The Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director is an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of the "world-class status of London theatre."[1][2] 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.
| Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best Director |
| Location |  England |
| Presented by | Society of London Theatre |
| First award | 1976 |
| Currently held by | Luke Sheppard for Paddington: The Musical (2026) |
| Website | officiallondontheatre |
Introduced in 1976 as the award for Best Director, it was renamed in 2018 in honor of acclaimed theatre director Sir Peter Hall, beginning with the 2019 award ceremony.[3]
In 1991, the category was briefly retired and divided into the categories Best Director of a Play and Best Director of a Musical. These two categories were in turn retired in 1995, and the Best Director award was reinstated.
Robert Icke became the Best Director award's youngest ever winner at the age of 29 in 2016; the record was previously held by Deborah Warner, the 1988 recipient.
Only six women have ever won the award: Deborah Warner, Marianne Elliott, Lyndsey Turner, Miranda Cromwell, Rebecca Frecknall, and Eline Arbo.
Winners and nominees
edit1970s
edit| Year | Director | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | ||
| Jonathan Miller | Three Sisters | |
| Alan Ayckbourn | Confusions, Shakespeare's People and Yahoo | |
| Buzz Goodbody | Occupations and King Lear | |
| Terry Hands | Old World and Henry IV (parts 1 and 2 and Henry V) | |
| 1977 | ||
| Clifford Williams | Wild Oats | |
| Michael Blakemore | Privates on Parade | |
| Bernard Miles | The Fire that Consumes | |
| Trevor Nunn | Macbeth | |
| 1978 | ||
| Terry Hands | Henry VI | |
| Bill Bryden and Sebastian Graham-Jones | Lark Rise | |
| Christopher Morahan | The Philanderer | |
| Harold Prince | Evita | |
| 1979 | ||
| Michael Bogdanov | The Taming of the Shrew | |
| Michael Elliott | The Family Reunion | |
| Trevor Nunn | Once in a Lifetime | |
| Michael Rudman | Death of a Salesman |
1980s
edit1990s
edit2000s
edit2010s
edit2020s
edit| Year | Director | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ||
| Marianne Elliott and Miranda Cromwell | Death of a Salesman | |
| Jamie Lloyd | Cyrano de Bergerac | |
| Trevor Nunn | Fiddler on the Roof | |
| Ian Rickson | Uncle Vanya | |
| 2021 | Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic[A] | |
| 2022[A] | ||
| Rebecca Frecknall | Cabaret | |
| Michael Longhurst | Constellations | |
| Kathleen Marshall | Anything Goes | |
| Max Webster | Life of Pi | |
| 2023 | ||
| Phelim McDermott | My Neighbour Totoro | |
| Rebecca Frecknall | A Streetcar Named Desire | |
| Robert Hastie | Standing at the Sky's Edge | |
| Justin Martin | Prima Facie | |
| Bartlett Sher | To Kill A Mockingbird | |
| 2024 | ||
| Jamie Lloyd | Sunset Boulevard | |
| Stephen Daldry & Justin Martin | Stranger Things: The First Shadow | |
| Rupert Goold | Dear England | |
| Sam Mendes | The Motive and the Cue | |
| 2025 | ||
| Eline Arbo | The Years | |
| Jordan Fein | Fiddler on the Roof | |
| Nicholas Hytner | Giant | |
| Robert Icke | Oedipus | |
| 2026 | ||
| Luke Sheppard | Paddington | |
| Jordan Fein | Into The Woods | |
| Ed Stambollouian | Kenrex | |
| Lyndsey Turner | 1536 | |
| Ivo van Hove | All My Sons | |
- 1 2 Due to late March 2020[4] to late July 2021[5] 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[6]
Multiple awards and nominations
editNote: This list of multiple awards and nominations includes individuals awarded and nominated for the Best Director award (1976–1990, 1996–present), as well as the short-lived (1991–1995) more granular pair of awards for Best Director of a Play and Best Director of a Musical.
Awards
editNominations
edit- Eleven nominations
- Ten nominations
- Richard Eyre
- Trevor Nunn
- Six nominations
- Howard Davies
- Nicholas Hytner
- Five nominations
- Declan Donnellan
- Rupert Goold
- Michael Grandage
- Adrian Noble
- Marianne Elliott
- Four nominations
- Three nominations
- Michael Bogdanov
- Bill Bryden
- Dominic Cooke
- Terry Hands
- Simon McBurney
- Peter Wood
- Rebecca Frecknall
- John Tiffany
- Stephen Daldry
- Two nominations
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Olivier Awards | Official London Theatre". officiallondontheatre.com. 2026-03-09. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
Established in 1976, the Olivier Awards celebrate the world-class status of London theatre and are Britain's most prestigious stage honours.
- ↑ "Olivier Awards". SOLT. Retrieved 2026-03-31.
The Olivier Awards celebrate the world-class status of London theatre, and are one of theatre's most prestigious stage honours.
- ↑ Mitchell, Robert (2018-04-10). "Olivier Awards Rename Prize After Peter Hall Following 'In Memoriam' Blunder". Variety. Archived from the original on 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
- ↑ 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). The Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 2008-08-30.