Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play
Annual award for London Theatre
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The Noël Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play 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.
| Noël Coward Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best New Comedy |
| Location |  England |
| Presented by | Society of London Theatre |
| First award | 1976 |
| Currently held by | Oh, Mary! (2026) |
| Website | officiallondontheatre |
The award was titled Comedy of the Year from its establishment in 1976 until 1990, was renamed to Best Comedy starting in 1991, Best New Comedy starting in 1999, then retitled to its current name for the 2020 Olivier Awards – when "Entertainment" was moved to join Best Comedy Play from the Best Entertainment and Family award, which was renamed Best Family Show at that same time.
Winners and nominees
1970s
| Year | Play | Writer |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | ||
| Donkeys' Years | Michael Frayn | |
| The Bed Before Yesterday | Ben Travers | |
| Confusions | Alan Ayckbourn | |
| Funny Peculiar | Mike Stott | |
| 1977 | ||
| Privates on Parade | Peter Nichols | |
| Bedroom Farce | Alan Ayckbourn | |
| Once a Catholic | Mary O'Malley | |
| The Kingfisher | William Douglas-Home | |
| 1978 | ||
| Filumena | Eduardo De Filippo, Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall | |
| Shut Your Eyes and Think of England | John Chapman and Anthony Marriott | |
| Ten Times Table | Alan Ayckbourn | |
| 1979 | ||
| Middle-Age Spread | Roger Hall | |
| Clouds | Michael Frayn | |
| Outside Edge | Richard Harris |
1980s
1990s
2000s
| Year | Play | Writer |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | ||
| The Memory of Water | Shelagh Stephenson | |
| Comic Potential | Alan Ayckbourn | |
| Quartet | Ronald Harwood | |
| 2001 | ||
| Stones in His Pockets | Marie Jones | |
| Cooking with Elvis | Lee Hall | |
| House/Garden | Alan Ayckbourn | |
| Peggy for You | Alan Plater | |
| 2002 | ||
| The Play What I Wrote | Hamish McColl, Sean Foley and Eddie Braben | |
| Boston Marriage | David Mamet | |
| Caught in the Net | Ray Cooney | |
| Feelgood | Alistair Beaton | |
| 2003 | ||
| The Lieutenant of Inishmore | Martin McDonagh | |
| RolePlay | Alan Ayckbourn | |
| Dinner | Moira Buffini | |
| Lobby Hero | Kenneth Lonergan | |
| 2006 | ||
| Heroes | Gérald Sibleyras and Tom Stoppard | |
| Glorious! | Peter Quilter | |
| Shoot the Crow | Owen McCafferty | |
| 2007 | ||
| The 39 Steps | Patrick Barlow, Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon | |
| Don Juan in Soho | Patrick Marber | |
| Love Song | John Kolvenbach | |
| 2008 | ||
| Rafta, Rafta... | Bill Naughton and Ayub Khan-Din | |
| Absurdia: The Crimson Hotel | Michael Frayn | |
| Elling | Simon Bent | |
| Whipping It Up | Stephen Thompson | |
| 2009 | ||
| God of Carnage | Yasmina Reza | |
| Fat Pig | Neil LaBute | |
| The Female of the Species | Joanna Murray-Smith |
2010s
2020s
- Due to late March 2020[3] to late July 2021[4] 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[5]