Thursday 16 April 2026 11:27 am  |  Updated:  Thursday 16 April 2026 12:04 pm

The Capitalist: Ian Mckellen goes off-script at Olivier Awards

By: The Capitalist

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Dispatch from the Olivier Awards, Jeremy King and AI sermons; catch up on the latest gossip in this week’s The Capitalist

TINY BEAR SWEEPS UP AT OLIVIER AWARDS

The 50th anniversary of the Olivier Awards saw The Capitalist schmoozing with the West End’s creme de la creme. But despite the A-list crowd, The Capitalist noted there was only one star that really mattered on the night, and it came in the shape of a tiny duffel-coated bear.

Picking up an astonishing seven awards, Paddington mopped the floor with his human competitors, while The Capitalist lost count of how many award winners tearfully thanked the industry for “trusting them with this special bear”. Personally, The Capitalist didn’t find the bear’s rendition of ‘Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-marmalade’ too inspiring, but what do we know darling. 

Meanwhile, theatre luvvies in chief Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren were met with a standing ovation just for coming onto the stage to present, only to then be forced to redo their lines when the 86-year-old actor admitted he was unable to read the autocue. After significantly enlarging the font proved unable to rectify the problem, the Lord of the Rings Star ditched the script altogether and improvved his own spiel about the power of theatre. Dame Mirren said the pair had been assured before they came on that they needn’t worry about their slot, they were “the pros” after all. Well, the show must go on!

AI-MIGHTY FATHER 

That Trump Always Chickens Out (TACO) has become a much-loved acronym among the political class when it comes to Mr Donald’s economic ditherings, but this week it was proven true for the US President’s religious dealings too. 

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After posting an AI image in which the President depicted himself as a Jesus-like figure healing the sick – which itself came after a separate post lambasting Pope Leo XIV for being “WEAK on crime and terrible for foreign policy” – Trump was forced to backpedal following significant backlash, including from formerly friendly quarters. Critics included the likes of conservative activist Riley Gaines who wrote that “God shall not be mocked”, as well as ally Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, who said it was “right and normal” for the head of the Catholic Church to condemn war – which it seems even Trump struggled to disagree with.

In the President’s defence, he suggested it was a case of AI creativity gone wrong, saying the image was not intended to depict him as Christ, but rather a doctor. How’s that for a hallucination? 

Indeed, such mishaps may be why the Church itself has cautioned against the tech’s use, with Pope Leo earlier this year telling priests not to use AI to write their homilies, while acknowledging the temptation. Closer to home, Reverend Marcus Walker, rector of Great St Bartholomew in the City, told The Capitalist he agreed with the Pope’s cautions, calling AI “a good tool and a bad priest”, saying it could never know what your congregation needs to hear this Sunday. The rector did concede it was useful for checking basic things like “grammar or whether your argument actually holds up” – the latter of which The Capitalist might contest is fairly fundamental.

KING SHRUGS OFF £1BN IVY SALE

Congratulations to the legendary restaurateur Jeremy King, who has managed to pull off sounding cooly unbothered by the fact that his former restaurant The Ivy has been sold as part of a deal worth more than a billion pounds. The difficult fact? He sold it for a smidgen of that 20 years ago.

“It doesn’t worry me,” he told The Capitalist. It’s kudos to King, who has for 40 years been the most affable gent on the London restaurant scene. “I couldn’t have done it. It’s not in my capability to have taken that brand and rolled it out: it takes a very, very different mentality,” he added. While a billion is a very nice number, critics say The Ivy has lost its clout since it was franchised, and now the 50 odd UK restaurants offer a mediocre version of what King’s flagship restaurant did. He might not have a billion, but, as they say, money can’t buy class.

SHEPHERDING BREWERS

The long-standing head of Britain’s oldest brewery has put his money where mouth is, buying more shares in the maker of Spitfire Ale. Jonathan Neame, the chief executive of Faversham’s Shepherd Neame, snapped up 10,000 shares in the Faversham firm for a total of £48,300. It operates around 300 pubs in London and the South East, including some of the most historic and best-known City watering holes. They include the Jamaica Wine House near the Bank of England, or the Jam Pot to regulars; and the Cock and Woolpack on Finch Lane, one of the smallest Square Mile boozers.

Neame is the fifth generation of the eponymous family to lead the company. During the pandemic, he suspended rent payments from pub tenants, a move soon seen as industry best-practice and widely adopted by competitors. Nonetheless, the Capitalist notes that Neame could instead have spent his money on 7,000 pints of Bishops Finger strong Kentish ale. Cheers! 

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