Sir Peter Reginald Frederick Hall CBE was an English theatre, opera and film director. His obituary in The Times declared him "the most important figure in British theatre for half a century" and on his death, a Royal National Theatre statement declared that Hall's "influence on the artistic life of Britain in the 20th century was unparalleled". In 2018, the Laurence Olivier Awards, recognizing achievements in London theatre, changed the award for Best Director to the Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director.
Stephen David Daldry CBE is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway and an Olivier Award for his work in the West End. He has received three Academy Awards nominations for Best Director, for the films Billy Elliot (2000), The Hours (2002), and The Reader (2008).
Louise Marion Jameson is an English actress with a wide variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela in Doctor Who (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in The Omega Factor (1979), Blanche Simmons in Tenko (1981–1982), Susan Young in Bergerac (1985–1990) and Rosa di Marco in EastEnders (1998–2000). In 2022, she joined the cast of Emmerdale as Mary Goskirk, having previously appeared on the show in 1973 as Sharon Crossthwaite.
Marius Re Goring, was an English stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in A Matter of Life and Death and as Julian Craster in The Red Shoes. He is also known for playing the title role in the long-running TV drama series, The Expert. He regularly performed French and German roles, and was frequently cast in the latter because of his name, coupled with his red-gold hair and blue eyes. However, in a 1965 interview, he explained that he was not of German descent, stating that "Goring is a completely English name."
The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whose statue is outside the theatre.
Matthew Warchus is a British theatre director, filmmaker and dramaturg. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015.
Angie Le Mar is a British comedian, actor, writer, director, presenter and producer.
Aikaterini Hadjipateras, known professionally as Kathryn Hunter, is an American-born British actress and theatre director, known for her appearances as Arabella Figg in the Harry Potter film series, Eedy Karn on the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff series Andor, and as the Three Witches in Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth.
April De Angelis is an English dramatist of part Sicilian descent. She is a graduate of Sussex University who trained at East 15 Acting School.
David Lan is a South African-born British playwright, theatre producer and director and a social anthropologist.
Off West End refers to theatres in London which are not included as West End theatres. The term is a relatively recent one, coined after the similar American term "off-Broadway". It is usually used synonymously with the more widespread term Fringe, but sometimes is also used to refer to more mainstream or commercial theatre which is located within London but outside the centre, or to especially small and non-commercial theatres located within the centre. According to London Theatre, "Smaller theatres, including many pub theatres, are called Fringe, although some of these small theatres are also called Off West End, particularly those located in the West End of London, where most of the big commercial theatres are. These small theatres can vary in size, with seating capacities of around 40 to 400."
Rupert Goold is an English director who works primarily in theatre. He is the artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and was the artistic director of Headlong Theatre Company (2005–2013).
Gregory Doran is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. The Sunday Times called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'.
Esme Church was a British actress and theatre director. In a long career she acted with the Old Vic Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company and on Broadway. She directed plays for the Old Vic, became head of the Old Vic Theatre School and then director of the Bradford Civic Playhouse, with its associated Northern Theatre School.
Topher Campbell is a filmmaker, artist and writer who has created a range of works in broadcasting, film, theatre, television and performance. His works focus on issues of sexuality, masculinity, and the city, particularly in relation to race, human rights and climate change. Campbell is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a past recipient of the Jerwood Directors Award (2005). He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Sussex for his work in the arts and Black LGBTQ advocacy. He is currently Programme Director of the Collaborative Theatre Making programme at Rose Bruford College in London.
Matthew Xia is a British theatre director, DJ, composer, broadcaster and journalist.
Patricia Cumper, MBE, FRSA, also known as Pat Cumper, is a British playwright, producer, director, theatre administrator, critic and commentator. She was the artistic director and CEO of Talawa Theatre Company from 2006 to 2012, and she has adapted novels for radio and television, including books by Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Andrea Levy, Zora Neale Hurston and Maya Angelou and others.
Gbolahan Obisesan is a British Nigerian writer and director. He is the Artistic Director at Brixton House theatre. He has served as a Genesis Fellow and Associate Director at the Young Vic.
Maggie Lunn was an English casting director, for leading theatre companies and for notable productions on television and film.
The 2020 Laurence Olivier Awards was held on 25 October 2020 at the London Palladium and hosted by Jason Manford, who presented all of the awards except Special Recognition.
