An American musical and a hit British play dominated Britain’s stage awards last night.

The juggernaut musical The Book of Mormon and hit geopolitical drama Chimerica were the big winners at the Olivier Awards.

The Book of Mormon won four prizes, including best new musical.

Chimerica took five trophies, including best new play. Written by Lucy Kirkwood, and framed in the geopolitical domination of the United States and China, it tells the story a photographer searching for the protester who defied a tank in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

It was one of several winners to start life in smaller state-subsidized theatres. And it comes at a time when government investment in the arts is drying up in Britain in the face of severe budget cuts.