Olivier Awards: piazza and red carpet events

Musical theatre star Michael Xavier, who has twice been nominated for an Olivier Award, and classical music star and TV presenter Myleene Klass will host an evening of entertainment on the stage in Covent Garden Piazza.

From 17:00, you will be entertained by live performances from hit shows like Avenue Q, and three of this year’s Audience Award nominees, Les Misérables, Matilda The Musical and Wicked.

When the ceremony gets underway at 18:30, you can watch all the action on big screens as the whole show is streamed directly to theatre fans in the Piazza. 

What does it take to keep a theatre production running for months, years and decades on end? A bit of love from Time Out's theatre critics certainly helps, but in reality it's the tireless work of make-up artists, costume-makers, production staff, directors and – of course – actors that really makes the difference between forgettable folly and West End legend.The 16 shows below are all up for this year’s BBC Radio 2 Audience Award at the Oliviers. Vote for your favourite at www.olivierawards.com until 5pm on Tuesday March 4 and find out who wins by watching ITV highlights of the star-studded 2014 Olivier Awards with MasterCard ceremony at the Royal Opera House on Sunday April 13. See more behind the scenes videos The 39 Steps The Bodyguard The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time Disney's The Lion King Jersey Boys Les Misérables Mamma Mia! Matilda - The Musical The Mousetrap The Phantom of the Opera Stomp Thriller Live War Horse We Will Rock You Wicked The Woman in Black Behind the scenes at London's biggest shows The 39 Steps The Bodyguard The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time Disney's The Lion King Jersey Boys Les Misérables Mamma Mia! Matilda - The Musical The Mousetrap The Phantom of the Opera Stomp Thriller Live War Horse We Will Rock You Wicked The Woman in Black More Theatre features Shakespeare plays in London Comedies, tragedies and histories – catch them all in the Bard's spiritual home