The Society of London Theatre’s today announced the nominations for the 2008 Olivier Awards, which recognise the best of the shows opening in London’s West End during the previous twelve months. White Light would like to congratulate all of the Olivier nominees, in particular lighting designers Paule Constable, Howard Harrison, Kenneth Posner and Paul Pyant.The shows nominated in the Best Lighting Design category were Hairspray, lit by Kenneth Posner at the Shaftesbury Theatre, The Lord of the Rings, lit by Paul Pyant at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Macbeth, lit by Howard Harrison at the Gielgud and now in production in New York, and War Horse lit by Paule Constable at the National’s Olivier Theatre. Constable won the award in 2005 and 2006, while all of the other designers have been nominated in previous years.
Leading the nomination count across all categories is the acclaimed musical Hairspray, its eleven nominations beating the previous record of nine for a single show. The Donmar Warehouse has received thirteen nominations, with seven for the musical Parade , while the National Theatre has fifteen nominations, six for War Horse.
In the design categories, the Best Set Design nominations went to David Rockwell for Hairspray, Rob Howell for Lord of the Rings, Anthony Ward and Lorna Heavey for Macbeth and Rae Smith and the Handspring Puppet Company for War Horse. Costume design nominations went to Gregg Barnes for The Drowsey Chaperone, William Ivey Long for Hairspray, Rob Howell for Lord of the Rings and Vicki Mortimer for The Man of Mode. The now firmly established Sound Design category has nominations for Steve Kennedy for Hairspray, Simon Baker for The Lord of the Rings, Terry Jardine and Nick Lidster for Parade, Paul Arditti for Saint Joan and Christopher Shutt for War Horse.
Presented annually by the Society of London Theatres, the Laurence Olivier Awards are awarded to shows opening in London’s West End between January 1st and December 31st each year. Shows are nominated by a postal ballot of all of the members of the Society; shows are then judged by panels made up of theatre experts and members of the theatregoing public.
The 2008 Olivier Awards will be presented at the Grovesnor House Hotel on Sunday 9th March. Further information about the awards, including a full list of nominees, can be found at the Society of London Theatres website, www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk.