Laurence Olivier Award

Laurence Olivier Award
Laurence Olivier Award, designed by the sculptor Harry Franchetti. It depicts Lord Olivier as Henry V at the Old Vic in 1937.
Awarded for	Best in London theatre
Presented by	The Society of London Theatre
Country	United Kingdom
First awarded	1976

The Laurence Olivier Award (or simply the Olivier Award) is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre. Named after the renowned British actor Laurence Olivier, they are given for West End shows and other productions staged in London. The Olivier Awards are recognised internationally as the highest honor in British theatre and are considered to be the theatre industry equivalent of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for television and film; in terms of theatre, they are the British equivalent of Broadway's Tony Awards.

History

Commonly referred to simply as the Olivier Awards, awards are presented annually across a range of categories covering plays, musicals, dance, opera and affiliate theatre. The majority of the awards are presented for the high profile commercial productions seen in the large theatres of London's West End, which is commonly known as Theatreland.

The awards were first established in 1976 as The Society of West End Theatre Awards, however in 1984, the renowned British actor Lord Olivier gave consent for the awards to be renamed in his honour and they became known as the Laurence Olivier Awards.^[1] The awards are managed and financed by The Society of London Theatre and the awards ceremony is produced by West End producer Adam Spillage.

In Broadway theatre, the equivalent of the Olivier Award is the Tony Award and a number of the world's longest-running and most successful shows have received award nominations for both West End theatre and Broadway productions, with a number of leading actors, directors, choreographers and designers receiving award nominations on both sides of the Atlantic.

Judging

The Awards are judged by four separate panels for theatre, opera, dance, and Affiliate.^[2]

The majority of the Olivier Awards are presented in the theatre categories, which cover plays and musicals. The theatre categories are judged by the theatre panel, which has five anonymous specialist members who are chosen for their specialist knowledge and professional experience in addition to eight members of the theatre going public, four of whom judge plays, and four musicals.

The Opera, Dance and Affiliate panels each consist of three anonymous professional members, each judging their specialist area of expertise. Each panel also includes two members of the theatre going public. The Affiliate Panel judges productions in theatres represented by Affiliate members of the Society of London Theatre. The Affiliate category consists of smaller theatres that do not hold full SOLT membership and are often off-West End, for example the Lyric, Hammersmith, the Hampstead Theatre and repertory theatres such as the Old Vic, Young Vic and Royal Court Theatres. Two separate auditoria within the same theatre building may hold different memberships, such as in the case of the Royal Court Theatre.

Any new production that opens between January 1 and December 31 in a theatre represented in membership of the Society of London Theatre is eligible for entry for the Olivier Awards if it has run for a minimum of 30 performances. After a nomination has been received, it then has to be seconded by members of the Society and if it is successful, it is then seen by the relevant judging panel.

For awards in the Theatre categories, nominations are decided by a postal ballot of all members of the Theatre Panel and all members of the Society of London Theatre. For Affiliate, Opera and Dance categories, the nominations are decided only by members of the relevant panel, by way of a secret ballot.

Ceremony

Presenters

In 2005 and 2006 the Award Ceremony was hosted by Richard Wilson who, in 2007, co-presented with Sue Johnston. In 2008, it was hosted by Richard E. Grant, followed by James Nesbitt in 2009 and Anthony Head in 2010. Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton were hosts for 2011.^[3] The previous seven ceremonies were hosted by Clive Anderson, while earlier hosts include Angela Lansbury, Barry Norman, Peter Barkworth, Anthony Hopkins, Sue Lawley, Diana Rigg, Edward Fox, Tim Rice, Gary Wilmot, Jane Asher, Tom Conti, Denis Quilley and Angela Rippon.^[4]

Notable people who have presented an individual Award include Diana, Princess of Wales, Eddie Izzard, Kevin Spacey and Sir Tom Stoppard and, in 2007, Laurence Olivier's son, Richard.^[4]

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 (now Noel Coward), Shaftesbury, London Palladium , Dominion, Royalty, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Café Royal, Piccadilly, and The Park Lane Hilton.

The 2011 Ceremony was held on 13 March 2011 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.^[5][3]

Broadcast

For the first time, the BBC broadcast live coverage of the 2011 ceremony, including the "Red carpet" arrivals, awards results, and reactions. Paul Gambaccini presented a program on Radio 2 with live coverage and interviews.^[5]

Award categories

Drama Best New Play Best New Comedy Best Revival Best Actor Best Actress Best Performance in a Supporting Role Best Newcomer in a Play 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 Production Best Director Best Theatre Choreographer Best Costume Design Best Set Design Best Lighting Design Best Sound Design

Dance/Opera Best New Dance Production Outstanding Achievement in Dance Best New Opera Production Outstanding Achievement in Opera Other Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre Society of London Theatre Special Award Most Promising Performer Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment Best Company Performance Retired Actor of the Year in a New Play Actor of the Year in a Revival Actress of the Year in a New Play Actress of the Year in a Revival Best Actor in a Supporting Role Best Actress in a Supporting Role Director of a Play Director of a Musical Best Performance in a Musical Best Comedy Performance Best Set Designer Audience Award for Most Popular Show Outstanding Achievement in a Musical

Award record winners

People SEVEN Judi Dench (actress)[4] William Dudley (designer) Andrew Lloyd Webber (composer; Lloyd Webber won four individual Olivier Awards for composing, and three shows that he has produced have won awards)[6] SIX Ian McKellen (actor) Alan Bennett (actor/writer) Richard Eyre (director) Stephen Sondheim (composer) FIVE Matthew Bourne (choreographer/director) Declan Donnellan (director) Mark Henderson (lighting designer) Mark Thompson (designer) FOUR Michael Bryant (actor) Darcey Bussell (dancer) Michael Frayn (writer) Michael Gambon (actor) Tim Goodchild (designer) Clare Higgins (actor) Alex Jennings (actor) Sam Mendes (director) John Napier (designer) Trevor Nunn (director) Philip Quast (actor) Willy Russell (writer) Simon Russell Beale (actor) Frances de la Tour (actress)

Shows SIX Nicholas Nickleby (1980) FIVE Guys and Dolls (1982) Sunday in the Park with George (2007) FOUR Hairspray (2007) All My Sons (2001) Billy Elliot - The Musical (2006) Hedda Gabler (2006) Oklahoma! (1999) Stanley (1997) She Loves Me (1995) Sweeney Todd (1994) Machinal (1994) An Inspector Calls (1993) Carousel (1993) Jerry Springer the Opera (2003) Spring Awakening (2010) Hairspray received a record-setting 11 nominations.[4]

See also

• West End theatre
• Evening Standard Award
• Tony Award
• Drama Desk Award
• List of Tony Award and Olivier Award winning musicals

References

1. ^ "Olivier Awards, History". Olivierawards.com, accessed 7 February 2011
2. ^ "Olivier Awards, Panellists". Olivierawards.com, accessed 7 February 2011
3. ^ ^{a b} Lipton, Brian Scott. "Roger Allam, Nancy Carroll, Sheridan Smith, David Thaxton, et al. Win Laurence Olivier Awards". Theatermania.com, March 13, 2011
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Olivier Awards Facts". Olivierawards.com, accessed 7 February 2011
5. ^ ^{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
6. ^ "Andrew Lloyd Webber Receives Seventh Olivier". Really Useful Group

External links

• Official website
• Complete list of nominees and winners
• Olivier Awards news