# 1987 Laurence Olivier Awards

The 1987 Laurence Olivier Awards were held in 1987 in London celebrating excellence in West End theatre by the Society of London Theatre.

## Winners and nominees

Details of winners (in bold) and nominees, in each award category, per the Society of London Theatre.
| Play of the Year | Musical of the Year |
| Serious Money by Caryl Churchill – Royal Court A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard – Royal Court Lettice and Lovage by Peter Shaffer – Globe Sarcophagus by Vladimir Gubaryev – RSC at The Pit | Follies – Shaftesbury Blues in the Night – Donmar Warehouse Kiss Me, Kate – Old Vic Up on the Roof – Donmar Warehouse |
| Comedy of the Year |
| Three Men on a Horse by George Abbott and John Cecil Holm – National Theatre Cottesloe A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare – Open Air Groucho: A Life in Revue by Robert Fisher and Arthur Marx – Comedy Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare – Donmar Warehouse |
| Actor of the Year | Actress of the Year |
| Michael Gambon as Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge – National Theatre Cottesloe Tokusaburo Arashi as Medea in Medea – National Theatre Olivier Hugh Quarshie as Jack Jefferson in The Great White Hope, as Belville in The Rover and as Arcite in The Two Noble Kinsmen – RSC at the Mermaid Nicholas Woodeson as Mike Levine in Flight and as Bessmertny in Sarcophagus – RSC at the Barbican Pit | Judi Dench as Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra – National Theatre Olivier Miranda Richardson as Beth in A Lie of the Mind – Royal Court Maggie Smith as Halina Rodziewiczowna in Coming into Land – National Theatre Lyttelton and as Lettice Douffet in Lettice and Lovage – Globe Juliet Stevenson as Yerma in Yerma – National Theatre Cottesloe |
| Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actor in a Musical | Outstanding Performance of the Year by an Actress in a Musical |
| John Bardon and Emil Wolk as First Gangster and Second Gangster in Kiss Me, Kate – Old Vic Bernard Alane as Pierre Fontaine in Bless the Bride – Sadler's Wells Mark McGann as Scott in Up on the Roof – Donmar Warehouse Gary Olsen as Keith in Up on the Roof – Donmar Warehouse | Nichola McAuliffe as Lilli Vanessi/Kate Minola in Kiss Me, Kate – Old Vic Dee Dee Bridgewater as Billie Holiday in Lady Day – Donmar Warehouse Julia McKenzie as Sally Durant Plummer in Follies – Shaftesbury Carol Woods as Performer in Blues in the Night – Donmar Warehouse |
| Comedy Performance of the Year |
| John Woodvine as Sir John Falstaff in The Henrys – Old Vic Frank Ferrante as Groucho Marx in Groucho: A Life in Revue – Comedy Geoffrey Hutchings as Irwin in Three Men on a Horse – National Theatre Cottesloe Les Marsden as Harpo Marx in Groucho: A Life in Revue – Comedy |
| Outstanding Performance of the Year in a Supporting Role | Most Promising Newcomer of the Year in Theatre |
| Michael Bryant as Enobarbus in Antony and Cleopatra and as The Fool King Lear – National Theatre Olivier Robin Bailey as Vassily Ivanyich Bazarov in Fathers and Sons – National Theatre Lyttelton Diane Bull as Louise Allington in Tons of Money – National Theatre Lyttelton Sheila Reid as Morag in When I Was a Girl I Used to Scream and Shout – Whitehall | Suzan Sylvester as Catherine in A View from the Bridge – National Theatre Cottesloe Rudi Davies as Sally in A Lie of the Mind – Royal Court and as Dorcas Bellboys A Penny for a Song – RSC at the Barbican Nick Dear for writing The Art of Success – RSC at the Barbican Pit Imogen Stubbs as Helena in The Rover and as the Gaoler's Daughter The Two Noble Kinsmen – RSC at the Mermaid |
| Director of the Year |
| Declan Donnellan for Macbeth, The Cid and Twelfth Night – Donmar Warehouse Alan Ayckbourn for A View from the Bridge – National Theatre Cottesloe Yukio Ninagawa for Macbeth – National Theatre Lyttelton and Medea – National Theatre Olivier Peter Stein for The Hairy Ape – National Theatre Lyttelton |
| Designer of the Year |
| Lucio Fanti for The Hairy Ape – National Theatre Lyttelton Bob Crowley for A Penny for a Song and Macbeth – RSC at the Barbican William Dudley for Girlfriends – Playhouse, Kiss Me, Kate – Old Vic and Richard II – RSC at the Barbican Kappa Senoh for Macbeth – National Theatre Lyttelton |
| Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Dance | Outstanding Achievement in Opera |
| Trisha Brown for her season – Sadler's Wells The ensemble for their season, London Contemporary Dance Theatre – Sadler's Wells Richard Alston for choreographing Dutiful Ducks and Pulcinella, Ballet Rambert – Sadler's Wells Ichikawa Ennosuke in The Thousand Cherries of Yoshitsune – Sadler's Wells Shards, Merce Cunningham Dance Company – Sadler's Wells | Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by English National Opera – London Coliseum Della Jones in The Barber of Seville, English National Opera – London Coliseum Carlos Kleiber for conducting Otello, The Royal Opera – Royal Opera House Marie McLaughlin in Le nozze di Figaro, The Royal Opera – Royal Opera House Eva Randová in Jenůfa, The Royal Opera – Royal Opera House Yuri Temirkanov for artistic directing, Kirov Opera Orchestra – Royal Opera House |
| Award for Outstanding Achievement |
| Thelma Holt for producing, International Festival – National Ghosts, Young Vic – Wyndham's Hampstead Theatre for overall high standard of work in 1987 Barry Humphries in Back with a Vengeance – Strand |

## Productions with multiple nominations and awards

The following 17 productions received multiple nominations:
* 4: Kiss Me, Kate
* 3: A Lie of the Mind, A View from the Bridge, Groucho: A Life in Revue and Up on the Roof
* 2: A Penny for a Song, Antony and Cleopatra, Blues in the Night, Follies, Lettice and Lovage, Macbeth (Lyttelton), Medea, Sarcophagus, The Rover, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Three Men on a Horse and Twelfth Night
The following three productions received multiple awards:
* 2: A View from the Bridge, Antony and Cleopatra and Kiss Me, Kate