Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer
# Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer

The Gillian Lynne Award for Best Theatre Choreographer is 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 award was introduced in 1991 as the Best Theatre Choreographer award and was renamed in honor of English choreographer Gillian Lynne in 2023.

## Winners and nominees

### 1990s

| Year | Choreographer | Production |
| - | - | - |
| 1991 |
| 1991 | Charles Augins | Five Guys Named Moe |
| 1991 | Terry John Bates | Dancing at Lughnasa |
| 1991 | Lawrence Evans | The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus |
| 1992 |
| 1992 | Rafael Aguilar | Matador |
| 1992 | Steven Berkoff | The Trial |
| 1992 | The Dancers | Tango Argentino |
| 1992 | Anthony Van Laast | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat |
| 1993 |
| 1993 | Susan Stroman | Crazy for You |
| 1993 | Kenneth MacMillan | Carousel |
| 1993 | Marcello Magni | The Street of Crocodiles |
| 1993 | Tommy Tune | Grand Hotel |
| 1994 |
| 1994 | Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas | Stomp! |
| 1994 | Welcome Msomi | Tamburlaine the Great |
| 1994 | Arlene Philips | Grease |
| 1994 | Anthony Van Laast | The Beggar's Opera |
| 1995 |
| 1995 | David Atkins and Dein Perry | Hot Shoe Shuffle |
| 1995 | Jonathan Lunn | Pericles |
| 1995 | Rob Marshall | She Loves Me |
| 1995 | David Toguri | Once on This Island |
| 1996 |
| 1996 | Dein Perry | Tap Dogs |
| 1996 | Lars Bethke | Fame |
| 1996 | Wayne McGregor | A Little Night Music |
| 1997 |
| 1997 | Bob Avian | Martin Guerre |
| 1997 | Wayne Cilento | Tommy |
| 1998 |
| 1998 | Simon McBurney | The Caucasian Chalk Circle |
| 1998 | Rob Marshall | Damn Yankees |
| 1998 | Ann Reinking | Chicago |
| 1998 | Matt West | Beauty and the Beast |
| 1999 |
| 1999 | Susan Stroman | Oklahoma! |
| 1999 | Loukmaan Adams and Jody Abrahams | Kat and the Kings |
| 1999 | Peter Gennaro | Annie |
| 1999 | Arlene Philips | Saturday Night Fever |

### 2000s

| Year | Choreographer | Production |
| - | - | - |
| 2000 |
| 2000 | Garth Fagan | The Lion King |
| 2000 | Peter Darling | Candide |
| 2000 | Craig Revel Horwood | Spend Spend Spend |
| 2000 | Stephen Mear | Soul Train |
| 2001 |
| 2001 | Bob Fosse and Ann Reinking | Fosse |
| 2001 | Peter Darling | Merrily We Roll Along |
| 2001 | Stephen Mear | Singin' in the Rain |
| 2001 | Meryl Tankard | The Beautiful Game |
| 2002 |
| 2002 | Matthew Bourne | My Fair Lady |
| 2002 | Irving Davies | The Play What I Wrote |
| 2002 | Scarlett Mackmin | Privates on Parade |
| 2002 | Kathleen Marshall | Kiss Me, Kate |
| 2003 |
| 2003 | Matthew Bourne and Company | Play Without Words |
| 2003 | Peter Darling | Our House |
| 2003 | Craig Revel Horwood | My One and Only |
| 2003 | Susan Stroman | Contact |
| 2004 |
| 2004 | Karen Bruce | Pacific Overtures |
| 2004 | Jenny Arnold | Jerry Springer |
| 2004 | Rob Ashford | Thoroughly Modern Millie |
| 2005 |
| 2005 | Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear | Mary Poppins |
| 2005 | Adam Cooper | Grand Hotel |
| 2005 | Susan Stroman | The Producers |
| 2006 |
| 2006 | Peter Darling | Billy Elliot |
| 2006 | Rob Ashford | Guys and Dolls |
| 2007 |
| 2007 | Javier de Frutos | Cabaret |
| 2007 | Rob Ashford | Evita |
| 2007 | Bill Deamer | The Boy Friend |
| 2007 | Stephen Mear | Sinatra |
| 2008 |
| 2008 | Toby Sedgwick | War Horse |
| 2008 | Rob Ashford | Parade |
| 2008 | Jerry Mitchell | Hairspray |
| 2008 | Casey Nicholaw | The Drowsy Chaperone |
| 2009 |
| 2009 | Steven Hoggett | Black Watch |
| 2009 | Rafael Amargo | Zorro |
| 2009 | Lynne Page | La Cage aux Folles |
| 2009 | Kate Prince | Into the Hoods |
| 2009 | Sergio Trujillo | Jersey Boys |

### 2010s

| Year | Choreographer | Production |
| - | - | - |
| 2010 |
| 2010 | Stephen Mear | Hello, Dolly! |
| 2010 | Matthew Bourne | Oliver! |
| 2010 | Bill T. Jones | Spring Awakening |
| 2010 | Anthony Van Laast | Sister Act |
| 2011 |
| 2011 | Leon Baugh | Sucker Punch |
| 2011 | Bill T. Jones | Fela! |
| 2011 | Stephen Mear | Sweet Charity |
| 2011 | Jerry Mitchell | Legally Blonde |
| 2012 |
| 2012 | Peter Darling | Matilda |
| 2012 | Javier de Frutos | London Road |
| 2012 | Stephen Mear | Crazy for You |
| 2012 | Andrew Wright | Singin' in the Rain |
| 2013 |
| 2013 | Bill Deamer | Top Hat |
| 2013 | Scott Ambler | Chariots of Fire |
| 2013 | Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time |
| 2013 | Stephen Mear | Kiss Me, Kate |
| 2014 |
| 2014 | Casey Nicholaw | The Book of Mormon |
| 2014 | Peter Darling | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
| 2014 | Steven Hoggett | Once |
| 2014 | Susan Stroman | The Scottsboro Boys |
| 2015 |
| 2015 | Sergio Trujillo | Memphis |
| 2015 | Jerry Mitchell | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels |
| 2015 | Annie-B Parson | Here Lies Love |
| 2015 | Josh Prince | Beautiful |
| 2016 |
| 2016 | Drew McOnie | In the Heights |
| 2016 | Carlos Acosta and Andrew Wright | Guys and Dolls |
| 2016 | Stephen Mear | Gypsy |
| 2016 | Jerry Mitchell | Kinky Boots |
| 2017 |
| 2017 | Matthew Bourne | The Red Shoes |
| 2017 | Peter Darling and Ellen Kane | Groundhog Day |
| 2017 | Steven Hoggett | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child |
| 2017 | Drew McOnie | Jesus Christ Superstar |
| 2018 |
| 2018 | Andy Blankenbuehler | Hamilton |
| 2018 | Bill Deamer | Follies |
| 2018 | Kate Prince | Everybody's Talking About Jamie |
| 2018 | Randy Skinner | 42nd Street |
| 2018 | Christopher Wheeldon | An American in Paris |
| 2019 |
| 2019 | Kelly Devine | Come from Away |
| 2019 | Christopher Gattelli | The King and I |
| 2019 | Carrie-Anne Ingrouille | Six |
| 2019 | Liam Steel | Company |

### 2020s

| Year | Choreographer | Production |
| - | - | - |
| 2020 |
| 2020 | Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear | Mary Poppins |
| 2020 | Fabian Aloise | Evita |
| 2020 | Matt Cole (based on original choreography by Jerome Robbins) | Fiddler on the Roof |
| 2020 | Jennifer Weber | & Juliet |
| 2021 | Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic | Not presented due to extended closing of theatre productions during COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2022 |
| 2022 | Kathleen Marshall | Anything Goes |
| 2022 | Finn Caldwell | Life of Pi |
| 2022 | Julia Cheng | Cabaret |
| 2022 | Sonya Tayeh | Moulin Rouge! |
| 2023 |
| 2023 | Matt Cole | Newsies |
| 2023 | Lynne Page | Standing at Sky's Edge |
| 2023 | Kate Prince | Sylvia |
| 2023 | Basil Twist | My Neighbour Totoro |

* 1 2 Due to late March 2020 to late July 2021 closing of London theatre productions during the COVID-19 pandemic in England, the 2022 awards recognise productions that launched anytime from February 2020 to February 2022

## Multiple awards and nominations for Best Theatre Choreographer

### Awards

**Five awards**

* Matthew Bourne

**Three awards**

* Stephen Mear

**Two awards**

* Peter Darling
* Susan Stroman

### Nominations

**Ten nominations**

* Stephen Mear

**Six nominations**

* Peter Darling

**Five nominations**

* Matthew Bourne
* Susan Stroman

**Four nominations**

* Rob Ashford
* Jerry Mitchell

**Three nominations**

* Bill Deamer
* Steven Hoggett
* Anthony Van Laast

**Two nominations**

* Javier de Frutos
* Craig Revel Horwood
* Bill T. Jones
* Kathleen Marshall
* Rob Marshall
* Casey Nicholaw
* Dein Perry
* Arlene Philips
* Ann Reinking
* Andrew Wright
