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The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) is an umbrella organisation for West End theatre in London. Founded in 1908, as Society of West End Theatre Managers, then Society of West End Theatre in 1975, changing to its current name in 1994, the (SOLT) is a not-for-profit organisation which provides a collective voice for the theatre owners, producers and managers of all the major commercial and grant-aided theatres across London.[1] As well as protecting the interests of all its member theatres, SOLT promotes theatregoing through activities including the Laurence Olivier Awards, the TKTS ticket booth, Theatre Tokens, the Official London Theatre fortnightly printed listings guide and the associated OfficialLondonTheatre website. The organisation administers the audience development initiatives Kids Week and Official London Theatre's New Year Sale, and runs events including the 'behind-the-scenes' career fair, TheatreCraft, and West End LIVE, alongside Westminster City Council. SOLT also supports a number of theatrical charities including Stage One and Mousetrap Theatre Projects.
Official London Theatre website and Official London Theatre Guide
Official London Theatre is a website for tickets, news and exclusive interviews for top London shows.
Alongside the website, a printed Official London Theatre Guide is produced fortnightly with show listings and theatre news. The free guide has a distribution of 125,000 and is available to pick up in London theatres and at major tourist outlets across the UK. An Access London Theatre brochure, listing London's range of assisted performances, is also produced four times a year, and is available in print, braille, and on CD.
The Olivier Awards (or simply the Olivier's) are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards, they were renamed in honour of the British actor Laurence Olivier in 1984.
Awards are presented annually across a range of categories covering plays, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honour in British theatre, equivalent to Broadway's Tony Awards and France's Molière Award. Award winners receive a bronze statuette of Sir Laurence Olivier playing Henry V in 1937. The awards have taken place at various hotels and theatres across London, and since 2012 have been held at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
The first awards ceremony took place in December 1976 at the Café Royal. The winners – who included Alan Howard, Peggy Ashcroft, Penelope Keith and Jonathan Miller – did not receive the iconic bronze statuette; the prize was a specially commissioned blue Wedgwood urn, causing the event to be nicknamed "The Urnies".
Kids Week is an audience development initiative run annually by SOLT to encourage young people to experience London theatre. Taking place each August, the promotion offers children under 16 the opportunity to see a West End show for free when accompanied by an adult paying full price. Up to two extra children's tickets may also be purchased at half price, and there are no booking or postage fees.[2] A variety of free theatre workshops and activities are also available for participants. The scheme has been highly successful since its conception in 1998, growing from a single week to the entirety of August. In 2012, Kids Week won 'Best Cultural Attraction' at the London Lifestyle Awards.
Official London Theatre's New Year Sale
Official London Theatre's New Year Sale is a discount ticket promotion run by SOLT that takes place annually from January to mid-February. The scheme (initially launched in 2001 as 'Get into London Theatre') offers the public the opportunity to see London shows (including plays, musicals, opera and dance) at £10, £20, £30 or £40.[3]
Stage One is a charity supported by SOLT that seeks to aid the commercial theatre producers of the future. Stage One runs a structured training programme to develop and support new producers which includes workshops, bursaries, start-up funds, internships and investment.
Recipients of Stage One funding have gone on to produce successful productions such as Birdsong (2010), A Doll's House (2013), The Pajama Game (2014) and Avenue Q Tour (2014).[4]
Laurence Olivier Bursary
The Laurence Olivier Bursary was established by the Society in 1987, in honour of the actor's 80th birthday, to support talented students starting their final year of drama school. Such students often face financial difficulties because intense contact hours mean there is little time for students to do paid work. The Society invites about 20 drama schools to each nominate two exceptionally talented students for financial support. About 40 students are entered each June and appear before a panel of theatre industry professionals – usually producers and casting directors – where they give a ten-minute audition (which can include a song) and an interview. SOLT gives several bursaries worth £7,500 each as well as smaller sums (of £1000 plus) at the discretion of the judges. Other organisations contribute their own bursaries in conjunction with the Society's scheme.[5]
References
^"Society of London Theatre – About Us". Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
^"Kids Week: Free Kids Theatre Tickets | Official London Theatre". Kids Week. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
^"Get into London Theatre with Official London Theatre's New Year Sale". Get into London Theatre. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
^"Stage One – About Us". Stage One. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
^Youde, Kate (4 September 2011). "Larry, dear Larry! In Olivier's footsteps – News – Theatre & Dance". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
society, london, theatre, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, articl. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Society of London Theatre news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage Please expand this article with properly sourced content to meet Wikipedia s quality standards event notability guideline or encyclopedic content policy January 2022 This article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject Please help improve the article by providing more context for the reader January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Society of London Theatre news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article s lead section contains information that is not included elsewhere in the article If the information is appropriate for the lead of the article this information should also be included in the body of the article January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Society of London Theatre SOLT is an umbrella organisation for West End theatre in London Founded in 1908 as Society of West End Theatre Managers then Society of West End Theatre in 1975 changing to its current name in 1994 the SOLT is a not for profit organisation which provides a collective voice for the theatre owners producers and managers of all the major commercial and grant aided theatres across London 1 As well as protecting the interests of all its member theatres SOLT promotes theatregoing through activities including the Laurence Olivier Awards the TKTS ticket booth Theatre Tokens the Official London Theatre fortnightly printed listings guide and the associated OfficialLondonTheatre website The organisation administers the audience development initiatives Kids Week and Official London Theatre s New Year Sale and runs events including the behind the scenes career fair TheatreCraft and West End LIVE alongside Westminster City Council SOLT also supports a number of theatrical charities including Stage One and Mousetrap Theatre Projects Contents 1 Official London Theatre website and Official London Theatre Guide 2 Olivier Awards 3 Kids Week 4 Official London Theatre s New Year Sale 5 West End LIVE 6 Stage One 7 Laurence Olivier Bursary 8 References 9 External linksOfficial London Theatre website and Official London Theatre Guide EditOfficial London Theatre is a website for tickets news and exclusive interviews for top London shows Alongside the website a printed Official London Theatre Guide is produced fortnightly with show listings and theatre news The free guide has a distribution of 125 000 and is available to pick up in London theatres and at major tourist outlets across the UK An Access London Theatre brochure listing London s range of assisted performances is also produced four times a year and is available in print braille and on CD Olivier Awards EditMain article Olivier Awards The Olivier Awards or simply the Olivier s are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre Originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Awards they were renamed in honour of the British actor Laurence Olivier in 1984 Awards are presented annually across a range of categories covering plays musicals dance opera and affiliate theatre The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honour in British theatre equivalent to Broadway s Tony Awards and France s Moliere Award Award winners receive a bronze statuette of Sir Laurence Olivier playing Henry V in 1937 The awards have taken place at various hotels and theatres across London and since 2012 have been held at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden The first awards ceremony took place in December 1976 at the Cafe Royal The winners who included Alan Howard Peggy Ashcroft Penelope Keith and Jonathan Miller did not receive the iconic bronze statuette the prize was a specially commissioned blue Wedgwood urn causing the event to be nicknamed The Urnies Award winners have included the leading names in British theatrical talent including Laurence Olivier John Gielgud Ralph Richardson Peggy Ashcroft Joan Plowright Alec Guinness Ian McKellen Judi Dench Maggie Smith Derek Jacobi Eileen Atkins Ian Holm Michael Gambon Helen Mirren Peter Hall Joan Littlewood Alan Ayckbourn Nicholas Hytner Harold Pinter Alan Bennett Michael Frayn Ninette de Valois Gillian Lynne and Andrew Lloyd Webber Kids Week EditKids Week is an audience development initiative run annually by SOLT to encourage young people to experience London theatre Taking place each August the promotion offers children under 16 the opportunity to see a West End show for free when accompanied by an adult paying full price Up to two extra children s tickets may also be purchased at half price and there are no booking or postage fees 2 A variety of free theatre workshops and activities are also available for participants The scheme has been highly successful since its conception in 1998 growing from a single week to the entirety of August In 2012 Kids Week won Best Cultural Attraction at the London Lifestyle Awards Official London Theatre s New Year Sale EditOfficial London Theatre s New Year Sale is a discount ticket promotion run by SOLT that takes place annually from January to mid February The scheme initially launched in 2001 as Get into London Theatre offers the public the opportunity to see London shows including plays musicals opera and dance at 10 20 30 or 40 3 West End LIVE EditWest End LIVE is a free event in Trafalgar Square with performances from West End musicals The annual event is presented by SOLT and Westminster City Council with support from the Mayor of London to celebrate and promote London theatre Stage One EditStage One is a charity supported by SOLT that seeks to aid the commercial theatre producers of the future Stage One runs a structured training programme to develop and support new producers which includes workshops bursaries start up funds internships and investment Recipients of Stage One funding have gone on to produce successful productions such as Birdsong 2010 A Doll s House 2013 The Pajama Game 2014 and Avenue Q Tour 2014 4 Laurence Olivier Bursary EditThe Laurence Olivier Bursary was established by the Society in 1987 in honour of the actor s 80th birthday to support talented students starting their final year of drama school Such students often face financial difficulties because intense contact hours mean there is little time for students to do paid work The Society invites about 20 drama schools to each nominate two exceptionally talented students for financial support About 40 students are entered each June and appear before a panel of theatre industry professionals usually producers and casting directors where they give a ten minute audition which can include a song and an interview SOLT gives several bursaries worth 7 500 each as well as smaller sums of 1000 plus at the discretion of the judges Other organisations contribute their own bursaries in conjunction with the Society s scheme 5 References Edit Society of London Theatre About Us Society of London Theatre Retrieved 23 October 2018 Kids Week Free Kids Theatre Tickets Official London Theatre Kids Week Retrieved 26 October 2018 Get into London Theatre with Official London Theatre s New Year Sale Get into London Theatre Retrieved 23 October 2018 Stage One About Us Stage One Retrieved 23 October 2018 Youde Kate 4 September 2011 Larry dear Larry In Olivier s footsteps News Theatre amp Dance The Independent London Retrieved 27 February 2012 External links EditOfficial website Society of London Theatre on Twitter Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Society of London Theatre amp oldid 1111430111, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
