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 of the same name 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.
The awards were established in 1976 by the Society of London Theatre as the Society of West End Theatre Awards and were designed by artist Tom Merrifield. The first ceremony was in December 1976 at the Café Royal. 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.[1]
Judging
Every year, judging panels for theatre, opera, dance and affiliate shows are put together by the Society of London Theatre.[2]
For opera, dance and affiliates, each panel is made up of a mix of professional panellists (journalists, casting directors, arts administrators, publishers and other industry professionals chosen for their knowledge in the field) 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.[2]
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 (as these each contain thousands of eligible performers). 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.[2]
The first Laurence Olivier Awards to be broadcast on television was the 1981 ceremony, which was broadcast on BBC1. This continued until 1992, before a switch to BBC2 until 2003.[6] The awards ceremony was then only broadcast on radio until 2011, when the BBC broadcast live interactive red-button coverage of the event,[7] while Paul Gambaccini presented a programme on BBC Radio 2 with live coverage and interviews.[3] 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.[8] This has continued in recent years, and the ceremony has also been broadcast on Magic Radio.
Some notable records and facts about the Laurence Olivier Awards include the following:[9]
Productions
The record for the most Olivier Awards ever received by a musical is tied between Matilda, Hamilton and the 2021 production of Cabaret which received all seven awards including Best Musical (or Revival). The latter became the first production in Olivier history to win in all four applicable acting categories.
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.
Of those 10, Judi Dench is the only performer to win both the play and musical Olivier acting awards in the same year (1996) - for her performances in Absolute Hell and A Little Night Music.
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.
In 1984, Tim Flavin was the first American actor to win the Olivier Award for his performance in On Your Toes at the Palace Theatre. He was nominated twice in the same year for Most Promising Newcomer and Best Actor in a Musical and the award was presented by Dame Anna Neagle. In 1985, Patti LuPone was the first American actress to win an Olivier award for her work in The Cradle Will Rock and Les Miserables. Jessica Lange was the first American actress nominated for the 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 (1982 and 2006), George in Sunday in the Park with George (1991 and 2007), The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods (1991 and 1999), Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls (1982 and 1997), Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd (1980, 1994 and 2013), Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd (1980, 1994 and 2013), Frau Schneider in Cabaret (1994 and 2007) and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady (2002 and 2003).
Shared wins: In 2022, all seven actors sharing the role of the Tiger in Life of Pi received the Olivier for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2012, all four actresses sharing the role of Matilda in Matilda the Musical received the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical. In 2006, all three actors sharing the role of Billy Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical received the Olivier for Best Actor in a Musical.
Shared nominations: In 2017, the eight members of the cast (six leads and two understudies) of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour were jointly nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Also in 2017, the 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.[12]
On April 15, 2012, at age 10 years 299 days, Eleanor Worthington Cox became the youngest winner of an award, when she received the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical for Matilda the Musical.
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”.[13]
^"10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About The Olivier Awards". OfficialLondonTheatre.com, accessed 30 January 2018
^ abc"How the Olivier Award winners are chosen - Olivier Awards". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
^ abJones, Kenneth. "Love Never Dies, Legally Blonde, Rylance, Jacobi, Boggess, Bennett, End of the Rainbow Are Olivier Nominees". Playbill.com, February 7, 2011
^Alvarez, Joe; Orlova-Alvarez, Tamara (10 April 2017). "Who Won at The Olivier Awards 2017". Ikon London Magazine. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
^"Olivier Awards - How It All Began". OfficialLondonTheatre.com. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
Media related to Laurence Olivier Awards at Wikimedia Commons
Official website
March 27, 2023
laurence, olivier, awards, simply, olivier, awards, presented, annually, society, london, theatre, recognise, excellence, professional, theatre, london, annual, ceremony, capital, awards, were, originally, known, society, west, theatre, awards, they, were, ren. 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 of the same name in 1984 Olivier AwardsCurrent 2023 Laurence Olivier AwardsLaurence Olivier Award designed by the sculptor Harry Franchetti It depicts Olivier as Henry V at the Old Vic in 1937 Awarded forBest in London theatreCountryUnited KingdomPresented bySociety of London TheatreFirst awarded1976 47 years ago 1976 WebsiteOfficial websiteThe 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 Moliere 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 Contents 1 History 2 Judging 3 Ceremony 3 1 Hosts 3 2 Venues 4 Broadcast 5 Award categories 5 1 Drama 5 2 Musical 5 3 Production 5 4 Dance Opera 5 5 Other 5 6 Retired 6 Award milestones 6 1 Productions 6 2 Individuals 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksHistory EditThe awards were established in 1976 by the Society of London Theatre as the Society of West End Theatre Awards and were designed by artist Tom Merrifield The first ceremony was in December 1976 at the Cafe Royal 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 1 Judging EditEvery year judging panels for theatre opera dance and affiliate shows are put together by the Society of London Theatre 2 For opera dance and affiliates each panel is made up of a mix of professional panellists journalists casting directors arts administrators publishers and other industry professionals chosen for their knowledge in the field 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 2 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 as these each contain thousands of eligible performers 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 2 Ceremony EditHosts Edit 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 Venues Edit 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 the Albery Theatre now Noel Coward Cafe Royal Dominion Theatre London Palladium Lyceum Theatre Park Lane Hilton Piccadilly Theatre Royal National Theatre Olivier Royalty Theatre now Peacock Shaftesbury Theatre Theatre Royal Drury Lane and Victoria Palace Theatre 3 The awards ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House from 2012 to 2016 moving to the Royal Albert Hall in 2017 4 5 Broadcast EditThe first Laurence Olivier Awards to be broadcast on television was the 1981 ceremony which was broadcast on BBC1 This continued until 1992 before a switch to BBC2 until 2003 6 The awards ceremony was then only broadcast on radio until 2011 when the BBC broadcast live interactive red button coverage of the event 7 while Paul Gambaccini presented a programme on BBC Radio 2 with live coverage and interviews 3 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 8 This has continued in recent years and the ceremony has also been broadcast on Magic Radio Award categories EditDrama Edit Best New Play Best Revival Best Entertainment or Comedy Play Best Actor Best Actress Best Performance in a Supporting Role Best Actor in a Supporting Role Best Actress in a Supporting RoleMusical Edit 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 Best Original Score or New OrchestrationsProduction Edit Best Director Best Theatre Choreographer Best Set Design Best Costume Design Best Lighting Design Best Sound Design Dance Opera Edit Best New Dance Production Best New Opera Production Outstanding Achievement in Dance Outstanding Achievement in OperaOther Edit Special Award Best Entertainment and Family Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate TheatreRetired Edit 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 Audience AwardAward milestones EditSome notable records and facts about the Laurence Olivier Awards include the following 9 Productions Edit The record for the most Olivier Awards ever received by a musical is tied between Matilda Hamilton and the 2021 production of Cabaret which received all seven awards including Best Musical or Revival The latter became the first production in Olivier history to win in all four applicable acting categories 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 2013 received seven Olivier Awards Nicholas Nickleby 1980 received six Life of Pi 2022 Chimerica 2014 Sunday in the Park with George 2007 She Loves Me 1995 and Guys and Dolls 1982 received five Gypsy 2016 The Book of Mormon 2014 After the Dance 2011 Spring Awakening 2010 Black Watch 2009 Hairspray 2008 Jerry Springer 2004 All My Sons 2001 Billy Elliot 2006 Hedda Gabler 2006 Oklahoma 1999 Stanley 1997 Machinal 1994 Sweeney Todd 1994 An Inspector Calls 1993 and Carousel 1993 received four The most nominations ever received by a production is 13 with Hamilton 2018 Cabaret 2021 Harry Potter and the Cursed Child 2017 and Hairspray 2008 received 11 Follies 2018 had 10 Life of Pi 2022 amp Juliet 2020 Come from Away 2019 Company 2019 Memphis 2015 Matilda 2012 Billy Elliot 2006 Mary Poppins 2005 Kiss Me Kate 2002 Oklahoma 1999 Carousel 1993 received nine The Inheritance 2019 The Ferryman 2018 Groundhog Day 2017 Gypsy 2016 Beautiful The Carole King Musical 2015 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time 2013 The Producers 2005 Guys and Dolls 2006 Jerry Springer 2004 Pacific Overtures 2004 Ragtime 2004 My Fair Lady 2002 Spend Spend Spend 2000 The Lion King 2000 Tommy 1997 She Loves Me 1995 and Fiddler on the Roof 2020 received eight Kiss Me Kate 2002 holds the record for most nominations without any wins at nine Individuals Edit Judi Dench has a record seven competitive Oliviers and also won a Special Olivier in 2004 William Dudley designer Judi Dench actress and Matthew Bourne choreographer 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 composer producer has won six plus the Special Olivier Award in 2008 10 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 Michael Frayn Tim Goodchild Clare Higgins Alex Jennings Sam Mendes Trevor Nunn Philip Quast Willy Russell Simon Russell Beale Imelda Staunton Frances de la Tour Paule Constable Bunny Christie Michael Gambon has a record thirteen Olivier nominations winning an Olivier three times 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 Sharon D Clarke Sheila Atim and Eddie Redmayne Of those 10 Judi Dench is the only performer to win both the play and musical Olivier acting awards in the same year 1996 for her performances in Absolute Hell and A Little Night Music In 1991 Karla Burns became the first black performer to win the award for the role of Queenie in the Royal Shakespeare Company s production of Show Boat 11 Maggie Smith has never won the award despite being nominated a total of six times She did receive the Special Olivier Award in 2010 Sinead Cusack has never won the award despite being nominated a total of five times 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 In 1985 Patti LuPone tied with herself for an Olivier for her performances as Fantine in the Original London Cast of Les Miserables and as Moll in The Cradle Will Rock 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 both Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical Barbara Dickson and Con O Neill in Blood Brothers 1988 Jonathan Pryce and Lea Salonga in Miss Saigon 1990 Alun Armstrong and Julia McKenzie in Sweeney Todd 1993 Daniel Evans and Samantha Spiro in Merrily We Roll Along 2001 Alex Jennings and Joanna Riding in My Fair Lady 2003 Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell in Sunday in the Park with George 2007 Michael Ball and Leanne Jones in Hairspray 2008 Bertie Carvel and all four Matildas in Matilda 2012 and Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton in Sweeney Todd 2013 In 1984 Tim Flavin was the first American actor to win the Olivier Award for his performance in On Your Toes at the Palace Theatre He was nominated twice in the same year for Most Promising Newcomer and Best Actor in a Musical and the award was presented by Dame Anna Neagle In 1985 Patti LuPone was the first American actress to win an Olivier award for her work in The Cradle Will Rock and Les Miserables Jessica Lange was the first American actress nominated for the 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 1982 and 2006 George in Sunday in the Park with George 1991 and 2007 The Baker s Wife in Into the Woods 1991 and 1999 Nicely Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls 1982 and 1997 Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd 1980 1994 and 2013 Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd 1980 1994 and 2013 Frau Schneider in Cabaret 1994 and 2007 and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady 2002 and 2003 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 2022 all seven actors sharing the role of the Tiger in Life of Pi received the Olivier for Best Actor in a Supporting Role In 2012 all four actresses sharing the role of Matilda in Matilda the Musical received the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical In 2006 all three actors sharing the role of Billy Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical received the Olivier for Best Actor in a Musical Shared nominations In 2017 the eight members of the cast six leads and two understudies of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour were jointly nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Also in 2017 the 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 12 On April 15 2012 at age 10 years 299 days Eleanor Worthington Cox became the youngest winner of an award when she received the Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical for Matilda the Musical 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 13 See also EditIan Charleson Award West End theatre Evening Standard Theatre Award Tony Awards Drama Desk Award List of Tony Award and Olivier Award winning musicalsReferences Edit 10 Things You Probably Didn t Know About The Olivier Awards OfficialLondonTheatre com accessed 30 January 2018 a b c How the Olivier Award winners are chosen Olivier Awards Official London Theatre Retrieved 2018 03 07 a b Jones Kenneth Love Never Dies Legally Blonde Rylance Jacobi Boggess Bennett End of the Rainbow Are Olivier Nominees Playbill com February 7 2011 Alvarez Joe Orlova Alvarez Tamara 10 April 2017 Who Won at The Olivier Awards 2017 Ikon London Magazine Retrieved 18 January 2018 Olivier Awards How It All Began OfficialLondonTheatre com Retrieved 30 January 2018 Olivier Awards HistoryLondon theatre tickets London theatre tickets www westendtheatre com Dunn Carrie 14 March 2011 Olivier theatre awards the BBC should be red faced over its red button coverage the Guardian Trueman Matt 29 January 2013 Olivier awards make triumphant return to TV the Guardian Olivier Awards 10 Things You Probably Didn t Know OfficialLondonTheatre com accessed Jan 30 2018 Andrew Lloyd Webber Receives Seventh Olivier Archived 2012 02 13 at the Wayback Machine Really Useful Group Karla Burns music theater trailblazer who won coveted Olivier award dies at 66 The Wichita Eagle June 4 2021 Olivier Winners 2017 Olivier Awards Retrieved 2018 01 30 About Billie Piper billiepiperofficial com External links Edit Media related to Laurence Olivier Awards at Wikimedia Commons Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Laurence Olivier Awards amp oldid 1142593758, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
