Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design
Annual award for London theatre
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The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design 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.
AwardedforBest Set Design
Location
England
EnglandPresentedbySociety of London Theatre
Currently held byTom Pye (set design) and Ash J Woodward (video design) for Paddington: The Musical (2026)
| Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best Set Design |
| Location | England |
| Presented by | Society of London Theatre |
| Currently held by | Tom Pye (set design) and Ash J Woodward (video design) for Paddington: The Musical (2026) |
| Website | officiallondontheatre |
The award originated as a single award for Designer of the Year in 1976 before being renamed as Best Set Design in 1991 with the introduction of awards for Best Costume Design and Best Lighting Design. In 2004, the award for Best Sound Design was introduced.
Winners and nominees
1970s
| Year | Designer | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | ||
| Abd'Elkader Farrah | Henry IV and Henry V | |
| Eileen Diss | The Family Dance | |
| Ralph Koltai | Old World and Wild Oats | |
| Alan Tagg | Confusions | |
| 1977 | ||
| John Napier | King Lear | |
| John Bury | Volpone | |
| Tazeena Firth and Timothy O'Brien | Tales from the Vienna Woods | |
| Ralph Koltai | Rosmersholm | |
| 1978 | ||
| Ralph Koltai | Brand | |
| Eileen Diss | The Homecoming | |
| Abd'Elkader Farrah | Henry VI | |
| Tanya Moiseiwitsch | The Double Dealer | |
| 1979 | ||
| William Dudley | Undiscovered Country | |
| John Bury | Strife | |
| John Napier | Once in a Lifetime | |
| Carl Toms | For Services Rendered |
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Designer | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ||
| Bob Crowley | Mary Poppins | |
| Soutra Gilmour | & Juliet | |
| Rae Smith | Rosmersholm | |
| Uncle Vanya | ||
| 2021 | Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic[A] | |
| 2022[A] | ||
| Tim Hatley (set design), Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell (puppet design) | Life of Pi | |
| Tim Hatley (set design) and Finn Ross (video design) | Back to the Future: The Musical | |
| Derek McLane | Moulin Rouge! | |
| Tom Scutt | Cabaret | |
| 2023 | ||
| Tom Pye | My Neighbour Totoro | |
| Miriam Buether | To Kill A Mockingbird | |
| Ben Stones | Standing at the Sky's Edge | |
| Mark Walters | Jack and the Beanstalk | |
| 2024 | ||
| Miriam Buether (set design), 59 Productions (video design) | Stranger Things: The First Shadow | |
| Bunny Christie (set design) | Guys and Dolls | |
| Es Devlin (set design), Ash J Woodward (video design) | Dear England | |
| Soutra Gilmour (set design), Nathan Amzi & Joe Ransom (video design) | Sunset Boulevard | |
| 2025 | ||
| Tom Scutt (set design) | Fiddler on the Roof | |
| Jon Bausor (set design), Toby Olié & Daisy Beattie (puppetry design) & Satoshi Kuriyama (projection design) | Spirited Away | |
| Frankie Bradshaw (set design) | Ballet Shoes | |
| Es Devlin (set design) | Coriolanus | |
- 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]
Individuals with multiple wins
5 wins
4 wins
3 wins
- Bob Crowley
- Tim Hatley
- Rob Howell
- John Napier
- Mark Thompson (2 consecutive)
2 wins
- Es Devlin (consecutive)
- John Gunter
- Ralph Koltai