Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play

Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play
Awarded for	Actress of the Year in a New Play
Location	England
Presented by	Society of London Theatre
First award	1976
Final award	1988
Website	officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/

The Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play was an annual award presented by the Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial London theatre. 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.

This award was presented from 1976 to 1984, then in 1985 the award was combined with the Actress of the Year in a Revival award to create the Best Actress award. The original Actress of the Year in a New Play award returned one last time, for the 1988 ceremony.

Winners and nominees

1970s

Year	Actor	Play	Character
1976
	Peggy Ashcroft	Old World	Lidya Vasilyevna
	Pauline Collins	Engaged	Belinda Trehern
	Penelope Keith	Donkeys' Years	Lady Driver
	Joan Plowright	The Bed Before Yesterday	Alma
1977
	Alison Fiske	Dusa, Fish, Stats and Vi	Fish
	Glenda Jackson	Stevie	Stevie Smith
	Glynis Johns	Cause Célèbre	Alma
	Rosemary Leach	Just Between Ourselves	Vera
1978
	Joan Plowright	Filumena	Filumena Marturano
	Yvonne Bryceland	The Woman	Hecuba
	Sylvia Miles	Vieux Carré	Mrs. Wire
	Kate Nelligan	Plenty	Susan
1979
	Jane Lapotaire	Piaf	Édith Piaf
	Constance Cummings	Wings	Emily Stilson
	Gemma Jones	And a Nightingale Sang	Helen
	Jessica Tandy	The Gin Game	Fonsia Dorsey

1980s

Year	Actor	Play	Character
1980
	Frances de la Tour	Duet for One	Stephanie
	Shelagh Holliday	A Lesson from Aloes	Gladys
	Glenda Jackson	Rose	Rose
	Joan Plowright	Enjoy	Connie Craven
1981
	Elizabeth Quinn	Children of a Lesser God	Sarah
	Eileen Atkins	Passion Play	Nell
	Janet Dale	The Accrington Pals	May
	Maggie Smith	Virginia	Virginia Woolf
1982
	Rosemary Leach	84, Charing Cross Road	Narrator
	Judy Davis	Insignificance	The Actress
	Judi Dench	Other Places	Deborah
	Anna Massey	Summer	Xenia
1983
	Judi Dench	Pack of Lies	Barbara Jackson
	Sara Kestelman	The Custom of the Country	Zenocia
	Maureen Lipman	Messiah	Rachel
	Janet Suzman	Cowardice	Nina
1984
	Thuli Dumakude	Poppie Nongena	Poppie
	Brenda Blethyn	Benefactors	Sheila
	Julie Covington	Tom & Viv	Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot
	Julie Walters	Fool for Love	May
1988
	Pauline Collins	Shirley Valentine	Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw
	Gillian Barge	Mrs. Klein	Melanie Klein
	Saskia Reeves	Separation	Sarah
	Penelope Wilton	The Secret Rapture	Marion French

See also

• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
• Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play

References

• London Theatre Guide (2008). "The Laurence Olivier Awards: Full List of Winners, 1976-2008" (.PDF). 1976-2008. The Society of London Theatre. p. 20. Retrieved 2008-08-30.

External links

• Official website