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 honour 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.
The 2012 Laurence Olivier Award Ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House on 15 April 2012.
Full Winners list of the Laurence Olivier Awards 2012
Winning streak: Sophia Kiely, Eleanor Worthington Cox, Kerry Ingram and Cleo Demetriou pose with their awards with Bertie Carvel, winner of Best Actor who plays Miss Trunchball
Mastercard best new play
Collaborators at the Cottesloe
Best revival
Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse
Best entertainment and family
Derren Brown – Svengali at the Shaftesbury
Best actress
Ruth Wilson for Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse
Best actor
Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller for Frankenstein at the Olivier
Best performance in a supporting role
Sheridan Smith for Flare Path at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket
Best actress in a musical
The Matildas for Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge (Cleo Demetriou, Kerry Ingram, Sophia Kiely and Eleanor Worthington Cox)
Best actor in a musical
Bertie Carvel for Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge
Best performance in a supporting role in a musical
Nigel Harman for Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Best new musical
Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge
Best musical revival
Crazy for You at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Best director
Matthew Warchus for Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge
Best theatre choreographer
Peter Darling for Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge
Best lighting design
Frankenstein, designed by Bruno Poet at the Olivier
XL Video award for best set design
Matilda the Musical, designed by Rob Howell at the Cambridge
Best costume design
Crazy for You, designed by Peter McKintosh at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Best sound design
Matilda the Musical, designed by Simon Baker at the Cambridge
Outstanding achievement in an affiliate theatre
Theatre Royal, Stratford East in association with the Barbican and Traverse Theatre for Roadkill
Best new opera production
English National Opera’s Castor and Pollux at the London Coliseum
Outstanding achievement in opera
ENO, for the breadth and diversity of its artistic programme
Outstanding achievement in dance
Edward Watson for his performance in The Metamorphosis at the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House
Best new dance production
Desh by Akram Khan Company at Sadler’s Wells, choreographed by Akram Khan
BBC Radio 2 Olivier audience award
Les Misérables
