Laurence Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards, but they were renamed in honour of the British actor Laurence Olivier in 1984.
The awards are given to individuals involved in West End productions and other leading non-commercial theatres based in London across a range of categories covering plays, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. A discretionary non-competitive Special Olivier Award is also given each year. The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honour in British theatre, equivalent to the BAFTA Awards for film and television, and the BRIT Awards for music. The Olivier Awards are considered equivalent to Broadway's Tony Awards and France's Molière Award.
Since inception, the awards have been held at various venues and theatres across London, from 2012 to 2016 at the Royal Opera House, before moving to the Royal Albert Hall in 2017. Television coverage is broadcast in prime time on ITV, who acquired the rights from 2013 onwards with radio coverage by Magic Radio.
History
The awards were first established in 1976 by the Society of London Theatre as the Society of West End Awards and were designed by artist Tom Merrifield. In 1984, British actor Laurence Olivier gave his consent for the awards to be renamed in his honour and they became known as the Laurence Olivier Awards. The first awards ceremony was held in December 1976 at Café Royal.Judging
Each year, Olivier Awards judging panels for theatre, opera, dance and affiliate shows are put together by the Society of London Theatre.For opera, dance and affiliates, each panel are made up of a mix of ‘professional’ panellists and members of the public who are passionate about London theatre. The panels first select the shows they consider most worthy of an Olivier Award nomination, then vote on a winner at the end of the judging period.
For the theatre awards, a longlist is compiled by a panel made up of members of the public, and submitted to SOLT members to vote on. Members may still vote outside of the list at this stage, except for in the four Supporting Actor/Actress categories. The members’ votes are collated with those of the panellists to create the list of nominees. The nominees list is then voted on by both members and panellists to produce the winners.
Ceremony
Hosts and presenters
Past hosts of the Olivier Awards ceremony include Michael Ball, Imelda Staunton, Clive Anderson, Gemma Arterton, Stephen Mangan, Hugh Bonneville, Sheridan Smith, Lenny Henry, Catherine Tate, and Jason Manford.Presenters of individual awards include Anthony Head, James Nesbitt, Richard E. Grant, Richard Wilson, Sue Johnston, Angela Lansbury, Diana, Princess of Wales, Eddie Izzard, Sir Tom Stoppard, Barry Norman, Peter Barkworth, Daniel Radcliffe, Anthony Hopkins, Sue Lawley, Diana Rigg, Edward Fox, Tim Rice, Gary Wilmot, Jane Asher, Tom Conti, Denis Quilley, Angela Rippon, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lee Evans, Patti LuPone, Lin-Manuel Miranda, John Boyega, Michael Sheen, Meera Syal, Paul O'Grady, Julian Clary, and Juliet Stevenson.
Venues
The venue most associated with the Awards is Grosvenor House Hotel, which has housed the after-show reception nine times and hosted the whole event on four further occasions. As well as at the Grosvenor, the presentations have been held at: Victoria Palace, Lyceum, National Theatre Olivier, Albery, Shaftesbury, London Palladium, Dominion, Royalty, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Café Royal, Piccadilly, and The Park Lane Hilton.From 2012 to 2016 the awards ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House, moving to the Royal Albert Hall in 2017. The 2013 ceremony was the first ceremony to be broadcast on television since 2003.
Broadcast
The first Laurence Olivier Awards to be broadcast on television was the 1981 ceremony, which was broadcast on BBC1, and continued every year until 1992, before switching to BBC2 each year until 2003. The awards ceremony was then only broadcast on radio until 2011, when the BBC broadcast live interactive red-button coverage of the event, while Paul Gambaccini presented a programme on BBC Radio 2 with live coverage and interviews. The same coverage followed in 2012, before ITV secured the broadcast rights which saw the return of the Olivier Awards to mainstream television in 2013. This has continued in recent years, and the ceremony has also been broadcast on Magic Radio.Award categories
Drama
- Best New Play
- Best Revival
- Best New Comedy
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Performance in a Supporting Role
- * Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- * Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Musical
- Best New Musical
- Best Musical Revival
- Best Actor in a Musical
- Best Actress in a Musical
- Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical
- * Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical
- * Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical
- Outstanding Achievement in Music
Production
- Best Director
- Best Theatre Choreographer
- Best Set Design
- Best Costume Design
- Best Lighting Design
- Best Sound Design
Dance/Opera
- Best New Dance Production
- Best New Opera Production
- Outstanding Achievement in Dance
- Outstanding Achievement in Opera
Other
- Special Award
- Best Entertainment and Family
- Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre
- Audience Award
Retired
- Actor of the Year in a New Play
- Actress of the Year in a New Play
- Actor of the Year in a Revival
- Actress of the Year in a Revival
- Best Comedy Performance
- Best Performance in a Musical
- Supporting Artist of the Year
- Best Newcomer in a Play
- Most Promising Performer
- Best Company Performance
- Best Director of a Play
- Best Director of a Musical
- Most Promising Playwright
- Best Set Designer
- Outstanding Achievement in a Musical
Award milestones
Productions
- The record for the most Olivier Awards ever received by a musical is tied with Matilda in 2012 and Hamilton in 2018, both with seven awards each including Best New Musical.
- The most Olivier Awards ever received by a play was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in 2017 with nine awards including Best New Play.
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time received seven Olivier Awards. Nicholas Nickleby received six. Chimerica, Sunday in the Park with George, She Loves Me and Guys and Dolls received five. Gypsy, The Book of Mormon, After the Dance, Spring Awakening, Black Watch, Hairspray, ', All My Sons, Billy Elliot, Hedda Gabler, Oklahoma, Stanley, Machinal, ', An Inspector Calls and Carousel received four.
- The most nominations ever received by a production is 13 with Hamilton. Hairspray and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child received 11. Follies had 10. Come from Away, Company, Memphis, Matilda, Billy Elliot, Mary Poppins, Kiss Me, Kate, Oklahoma, Carousel and & Juliet received nine. The Inheritance, The Ferryman, Groundhog Day, Gypsy, ', The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Producers, Guys and Dolls, ', Pacific Overtures, Ragtime, My Fair Lady, Spend, Spend, Spend, The Lion King, Tommy, She Loves Me and Fiddler on the Roof received eight.
- Kiss Me, Kate holds the record for most nominations without any wins at nine.
Individuals
- William Dudley, Judi Dench and Matthew Bourne are tied for the record for the most competitive wins by an individual with seven each. Dench also won a Special Olivier Award in 2004. Andrew Lloyd Webber has won six plus the Special Olivier Award in 2008.
- Ian McKellen, Alan Bennett, Richard Eyre and Stephen Sondheim have all won five competitive awards plus the Special Olivier Award.
- Five wins: Declan Donnellan, Mark Henderson, Mark Thompson.
- Four wins: Michael Bryant, Darcey Bussell, Michael Frayn, Michael Gambon, Tim Goodchild, Clare Higgins, Alex Jennings, Sam Mendes, John Napier, Trevor Nunn, Philip Quast, Willy Russell, Simon Russell Beale, Imelda Staunton, Frances de la Tour, Paule Constable.
- Performers who have won Olivier Awards in both the play and musical categories are: Simon Russell Beale, Jonathan Pryce, Henry Goodman, Imelda Staunton, Judi Dench, Sheridan Smith, Janie Dee and Sharon D. Clarke.
- Maggie Smith has never won the award despite being nominated a total of six times. She did receive the Special Olivier Award in 2010.
- Judi Dench is the only actress to win dramatic and musical Olivier acting awards in the same year - for her performances in Absolute Hell and A Little Night Music.
- Philip Quast has won the Olivier for Best Actor in a Musical on three occasions, while Michael Crawford, Robert Lindsay, Daniel Evans and Michael Ball have all won the award twice.
- Imelda Staunton has won the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical three times. Julia McKenzie, Joanna Riding, Maria Friedman and Samantha Spiro have all won twice. Imelda Staunton also holds the record for the most Olivier nominations in the Best Actress in a Musical category, with seven nominations. Maria Friedman is next, with six nominations.
- Jenny Galloway and Tracie Bennett have both won the Olivier for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical twice.
- Shows that have won Olivier Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical: Barbara Dickson and Con O'Neill in Blood Brothers, Jonathan Pryce and Lea Salonga in Miss Saigon, Alun Armstrong and Julia McKenzie in ', Daniel Evans and Samantha Spiro in Merrily We Roll Along, Alex Jennings and Joanna Riding in My Fair Lady, Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell in Sunday in the Park with George, Michael Ball and Leanne Jones in Hairspray, Bertie Carvel and all four Matildas in Matilda and Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton in '
- Jessica Lange is the first American actress nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance in Long Day's Journey Into Night
- Hairspray won all three musical acting awards in 2008: Best Actor and Actress in a Musical for Michael Ball and Leanne Jones and Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for Tracie Bennett.
- Roles that have won awards for actors on more than one occasion include: Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, George in Sunday in the Park with George, The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods, Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls, Sweeney Todd in ', Mrs. Lovett in ', Frau Schneider in Cabaret and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady.
- Michael Ball and Bertie Carvel both won Oliviers for playing roles of the opposite sex, in 2008 for Hairspray and 2012 for Matilda, respectively.
- Shared wins: In 2006, all three actors sharing the role of Billy Elliot received the Olivier for Best Actor in a Musical and in 2012, all four actresses sharing the role of Matilda received the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical.
- Shared nominations: In 2017, the eight members of the cast of Our Ladies Of Perpetual Succour were jointly nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and in the same year, six cast members from The Girls were jointly nominated in the Best Actress in a Musical category. In 2019, the six cast members of Six were jointly nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical for their performances as the six wives of Henry VIII.
- In 2012 Eleanor Worthington-Cox won for her role Matilda in Matilda and with that she became youngest winner of this prize.
- In 1985, Patti LuPone became the first American actress to win an Olivier award for her work in The Cradle Will Rock and Les Miserables.
- In 1984, Tim Flavin became the first American actor to win the Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in On Your Toes at the Palace Theatre. Tim was nominated twice in the same year for Most Promising Newcomer and Best Actor in a Musical. His award was presented to him by Dame Anna Neagle.
- In 2018, Billie Piper became the first, and so far only, actor to have won all six of the currently available UK Theatre Best Actress awards for a single performance (Evening Standard Theatre Awards, What's On Stage Theatre Awards, Critic's Circle Theatre Awards, Broadway UK Theatre Awards, Glamour Awards and Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards. This accolade was achieved by her performance in Yerma which was hailed as “the performance of the decade”, “shattering, exhausting, earthquaking” and “unbearably harrowing”.