# Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance

The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance 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 actor/actress award was introduced in 1976, and was last presented at the 1995 ceremony, after which it was retired. On the 19 occasions that this award was given, it was presented three times to an actress and 16 times to an actor.

## Winners and nominees
### 1970s

| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
| 1976 |
| 1976 | Penelope Keith | Donkeys' Years | Lady Driver |
| 1976 | Peter Barkworth | Crown Matrimonial | Edward VIII |
| 1976 | Richard Beckinsale | Funny Peculiar | Trevor Tinsley |
| 1976 | Geraldine McEwan | Oh, Coward! | Performer |
| 1977 |
| 1977 | Denis Quilley | Privates on Parade | Terri Dennis |
| 1977 | Jane Carr | Once a Catholic | Mary Mooney |
| 1977 | Joan Hickson | Bedroom Farce | Delia |
| 1977 | Leslie Phillips | Sextet | Unknown |
| 1978 |
| 1978 | Ian McKellen | The Alchemist | Face |
| 1978 | Sheila Hancock | Annie | Miss Hannigan |
| 1978 | Geraldine McEwan | Look After Lulu! | Lulu |
| 1978 | Donald Sinden | Shut Your Eyes and Think of England | Performer |
| 1979 |
| 1979 | Barry Humphries | A Night with Dame Edna | Dame Edna Everage |
| 1979 | Richard Griffiths | Once in a Lifetime | George Lewis |
| 1979 | Oscar James | Gloo Joo | Meadowlark Warner |
| 1979 | Maureen Lipman | Outside Edge | Maggie |

### 1980s

| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
| 1980 |
| 1980 | Beryl Reid | Born in the Gardens | Maud |
| 1980 | Edward Duke | Jeeves Takes Charge | Jeeves |
| 1980 | Ben Kingsley | The Merry Wives of Windsor | Ford |
| 1980 | Julie Walters | Educating Rita | Rita |
| 1981 |
| 1981 | Rowan Atkinson | Rowan Atkinson in Revue | Himself |
| 1981 | Georgina Hale | Steaming | Josie |
| 1981 | Donald Sinden | Present Laughter | Garry Essendine |
| 1981 | Angela Thorne | Anyone for Denis? | Margaret Thatcher |
| 1982 |
| 1982 | Geoffrey Hutchings | Poppy | Lady Dodo |
| 1982 | Jane Carr | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia |
| 1982 | Paul Eddington | Noises Off | Lloyd Dallas |
| 1982 | Bill Paterson | Schweik in the Second World War | Schweyk |
| 1983 |
| 1983 | Griff Rhys Jones | Charley's Aunt | Lord Fancourt Babberley |
| 1983 | Susan Colverd | The Provok'd Wife | Lady Brute |
| 1983 | Michael Hordern | The Rivals | Sir Anthony Absolute |
| 1983 | Peter Ustinov | Beethoven's Tenth | Ludwig van Beethoven |
| 1984 |
| 1984 | Maureen Lipman | See How They Run | Miss Skillon |
| 1984 | Lavinia Bertram | Intimate Exchanges | Various Characters |
| 1984 | Leonard Rossiter | Loot | Truscott |
| 1984 | Michael Williams | Two into One | George |
| 1985 |
| 1985 | Michael Gambon | A Chorus of Disapproval | Dafydd Llewellyn |
| 1985 | Roger Rees | Love's Labours Lost | Berowne |
| 1985 | Griff Rhys Jones | Trumpets and Raspberries | Antonio Berardi / Agnelli |
| 1985 | Maggie Smith | The Way of the World | Mrs. Millamant |
| 1986 |
| 1986 | Bill Fraser | When We Are Married | Gerald Forbes |
| 1986 | Brian Cox | Misalliance | John Tarleton |
| 1986 | Nigel Hawthorne | The Magistrate | Posket |
| 1986 | Paul Scofield | I'm Not Rappaport | Nat |
| 1987 |
| 1987 | John Woodvine | The Henrys | Falstaff |
| 1987 | Frank Ferrante | Groucho: A Life in Revue | Groucho Marx |
| 1987 | Geoffrey Hutchings | Three Men on a Horse | Irwin |
| 1987 | Les Marsden | Groucho: A Life in Revue | Harpo Marx |
| 1988 |
| 1988 | Alex Jennings | Too Clever by Half | Gloumov |
| 1988 | Kenneth Branagh | As You Like It | Celia |
| 1988 | Lesley Sharp | A Family Affair | Lipochka |
| 1988 | Sian Thomas | Countrymania | Vittoria |
| 1989/90 |
| 1989/90 | Michael Gambon | Man of the Moment | Douglas Beechey |
| 1989/90 | Alex Jennings | The Liar | Dorante |
| 1989/90 | Alfred Molina | Speed-the-Plow | Fox |
| 1989/90 | Peter O'Toole | Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell | Jeffrey Bernard |

### 1990s

| Year | Actor | Musical | Character |
| 1991 |
| 1991 | Alan Cumming | Accidental Death of an Anarchist | The Madman |
| 1991 | Richard Briers | The Wind in the Willows | Rat |
| 1991 | Griff Rhys Jones | The Wind in the Willows | Mr. Toad |
| 1991 | Joseph Maher | What the Butler Saw | Dr. Rance |
| 1992 |
| 1992 | Desmond Barrit | The Comedy of Errors | Antipholus of Ephesus / Antipholus of Syracuse |
| 1992 | Robin Bailey | Black Snow | Ivan Vassilevich |
| 1992 | Alan Cumming | La Bête | Valere |
| 1992 | Lia Williams | The Revengers' Comedies | Karen |
| 1993 |
| 1993 | Simon Cadell | Travels with My Aunt | Henry Pulling |
| 1993 | Sara Crowe | Hay Fever | Sorel Bliss |
| 1993 | Guy Henry | The Alchemist | Ananias |
| 1993 | Robert Lindsay | Cyrano de Bergerac | Cyrano de Bergerac |
| 1994 |
| 1994 | Griff Rhys Jones | An Absolute Turkey | Redillon |
| 1994 | Ken Campbell | Jamais Vu | Performer |
| 1994 | Nicholas Le Prevost | An Absolute Turkey | Pontagnac |
| 1994 | Maggie Smith | The Importance of Being Earnest | Lady Bracknell |
| 1995 |
| 1995 | Niall Buggy | Dead Funny | Brian |
| 1995 | Nigel Hawthorne | The Clandestine Marriage | Lord Ogleby |
| 1995 | Tony Slattery | Neville's Island | Gordon |
| 1995 | Debra Gillett | The Country Wife | Mrs. Pinchwife |