The Laurence Olivier Awards for Excellence in British Theatre were presented for the year 2023, recognizing outstanding performances in various categories. The award for Best Actor in a Musical went to David Cumming for Operation Mincemeat, while Natasha Hodgson won Best Actress in a Musical for the same production. For Best Actor in a Play, Joseph Fiennes was awarded for Dear England, and Laura Donnelly was recognized as Best Actress for The Hills of California.
The Best New Play award was given to Dear England by James Graham, while The Little Big Things took home the prize for Best New Musical. In the supporting role categories, Grace Hodgett Young and Jak Malone won for Best Actress and Best Actor in a Musical for their performances in Sunset Boulevard and Operation Mincemeat, respectively. The Best Actress in a Supporting Role award was won by Lorraine Ashbourne for Till the Stars Come Down, and Will Close received the prize for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Dear England.
The award for Best New Entertainment or Comedy Play, the Noël Coward award, was given to the adaptation of Vardy V Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial by Liv Hennessy. The Best Family Show category saw Bluey’s Big Play take home the award. The Gillian Lynne award for Best Theatre Choreographer went to Fabian Aloise for Sunset Boulevard, and Bunny Christie and Deborah Andrews won Best Costume Design for Guys and Dolls.
In the revival categories, The Effect by Lucy Prebble was awarded Best Revival, while Groundhog Day won Best Musical Revival. The Outstanding Musical Contribution award was shared by various talented individuals working on productions like Guys and Dolls and Just for One Day. The Sir Peter Hall award for Best Director was won by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin for their work on Stranger Things: The First Shadow.
In the opera and dance categories, Blue by the English National Opera won Best New Opera Production, and Antonio Pappano received recognition for his role as Musical Director of the Royal Opera House. Isabela Coracy won Outstanding Achievement in Dance for her performance in NINA: By Whatever Means, while Mohamed-Zain Dada’s Blue Mist was recognized in the Affiliate Theatre category. Overall, the Laurence Olivier Awards celebrated excellence in British theatre across a variety of genres and creative disciplines.
