The 36th annual awards, which are sponsored by MasterCard, will be held on Sunday 15 April 2012 at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, the first time that the venue has been used for the awards.

In 2012 the awards will run slightly later in the year, with nominations announced on Thursday 15 March 2012.

This year’s awards took place at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

LINKS

Olivier Awards 2011 microsite

This year’s Olivier Awards winners

That is was actually held in a theatre again (who knew that a London theatre would make a great venue for a London awards ceremony!)

How pregnant was Nancy Carroll? “Awards shock induces labour” headlines were thankfully (sadly) unnecessary.

Elaine Paige claiming all thanks for bringing the Olivier Awards back to the telly (well, kind of back to the telly, so long as you had a red button). Do you think Julian Bird of the Society of London Theatre felt that he might have  also helped to get the Beeb back on board?

Note to the BBC: Aren’t the Olivier Awards what BBC4 was created for? Why not shove it on there and be done with it?

No expense was spared on the television coverage of the BBC Radio 2 coverage… including Paul Gambaccini and Matt Wolf’s plastic punnets of grapes on display during the televised Radio 2 segments, and just enough microphones for about ONE GUEST.  That said, we did love Paul and Matt’s chattettes, but also resented the disastrous cutting away from the awards action, in particular missing the Railway Children receiving Best Entertainment was a crime. Isn’t the red button all about skipping about and being in lots of places at the same time, split screens, viewers deciding what to see and listen to?…

Barry Manilow’s face: scary, and clearly inspiration for Rupert Everett (and tell me again, other than Cobacabana The Musical playing in the West End in 1994, why was Barry there?)

The Stage’s Mark Shenton: please God have a holiday and don’t get up at 4.30am to listen to the Olivier Awards (although we are always pleased that you do make the effort).

I don’t care what they say, Jodie Prenger was a trouper doing the live Red Carpet coverage. You need someone who can just TALK INCESSENTLY whilst thrusting a microphone in the faces on posing celebrities – and she did the Larry’s proud.

Sheridan Smith’s heartfelt, natural speech when picking up best actress in a musical made us love her even more and we have a sneaky feeling she may be back next year for her part in Flare Path (and who wouldn’t swear on camera when you find out you’ve won a MAJOR AWARD?!)

LISTEN & WATCH AGAIN

BBC iPlayer – Radio 2 coverage

BBC iPlayer – BBC News

LINKS

Olivier Awards – list of winners

Olivier Awards microsite

Olivier Awards – news

Nica Burns, president of SOLT

The unprecedented move by the usually risk-averse trade body reveals the depth of feeling and nervousness within the West End theatre community over the forthcoming Government spending revue and its impact on the arts.

In the message, Ms Burns said that she understood the need for cuts, but “we want to ensure that the government is sufficiently well informed so that cuts can be made without long lasting, terminal damage to a very successful industry.”

She also highlighted the revenue-generating potential of the arts industry, which receives a small subsidy but returns to the Treasury money from VAT, National Insurance, jobs and tourist income.

She asks supporters to sign up to an online petition to attempt to trigger a Parliament debate on the subject.

Alongside her role as president of SOLT, Nica Burns is chief executive of Nimax Theatres, one of the West End’s largest theatre owners.

Rachel Tackley, president of SOLT’s sister organisation the Theatrical Management Association, has also come out in support of the petition.

LINKS

Save the Arts petition

They have put a call out to find 10 members of the theatregoing public to judge their annual Olivier Awards, the most important awards in the UK theatre calendar.

If you get picked you will be joining the pros on a panel that will help choose which shows, actors and creatives will receive the prestigious gongs.

You’ve got be 19+ and live within easy reach of London as you’ll be popping to the theatre constantly over 2011 before judging the shows with the panel and then attending the glamorous Olivier Awards ceremony in 2012.

There are four panels you can apply to sit on: theatre, opera, dance or shows at SOLT’s affiliate venues such as the Lyric Hammersmith, and part of the application process involves writing a 150-word review of a new production seen in the last year and supplying a full list of shows you’ve seen in the past 12 months.

If you think you’ve got what it takes email awards@solttma.co.uk or send a SAE to Awards Office, The Society Of London Theatre, 32 Rose Street, London WC2E 9ET. The closing date for applications is 26 November 2010 with interviews taking place in early December.

Last night at a star-studded ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, the 34^th annual Laurence Olivier Award winners were announced.

The awards, which are the London equivalent of the Tony Awards and run by the Society of London Theatre, saw a number of surprise wins, with many of the top awards going to plays and musicals that are no longer running in town.

For the first time this year, the Olivier’s were broadcast live on the Society of London Theatre’s website alongside coverage on BBC’s Radio 2. The web stream allowed an international audience to enjoy the show for the first time, with some colourful tweeting from theatregoers accompanying the live video. The awards have not been televised since 2003.

Hosted by Anthony Head, who is currently starring in Six Degrees of Separation at the Old Vic Theatre, entertainment at the ceremony featured musical numbers from shows including Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Sister Act and Melanie C from Blood Brothers.

PLAYS

Best Actress and Actor winners Rachel Weisz and Mark Rylance

As with other award ceremonies this year, much of the attention centred on drama. Jez Butterworth’s play Jerusalem, which started at the Royal Court Theatre and is now playing at the Apollo Theatre in the West End, won two awards including Best Actor for Mark Rylance, a popular choice with critics and audiences alike, and Best Set Design but missed out on the Best New Play. This was won by The Mountaintop, a two-hander by young American playwright Katori Hall which only played a short run in the West End last summer despite great notices from critics.

Mark Rylance’s award for Best Actor beat some big hitters including Jude Law, James McAvoy, Ken Stott, Samuel West and James Earl Jones, who is currently starring in Debbie Allen’s production of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre, which won Best Revival.

Rachel Weisz picked up a Best Actress gong for her role as Blanche DuBois in the Donmar Warehouse production of A Streetcar Named Desire, and Rupert Goold won Best Director for Enron, currently playing at the Noel Coward Theatre.

MUSICALS

Two musicals garnered many of the musical awards on offer last night, and both have now closed in London: Spring Awakening and Hello, Dolly!.

Spring Awakening was not a commercial success at the Novello Theatre, where it ran for a short time until May 2009 after a sell-out run at the Lyric Hammersmith, but managed to pull four Olivier awards including Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical for Aneurin Barnard and Best Supporting Performance in a Musical for Iwan Rheon. It also won Best Sound Design for Brian Ronan.

Hello, Dolly!, which played at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park last summer, won Best Musical Revival, Best Actress in a Musical for Samantha Spiro and Best Theatre Choreographer for Stephen Mear.

However, all was not completely lost for musicals still playing in London, with Priscilla winning Best Costume Design and Wicked picking up the Audience Award for Most Popular Show.

Special awards were also granted to two of London Theatre’s most significant living practitioners: The Society’s Special Award honoured Dame Maggie Smith, whilst legendary theatre producer Michael Codron was presented with an Outstanding Achievement Award after nearly 60 years in the business.

See a full list of Olivier Award winners here.

Both the audience attendance and box office revenues set new records, with attendances up by 5.5% on 2008 and revenues totalling £504,765,690 – a 7.6% increase.

Money, money, money. Plays such as Enron have helped the West End in record year

Plays are continuing to do good busines in London, showing an impressive increase in attendance of 26% year-on-year at 3,637,714. Plays that did particularly well include Royal Court productions Enron and Jerusalem, both of which are transferring into the West End, and Waiting for Godot starring Ian McKellen at the Haymarket Theatre Royal.

Musicals are also bringing in more customers with high-profile openings including Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and a big box-office advance giving Legally Blonde a good start at the Savoy Theatre.

2009 was the seventh consecutive year that attendance and revenues have increased, highlighting how theatre in London has managed to beat the recession.

Commenting on the figures, Nica Burns, President of the Society of London Theatre, said: “Britain’s artistic community continues to create exceptional work. The extraordinary quality and breadth of productions available nightly in London explains these record figures in such a difficult year economically. Whilst our musicals continue to flourish, 2009 was an outstanding year for plays – proving that audiences respond to challenge and stimulation as well as toe-tapping entertainment.  Excellence is everything – look no further than London’s theatre which adds a great deal more to London’s revenue than just the ticket sales.”

Theatre Tokens from the Society of London Theatre are valid at 240 theatres across the UK – plus all of London’s West End.

Theatre Tokens make the ideal gift and have no expiry date so your recipient can pick exactly where and when to exchange them. Available in denominations of £20, £10 and £5, you can buy Theatre Tokens online here.

Your Theatre Tokens will be despatched promptly by First Class post to anywhere in the UK in an attractive presentation wallet which lists all participating theatres. You can also order special seasonal gift packages. See a list of participating theatres here.

For birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas gifts or for staff rewards and incentives, give the magic of theatre with THEATRE TOKENS.