Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director
| Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best Director |
| Location |  United Kingdom |
| Presented by | The Society of London Theatre |
| Currently held by | Miranda Cromwell and Marianne Elliott for Death of a Salesman (2020) |
| Website | Olivier Awards.com |
The Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director is an annual award presented by The Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial British theatre. The award ceremony in which it is presented was established in 1976 as the Society of West End Theatre Awards, renamed the Laurence Olivier Awards in 1984 in honour of English actor Lord Olivier. In 2018, the Best Director award was renamed in honor of acclaimed theatre director Sir Peter Hall, beginning with the 2019 award ceremony.[1]
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 in 2016. Deborah Warner who won in 1988 was previously the youngest winner.
Only five women have ever won the award: Deborah Warner, Marianne Elliott, Lyndsey Turner, Miranda Cromwell and Rebecca Frecknall.
Winners and nominees
1970s
| 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
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| 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 | |
| 2022 | Rebecca Frecknall | Cabaret |
| Michael Longhurst | Constellations | |
| Kathleen Marshall | Anything Goes | |
| Max Webster | Life of Pi |
Multiple awards and nominations
Note: The below awards and nominations include individuals awarded and nominated under the now-defunct categories Director of a Play and Director of a Musical as well as the current combined Best Director category.
Awards
- Three awards
- Howard Davies
- Stephen Daldry
- Declan Donnellan
- Richard Eyre
- Sam Mendes
- Two awards
- Michael Bogdanov
- Rupert Goold
- Terry Hands
- Nicholas Hytner
- Trevor Nunn
- Deborah Warner
- Marianne Elliott
Nominations
- Ten nominations
- Richard Eyre
- Trevor Nunn
- Nine nominations
- Sam Mendes
- Six nominations
- Howard Davies
- Nicholas Hytner
- Five nominations
- Declan Donnellan
- Michael Grandage
- Adrian Noble
- Marianne Elliott
- Four nominations
- Michael Blakemore
- Stephen Daldry
- Rupert Goold
- Ian Rickson
- Matthew Warchus
- Three nominations
- Michael Bogdanov
- Bill Bryden
- Dominic Cooke
- Terry Hands
- Simon McBurney
- Peter Wood
- Two nominations
- Bill Alexander
- Alan Ayckbourn
- John Barton
- Matthew Bourne
- John Caird
- Rebecca Frecknall
- Jeremy Herrin
- Ian Judge
- Barry Kyle
- Phyllida Lloyd
- Sean Mathias
- Des McAnuff
- Christopher Morahan
- Rufus Norris
- Steven Pimlott
- Harold Prince
- Susan Stroman
- David Thacker
- Deborah Warner
See also
References
- ^ "Olivier Awards rename director award following Sir Peter Hall In Memoriam error". Xposé. Virgin Media Television, Dublin. Press Association. April 10, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
- London Theatre Guide (2008). "The Laurence Olivier Awards: Full List of Winners, 1976–2008" (PDF). The Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 2008-08-30.