# Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play

The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a 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 commingled award, covering all roles and responsibilities in a production, was introduced in 1980, and was last presented at the 2008 ceremony, after which it was retired. During its existence, the award was not used for 1991–2003, nor 2005–2007.
On the 12 occasions that this award was given, it was presented eight times to a performer (actor/actress), twice to a director, once to a writer and once to an entire theatre company. The company, and one of the two directors, were honoured based on a collection of works during their award-winning year.

## Winners and nominees
### 1980s

| Year | Actor | Play | Role |
| 1980 |
| 1980 | Edward Duke | Jeeves Takes Charge | Various Characters |
| 1980 | Alfred Molina | Oklahoma! | Jud Fry |
| 1980 | Gavin Richards | Accidental Death of an Anarchist | Maniac |
| 1980 | Robert Walker | Pal Joey | Director |
| 1981 |
| 1981 | Alice Krige | Arms and the Man | Raina |
| 1981 | Catherine Hall | Naked Robots | Gemma |
| 1981 | Jeremy Nicholas | Three Men in a Boat | Various Characters |
| 1981 | Eric Peterson | Billy Bishop Goes to War | Billy Bishop |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | Kenneth Branagh | Another Country | Tommy Judd |
| 1982 | Rupert Everett | Another Country | Guy Bennett |
| 1982 | Terry Johnson | Insignificance | Playwright |
| 1982 | Imelda Staunton | The Beggar's Opera | Lucy Lockit |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | John Retallack | Quixote and The Provok'd Wife | Director |
| 1983 | Arturo Brachetti | Y | Producer |
| 1983 | Billy McColl | The Slab Boys Trilogy | Phil |
| 1983 | Abigail McKern | As You Like It | Celia |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | Tim Flavin | On Your Toes | Junior |
| 1984 | Henry Goodman | The Comedy of Errors | Dromio of Ephesus |
| 1984 | Hilary Blecher, Sandra Kotzé and Elsa Joubert | Poppie Nongena | Directors |
| 1984 | Clare Leach | 42nd Street | Peggy Sawyer |
| 1985 |
| 1985 | Cheek by Jowl | Andromache, Pericles and Vanity Fair | Company |
| 1985 | Frances Barber | Camille | Marguerite |
| 1985 | Druid Theatre Company | The Playboy of the Western World | Company |
| 1985 | Clive Mantle | Of Mice and Men | Lennie |
| 1986 |
| 1986 | Sally Dexter | Dalliance | Mizi |
| 1986 | Simon Curtis | Road and Ourselves Alone | Director |
| 1986 | Anne Devlin | Ourselves Alone | Writer |
| 1986 | Janet McTeer | The Grace of Mary Traverse | Mary Traverse |
| 1987 |
| 1987 | Suzan Sylvester | A View from the Bridge | Catherine |
| 1987 | Rudi Davies | A Penny for a Song and A Lie of the Mind | Dorcas Bellboys / Sally |
| 1987 | Nick Dear | The Art of Success | Writer |
| 1987 | Imogen Stubbs | Two Noble Kinsmen and The Rover | Gaoler's Daughter / Helena |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | Richard Jones | Too Clever by Half | Director |
| 1988 | Andrew Castell | Journey's End | Raleigh |
| 1988 | Alan Cumming | The Conquest of the South Pole | Slupianek |
| 1988 | Tim Luscombe | Easy Virtue, The Browning Version and Harlequinade | Director |
| 1989/90 |
| 1989/90 | Jeremy Northam | The Voysey Inheritance | Edward Voysey |
| 1989/90 | Glen Goei | M. Butterfly | Song Liling |
| 1989/90 | Charlotte Keatley | My Mother Said I Never Should | Writer |
| 1989/90 | Georgia Slowe | Romeo and Juliet | Juliet |

### 2000s

| Year | Actor | Play | Role |
| 2004 |
| 2004 | Debbie Tucker Green | Born Bad | Writer |
| 2004 | Tom Hardy | In Arabia We'd All Be Kings | Skank |
| 2004 | Ruth Negga | Duck | Cat |
| 2004 | Lucy Prebble | The Sugar Syndrome | Writer |
| 2008 |
| 2008 | Tom Hiddleston | Cymbeline | Posthumus Leonatus / Cloten |
| 2008 | David Dawson | The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby | Smike |
| 2008 | Tom Hiddleston | Othello | Cassio |
| 2008 | Stephen Wight | Dealer's Choice | Mugsy |