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Laurence Olivier

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was a British actor, director, and producer. An Anglican clergyman's son, Olivier became determined early on to master Shakespeare, and eventually came to be regarded as one of the foremost Shakespeare interpreters of the 20th century. His three Shakespeare films as actor-director, Henry V, Hamlet, and Richard III, are among the pinnacles of the bard at the cinema. Olivier was the youngest actor to be knighted as a Knight Bachelor, in 1947, and the first to be elevated to the peerage two decades later.
In addition to Shakespeare, during a six decade career, Olivier played many other roles on stage and screen. On stage his more than 120 roles included Richard III, Macbeth, Romeo, Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Archie Rice in The Entertainer. He appeared in nearly 60 films, including William Wyler's Wuthering Heights, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Sleuth. His other Shakespeare roles for the cinema were as Orlando in As You Like It and the lead in Othello, with virtually the entire cast from the production at the Old Vic of the National Theatre Company, of which he was then artistic director. He had earlier filled the same post at the Old Vic after the war. The largest stage in the National Theatre building was later named after him.

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Laurence Olivier is currently involved with

The Winter's Tale – Set Designer

20:00, Thu 12th – Sun 15th November 2026 at Random Venue 15

The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics consider it to be one of Shakespeare's "problem plays", because the first three acts are filled with intense psychological drama, while the last two acts are comedic and supply a happy ending.
Nevertheless, the play has been intermittently popular, revived in productions in various forms and adaptations by some of the leading theatre practitioners in Shakespearean performance history, beginning after a long interval with David Garrick in his adaptation called Florizel and Perdita. The Winter's Tale was revived again in the 19th century, when the third "pastoral" act was widely popular. In the second half of the 20th century The Winter's Tale in its entirety, and drawn largely from the First Folio text, was often performed, with varying degrees of success.

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Laurence Olivier is preparing for

  • The Wiz – Costume Designer

    11:00, Thu 19th – Sun 22nd November 2026 at Haymarket Theatre

    The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of…

  • The Two Gentlemen of Verona – Writer

    19:15, Tue 5th – Fri 8th January 2027 at Crucible Theatre

    The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his…

  • In the Heights – Musical Director

    10:45, Fri 15th – Wed 20th January 2027 at Barbican Centre

    In the Heights is a musical with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving an ensemble cast of characters in…

  • August: Osage County – Lighting Designer

    19:15, Wed 10th – Sat 13th February 2027 at Noël Coward Theatre

    August: Osage County is a darkly comedic play by Tracy Letts. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and…

  • Hairspray – Chief Electrician

    19:30, Wed 10th – Mon 15th February 2027 at Haymarket Theatre

    Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include…

  • Damn Yankees – Choreographer

    19:30, Wed 17th – Sun 21st February 2027 at Random Venue 35

    Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during…

  • Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – Choreographer

    20:15, Sun 18th April 2027 at Noël Coward Theatre

    Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a musical with a book by Australian film director-writer Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, using well-known pop songs as its score. Adapted from Elliott's 1994 film The…

  • Jersey Boys – Hank Majewski

    20:45, Tue 1st June 2027 at Random Venue 50

    Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation,…

  • Waiting for Godot – Pozzo, Publicity Designer

    20:30, Tue 15th – Mon 21st June 2027 at Savoy Theatre

    Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for the arrival of someone named Godot. Godot's absence, as well as…

  • Sunset Boulevard – Cecil B. DeMille

    21:00, Sat 3rd – Thu 8th July 2027 at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

    Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond…

  • The Comedy of Errors – Emilia

    12:15, Wed 7th – Mon 12th July 2027 at Royal Opera House, London

    The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity…

  • Assassins – Cello, Sound Designer

    20:15, Tue 14th – Fri 17th September 2027 at Noël Coward Theatre

    Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. It uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-st…

  • The Fantasticks – Lighting Designer

    20:45, Wed 29th September – Mon 4th October 2027 at Random Venue 16

    The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighbo…

  • The Producers – Musical Director

    20:45, Thu 30th September – Mon 4th October 2027 at Royal Exchange, Manchester

    The Producers is a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, with lyrics written by Brooks and music composed by Brooks and arranged by Glen Kelly and Doug…

  • The Music Man – Mayor George Shinn

    20:30, Wed 6th – Sun 10th October 2027 at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

    The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer…

  • Faust – Composer

    21:00, Tue 12th – Sun 17th October 2027 at Royal Opera House, London

    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust is a tragic play in two parts: Faust. Der Tragödie erster Teil and Faust. Der Tragödie zweiter Teil. Although rarely staged in its entirety, it is the play with the…

  • Follies – Video Director

    21:00, Sun 17th October 2027 at Random Venue 75

    Follies is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The story concerns a reunion in a crumbling Broadway theatre, scheduled for demolition, of the past performers…

  • The Crucible – Elizabeth Proctor

    17:00, Tue 7th – Sun 12th December 2027 at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

    The Crucible is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It was initially called "The Chronicles of Sarah Good". It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Provi…

  • Mamma Mia! – Flute, Musical Director

    19:45, Wed 8th – Sat 11th December 2027 at Sadler's Wells Theatre

    Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. The title of the…

  • How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying – Costume Designer

    20:30, Thu 20th – Sun 23rd April 2028 at Almeida Theatre

    How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name. The story…

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Laurence Olivier has been involved with