Society of London Theatre Special Award

Laurence Olivier Award
for Society of London Theatre Special Award
Laurence Olivier Award ; for Society of London Theatre Special Award
Awarded for	Society of London Theatre Special Award
Location	United Kingdom
Presented by	Society of London Theatre
First awarded	1976
Currently held by	Derek Jacobi and Arlene Phillips (2023)
Website	officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/

The Laurence Olivier Award for Society of London Theatre Special Award is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial British theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976, and renamed in 1984 in honour of English actor and director Laurence Olivier, himself a 1979 recipient of this award.

This award was introduced in 1976. In 2020, the award was expanded with additional Special Recognition Recipients, recognizing a larger number of people each year for their lifetime of contributions to commercial British theatre.

Award winners

1970s

Year	Recipient
1976	Save London's Theatres Campaign
1977	Harry Loman
1978	Brian Clark
1979	Laurence Olivier

1980s

Year	Recipient
1980	Ralph Richardson
1981	~~none presented~~
1982	Charles Wintour
1983	Joan Littlewood
1984	Arnold Goodman
1985	John Gielgud
1986	~~none presented~~
1987	~~none presented~~
1988	Alec Guinness
~~1989~~	~~entire 1989 Oliviers were merged into 1990~~

1990s

Year	Recipient
1991	Peggy Ashcroft
1992	Ninette de Valois
1993	Kenneth MacMillan
1994	Sam Wanamaker
1995	~~none presented~~
1996	Harold Pinter
1997	Margaret Harris
1998	David Mirvish
1998	Ed Mirvish
1999	Peter Hall

2000s

Year	Recipient
2001	~~none presented~~
2002	Rupert Rhymes
2003	Sam Mendes
2004	Judi Dench
2005	Alan Bennett
2006	Ian McKellen
2007	John Tomlinson
2008	Andrew Lloyd Webber
2009	Alan Ayckbourn

2010s

Year	Recipient
2010	Maggie Smith
2011	Stephen Sondheim
2012	Monica Mason
2012	Tim Rice
2013	Michael Frayn
2013	Gillian Lynne
2014	Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr
2014	Michael White
2015	Sylvie Guillem
2015	Kevin Spacey
2016	~~none presented~~
2017	Kenneth Branagh
2018	David Lan
2019	Matthew Bourne

2020s

Year	Category	Recipient
2020	Special Award	Don Black Ian McKellen
2020	Special Recognition	Jo Hawes Thelma Holt Stephen Jameson and Sarah Preece Peter Roberts
2021	Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic^[A]
2022^[A]	Special Award	none
2022^[A]	Special Recognition	Lisa Burger Bob King Gloria Louis Susie Sainsbury Sylvia Young
2023	Special Award	none
2023	Special Recognition	Derek Jacobi Arlene Phillips

^ ^a ^b Due to late March 2020^[1] to late July 2021^[2] closing of London theatre productions during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2022 awards recognise productions that launched anytime from February 2020 to February 2022^[3]

References

^ Johnson, The Rt Hon Boris, MP (2020-03-23). Prime Minister's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 23 March 2020 [transcript] (Speech). Prime Minister's Televised Speech to the United Kingdom. www.gov.uk. London, UK. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2022-04-25. From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home.{{cite speech}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ McPhee, Ryan (2021-06-14). "U.K. Postpones Reopening Roadmap; West End Theatres Will No Longer Reopen in Full in June". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2022-04-25. Step 4 of the roadmap will allow productions to play without capacity restrictions. June 21 was the goal; now, the government is eyeing July 19.
^ Thomas, Sophie (2022-03-08). "Everything you need to know about the Olivier Awards". londontheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-25. Any new production that opened between 19 Feb. 2020 to 22 Feb. 2022 are eligible for categories in the 2022 Olivier Awards. With two years worth of shows set for honours in one year's ceremony, the 2022 Olivier Awards will prove tougher competition than before.

London Theatre Guide (2008). "The Laurence Olivier Awards: Full List of Winners, 1976-2008" (.PDF). 1976-2008. The Society of London Theatre. p. 20. Retrieved 30 August 2008.

External links

Official website

[COVID1-4] Due to late March 2020^[1] to late July 2021^[2] closing of London theatre productions during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2022 awards recognise productions that launched anytime from February 2020 to February 2022^[3]

[1] Johnson, The Rt Hon Boris, MP (2020-03-23). Prime Minister's statement on coronavirus (COVID-19): 23 March 2020 [transcript] (Speech). Prime Minister's Televised Speech to the United Kingdom. www.gov.uk. London, UK. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2022-04-25. From this evening I must give the British people a very simple instruction — you must stay at home.{{cite speech}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[2] McPhee, Ryan (2021-06-14). "U.K. Postpones Reopening Roadmap; West End Theatres Will No Longer Reopen in Full in June". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2022-04-25. Step 4 of the roadmap will allow productions to play without capacity restrictions. June 21 was the goal; now, the government is eyeing July 19.

[3] Thomas, Sophie (2022-03-08). "Everything you need to know about the Olivier Awards". londontheatre.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-25. Any new production that opened between 19 Feb. 2020 to 22 Feb. 2022 are eligible for categories in the 2022 Olivier Awards. With two years worth of shows set for honours in one year's ceremony, the 2022 Olivier Awards will prove tougher competition than before.

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