets and extraordinary special effects has received NINE nominations at this year’s Olivier Award, including the coveted best new play. The seven performers who play the puppet tiger are all nominated for best actor in a supporting role and Max Webster is up for Best Director.

Nominations are as follows:

Best sound design
Ian Dickinson for 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Noël Coward Theatre
Carolyn Downing for Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
Nick Lidster for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Gareth Owen for Back to the Future the Musical at the Adelphi Theatre

Best original score or new orchestrations
Bill Elliott, David Chase and Rob Fisher (new orchestrations) for Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre
Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard (composers) and Ethan Popp and Bryan Crook (orchestrations) for Back to the Future the Musical at the Adelphi Theatre
Simon Hale (orchestrator) for Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical at the Lyric Theatre
Andrew T Mackay (composer) for Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best theatre choreographer
Finn Caldwell for Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
Julia Cheng for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Kathleen Marshall for Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre
Sonya Tayeh for Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre

Best actor in a supporting role
7 actors who play the Tiger for Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
Dino Fetscher for The Normal Heart at the Olivier, National Theatre
Nathaniel Parker for The Mirror And The Light at the Gielgud Theatre
Danny Lee Wynter for The Normal Heart at the Olivier, National Theatre

Best set design
Tim Hatley for design and Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell for puppets for Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
Tim Hatley for design and Finn Ross for video design for Back to the Future the Musical at the Adelphi Theatre
Derek McLane for Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre
Tom Scutt for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre 

Best lighting design
Neil Austin for Frozen at Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Isabella Byrd for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Tim Lutkin for Back to the Future the Musical at the Adelphi Theatre
Tim Lutkin and Andrzej Goulding for Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best actor
Hiran Abeysekera for Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre
Ben Daniels for The Normal Heart at the Olivier, National Theatre
Omari Douglas for Constellations, a Donmar Warehouse production at the Vaudeville Theatre
Charles Edwards for Best of Enemies at the Young Vic

Best director
Rebecca Frecknall for Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre
Michael Longhurst for Constellations, a Donmar Warehouse production at the Vaudeville Theatre
Kathleen Marshall for Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre
Max Webster for Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre

Best new play
2:22 A Ghost Story at Noël Coward Theatre
Best of Enemies at Young Vic
Cruise at Duchess Theatre
Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre

The awards ceremony takes place at the Royal Albert Hall on 10 April.