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." 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.
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 YearDesignerProduction1976Abd'Elkader FarrahHenry IV and Henry VEileen DissThe Family DanceRalph KoltaiOld World and Wild OatsAlan TaggConfusions1977John NapierKing LearJohn BuryVolponeTazeena Firth and Timothy O'BrienTales from the Vienna WoodsRalph KoltaiRosmersholm1978Ralph KoltaiBrandEileen DissThe HomecomingAbd'Elkader FarrahHenry VITanya MoiseiwitschThe Double Dealer1979William DudleyUndiscovered CountryJohn BuryStrifeJohn NapierOnce in a LifetimeCarl TomsFor Services Rendered
1980s YearDesignerProduction1980Dermot Hayes and John NapierNicholas NicklebyJohn BuryAmadeusJohn GunterJuno and the PaycockJocelyn HerbertLife of Galileo1981Carl TomsThe Provoked WifeEileen DissMeasure for MeasureJohn NapierCatsSaul RadomskyTonight at 8.301982John GunterGuys and DollsAbd'Elkader FarrahPoppyCarl TomsWindy CityUltzThe Twin Rivals1983Ralph KoltaiCyrano de BergeracJohn GunterThe RivalsJohn NapierPeter PanCarl TomsThe Real Thing1984John GunterWild HoneyVoytek Dolinski and Michael LevineStrange InterludeJohn NapierStarlight ExpressCarl TomsThe Aspern Papers1985William DudleyThe MysteriesAlison ChittyMartine and She Stoops to ConquerBob CrowleyHenry V, Love's Labour's Lost and The Winter's TalePhilip ProwseThe Duchess of Malfi1986William DudleyFuturistsMaria BjörnsonThe Phantom of the OperaBob CrowleyAs You Like It and Les liaisons dangereusesCarl TomsDalliance and The Magistrate1987Lucio FantiThe Hairy ApeBob CrowleyA Penny for a Song and MacbethWilliam DudleyGirlfriends, Kiss Me, Kate and Richard IIKappa SenohMacbeth1988Richard HudsonAndromache, Bussy D'Ambois, Candide, One Way Pendulum, The Tempest and Too Clever by HalfWilliam DudleyBartholomew Fair, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Changeling, The Shaughraun and Waiting for GodotNick OrmerodA Family Affair, Philoctetes and The TempestMark ThompsonMeasure for Measure and The Wizard of Oz
1990s Year Designer Production1990Bob CrowleyGhetto, Hedda Gabler, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The PlantagenetsThe Design TeamSuicide for LoveChris DyerThe Merchant of Venice and The Wars of the RosesJohn NapierMiss Saigon 1991 Mark Thompson The Wind in the Willows Tom Cairns Sunday in the Park with George William Dudley Marya Nigel Lowery The Illusion 1992 Mark Thompson The Comedy of Errors and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Bob Crowley When She Danced, Murmuring Judges and The Night of the Iguana Ashley Martin-Davis The Miser and The Recruiting Officer Philip Prowse A Woman of No Importance and The White Devil 1993 Ian MacNeil An Inspector Calls Bob Crowley Carousel, Henry IV and No Man's Land Jerome Sirlin Kiss of the Spider Woman Robin Wagner Crazy for You 1994 Mark Thompson Hysteria Peter J. Davison Medea Ian MacNeil Machinal Anthony Ward The Winter's Tale 1995 Stephen Brimson Lewis Design for Living and Les Parents terribles Lez Brotherston Neville's Island Peter J. Davison Le Cid and Saint Joan Anthony Ward Sweet Bird of Youth and The Tempest 1996 John Napier Burning Blue John Gunter Skylight, Absolute Hell and Twelfth Night Rob Howell The Glass Menagerie Anthony Ward A Midsummer Night's Dream, La Grande Magia and The Way of the World 1997 Tim Hatley Stanley John Arnone Tommy Paul Farnsworth Passion Mark Thompson 'Art' 1998 Tim Goodchild Three Hours After Marriage William Dudley The Homecoming John Gunter The Peter Hall Company's Season Rob Howell Chips with Everything 1999 Anthony Ward Oklahoma! Maria Björnson Britannicus and Phèdre William Dudley Amadeus and Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick Richard Hoover Not About Nightingales Mark Thompson The Blue Room and The Unexpected Man
2000s Year Designer Production 2000 Rob Howell Richard III, Troilus and Cressida and Vassa Maria Björnson Plenty Lez Brotherston Spend Spend Spend Richard Hudson The Lion King 2001 William Dudley All My Sons Bunny Christie Baby Doll Rob Howell The Caretaker Brian Thomson The King and I 2002 Tim Hatley Humble Boy and Private Lives Lez Brotherston The Little Foxes and A Midsummer Night's Dream Julian Crouch and Graeme Gilmour Shockheaded Peter Robin Wagner Kiss Me, Kate Anthony Ward My Fair Lady 2003 Bunny Christie A Streetcar Named Desire Lez Brotherston Play Without Words William Dudley The Coast of Utopia Anthony Ward Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 2004 William Dudley Hitchcock Blonde Bob Crowley Mourning Becomes Electra Franco Zeffirelli Absolutely! (Perhaps) 2005 Giles Cadle His Dark Materials Bob Crowley Mary Poppins William Dudley The Woman in White Ian MacNeil Festen Christopher Oram Suddenly, Last Summer 2006 Rob Howell Hedda Gabler Ian MacNeil Billy Elliot Christopher Oram Don Carlos 2007 David Farley and Timothy Bird Sunday in the Park with George Tim Hatley Spamalot Eugene Lee Wicked 2008 Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company War Horse Rob Howell The Lord of the Rings David Rockwell Hairspray Anthony Ward and Lorna Heavey Macbeth 2009 Todd Rosenthal August: Osage County Paul Brown Marguerite Soutra Gilmour The Collection and The Lover Neil Murray Brief Encounter Tom Piper The Histories
2010s Year Designer Production 2010 Ultz Jerusalem Christopher Oram Red Mark Thompson England People Very Nice Anthony Ward ENRON 2011 Bunny Christie The White Guard Lez Brotherston Design for Living Miriam Buether Earthquakes in London Bob Crowley Love Never Dies 2012 Rob Howell MatildaRob Howell Ghost Michael Taylor The Ladykillers Mark Thompson One Man, Two Guvnors 2013 Bunny Christie and Finn Ross The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Hildegard Bechtler Top Hat Miriam Buether and Wang Gongxin Wild Swans Tim Hatley The Bodyguard 2014 Es Devlin Chimerica Bob Crowley Once Tim Goodchild Strangers on a Train Mark Thompson Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 2015 Es Devlin The Nether Bunny Christie Made in Dagenham Rob Jones City of Angels Jan Versweyveld A View from the Bridge 2016 Anna Fleischle Hangmen Hildegard Bechtler Oresteia Es Devlin Hamlet Jonathan Fensom Farinelli and the King 2017 Christine Jones Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Bob Crowley Aladdin The Glass Menagerie Rob Howell Groundhog Day2018Bob Crowley and 59 ProductionsAn American in ParisBunny ChristieInkRob HowellThe FerrymanVicki MortimerFollies2019Bunny ChristieCompanyBob CrowleyThe InheritanceEs DevlinThe Lehman TrilogyAnna FleischleHome, I'm Darling
2020s YearDesignerProduction2020Bob CrowleyMary PoppinsSoutra Gilmour& JulietRae SmithRosmersholmUncle Vanya 2021 Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic2022Tim Hatley (set design), Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell (puppet design)Life of PiTim Hatley (set design) and Finn Ross (video design)Back to the Future: The MusicalDerek McLaneMoulin Rouge!Tom ScuttCabaret2023Tom PyeMy Neighbour TotoroMiriam BuetherTo Kill A MockingbirdBen StonesStanding at the Sky's EdgeMark WaltersJack and the Beanstalk2024Miriam Buether (set design), 59 Productions (video design)Stranger Things: The First ShadowBunny Christie (set design)Guys and DollsEs Devlin (set design), Ash J Woodward (video design)Dear EnglandSoutra Gilmour (set design), Nathan Amzi & Joe Ransom (video design)Sunset Boulevard2025Tom Scutt (set design)Fiddler on the RoofJon Bausor (set design), Toby Olié & Daisy Beattie (puppetry design) & Satoshi Kuriyama (projection design)Spirited AwayFrankie Bradshaw (set design)Ballet ShoesEs Devlin (set design)Coriolanus
Individuals with multiple wins
5 wins
William Dudley
4 wins
Bunny Christie
3 wins
Bob Crowley Tim Hatley Rob Howell John Napier Mark Thompson (2 consecutive)
2 wins
Es Devlin (consecutive) John Gunter Ralph Koltai
See also Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design Tony Award for Best Scenic Design
References
External links