Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play
Annual award for London theatre
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The Laurence Olivier Award for Best New 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.
| Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best New Play |
| Location |  England |
| Presented by | Society of London Theatre |
| First award | 1976 |
| Currently held by | Punch (2026) |
| Website | officiallondontheatre |
The award was titled Play of the Year from its establishment in 1976, and was first retitled to its current name for the 2001 Olivier Awards.
Winners and nominees
1970s
| Year | Play | Writer |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | ||
| Dear Daddy | Denis Cannan | |
| For King and Country | John Wilson | |
| Funny Peculiar | Mike Stott | |
| Old World | Aleksei Arbuzov and Ariadne Nicolaeff | |
| 1977 | ||
| The Fire that Consumes | Henry de Montherlant, Vivian Cox and Bernard Miles | |
| Cause Célèbre | Terence Rattigan | |
| Dusa, Fish, Stas and Vi | Pam Gems | |
| State of Revolution | Robert Bolt | |
| 1978 | ||
| Whose Life Is It Anyway? | Brian Clark | |
| Half-Life | Julian Mitchell | |
| Lark Rise | Flora Thompson and Keith Dewhurst | |
| Plenty | David Hare | |
| 1979 | ||
| Betrayal | Harold Pinter | |
| Night and Day | Tom Stoppard | |
| The Crucifer of Blood | Arthur Conan Doyle and Paul Giovanni | |
| Undiscovered Country | Arthur Schnitzler and Tom Stoppard |
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Play | Writer |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ||
| Leopoldstadt | Tom Stoppard | |
| A Very Expensive Poison | Lucy Prebble | |
| The Doctor | Robert Icke | |
| The Ocean at the End of the Lane | Joel Horwood | |
| 2021 | Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic[A] | |
| 2022 [A] | ||
| Life of Pi | Lolita Chakrabarti | |
| 2:22 A Ghost Story | Danny Robins | |
| Best of Enemies | James Graham | |
| Cruise | Jack Holden | |
| 2023 [6] | ||
| Prima Facie | Suzie Miller | |
| For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy | Ryan Calais Cameron | |
| Patriots | Peter Morgan | |
| To Kill a Mockingbird | Aaron Sorkin | |
| 2024 [7] | ||
| Dear England | James Graham | |
| The Hills of California | Jez Butterworth | |
| The Motive and the Cue | Jack Thorne | |
| Till the Stars Come Down | Beth Steel | |
| 2025 [7] | ||
| Giant | Mark Rosenblatt | |
| The Fear of 13 | Lindsey Ferrentino | |
| Kyoto | Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson | |
| Shifters | Benedict Lombe | |
| The Years | Eline Arbo and Stephanie Bain | |
| 2026 | ||
| Punch | James Graham | |
| 1536 | Ava Pickett | |
| Inter Alia | Suzie Miller | |
| Kenrex | Jack Holden and Ed Stambollouian | |
- 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]
Multiple awards and nominations for Best New Play
Awards
- Two awards
Nominations
- Seven nominations
- Five nominations
- Three nominations
- Two nominations