Most Laurence Olivier awards won by an individual

On 25 October 2020, choreographer/director Sir Matthew Bourne (UK) collected an unprecedented ninth Laurence Olivier award, for Best Theatre Choreographer, for his work on the West End revival of Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre, 2019) alongside Stephen Mear.

It was Bourne’s fifth Best Theatre Choreographer award at the Oliviers, following his success with My Fair Lady (Theatre Royal Drury Lane, 2002), Play Without Words (National Theatre, 2003), Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre, 2005; awarded jointly with Mear) and The Red Shoes (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 2017). His other statuettes were for Best New Dance Production, for Swan Lake (Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 1996) and Best Entertainment (now Best Family Show), for Play Without Words (2003) and The Red Shoes (2017). In 2019, he was awarded the Society of London Theatre Special Award.

First nominated in 1992 for Outstanding Achievement in Dance (for Adventures in Motion Pictures, now New Adventures (2001–), the dance-theatre company he co-founded), Bourne has picked up 12 nominations across six different categories, including Best Director for Play Without Words in 2003.

Most Laurence Olivier awards won (as of the 45th edition on 10 April 2022):

9 – Matthew Bourne (choreographer/director; includes Special Award in 2019);

8 – Judi Dench (actress; includes Special Award in 2004); 7 – William Dudley (designer);

7 – Andrew Lloyd Webber (composer/producer; includes Special Award in 2008);

7 – Ian McKellen (actor; includes Special Awards in 2006 and 2020).

The Laurence Olivier Awards were established in 1976 (initially as the Society of West End Theatre Awards; (SWETA) and have become Britain’s most prestigious stage honours. They were named after the Academy- and BAFTA-Award-winning English actor (1907–89), who himself received the Society of London Theatre Special Award in 1979 – five years before SWETA was renamed the Laurence Olivier Awards in his honour, in 1984.