32nd annual laurence olivier awards
Andrew Lloyd Webber has received the Society of
London Theatre Special Award for his achievements in London's
Theatreland and across the world.
Theatreland's premier Lord, who is the composer of
several of the longest running musicals in West End history, collected
his award following performances from three of his recent proteges: Lee
Mead, who sang Close Ev'ry Door from the musical he is currently
leading, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; former Maria,
Connie Fisher, who sang Take That Look Off Your Face from Tell Me On A
Sunday; and Evita star Elena Roger, who performed As If We Never Said
Goodbye from Sunset Boulevard.
Speaking to Official London Theatre after
collecting his award, Lord Lloyd Webber said: “It’s a
fantastic, wonderful award to receive. I do find it very odd, as I
still think I am working away – I’ve got a meeting about my
new show at 09:00 tomorrow. I’m just going to get on with it,
keep going.
“I’m so very lucky to be able to make
a living doing what I love. And I’m going to keep on doing it
whether I am successful or not – whether people come and see me
or not! Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t!”
Lord Lloyd Webber's most successful West End shows
include: The Phantom Of The Opera, which celebrates its 22nd birthday
in October 2008; Cats, which ran for 21 years; Starlight Express, which
ran for 17 years; and Evita, which ran for 10 years.
More recently Lloyd Webber has been at the
vanguard of attracting new audiences to the theatre and raising the
profile of Theatreland. His reality television searches for new musical
stars, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and Any Dream Will Do,
caught the imaginations of a nation. He has recently taken this idea
one step further, placing rising West End star Summer Strallen into
teen soap Hollyoaks, raising her profile with a musical storyline
before she replaced Connie Fisher as Maria in The Sound Of Music.
The son of a musician and a composer, Lloyd Webber
was immersed in music from an early age and quickly displayed a
precocious talent. He began composing his own music as a child and had
his first suite of music published aged nine. Lloyd Webber’s
successful collaboration with the lyricist Tim Rice began while he was
still a teenager, and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was
first performed in 1968. West End success followed with Jesus Christ
Superstar in 1971 before the first of his super long-runners, Evita,
opened in 1978.
The 1980s saw triumph after triumph for Lloyd
Webber with Cats, Starlight Express and The Phantom Of The Opera all
opening between 1981 and 1986. Lloyd Webber has composed several other
musicals over the last 20 years, and recently seen successful revivals
of both Evita and Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Lloyd Webber is the founder of the Really Useful
Theatre company, which currently owns seven West End venues: the
Adelphi, the Cambridge, the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Her Majesty's,
the London Palladium, the New London and the Palace.
He was knighted in 1992 and he was created a Life
Peer in 1997 as Baron Lloyd-Webber.
2008 - WINNERS
Best Lighting Design -
Howard Harrison for Chichester Festival Theatre's production of Macbeth
Best Sound Design -
Paul Arditti and Jocelyn Pook for the National's production of Saint
Joan
Best Newcomer in a Play - Tom Hiddleston for his role of Posthumus in Cymbeline
at the Barbican
Best New Dance Production - The Royal Ballet for its revival of George
Balanchine’s three-part ballet Jewels at the Royal Opera House
Outstanding Achievement in Dance - The Royal Ballet for its revival of George
Balanchine’s three-part ballet Jewels at the Royal Opera House
Best Costume Design -
Vicki Mortimer for The Man Of Mode at the National Theatre
Best Set Design -
Rae Smith and Handspring Puppet Company for the National's production
of War Horse
Outstanding Achievement or Performance in an
Affiliate Theatre - Gone Too Far! in
the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs at the Royal Court
Best Performance in a Supporting Role - Rory Kinnear in the role of Sir Fopling Flutter
in The Man Of Mode at the National Theatre
Best Actor -
Chiwetel Ejiofor in Othello at the Donmar Warehouse
Best Actress -
Kristin Scott Thomas in the role of Arkadina in the Royal Court’s
production of Chekhov’s The Seagull at the Jerwood Theatre
Downstairs.
Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a
Musical - Tracie Bennett in Hairspray
Best Theatre Choreographer - Toby Sedgewick for War Horse
Best Actress in a Musical - Leanne Jones in Hairspray
Best Actor in a Musical - Michael Ball in Hairspray
Best New Opera Production - Pelléas et Mélisande at the Royal Opera
House
Outstanding Achievement in Opera - Natalie Dessay for her performance in La Fille
Du Régiment at the Royal Opera House
Best Revival -
Saint Joan revived at the National Theatre
Best Musical Revival -
The Magic Flute - Impempe Yomlingo at the Young Vic
Best New Play -
A Disappearing Number at the Barbican
Best New Comedy -
Rafta Rafta performed at the National Theatre
Best Director -
Rupert Goold for his production of Macbeth at the Gielgud
Best New Musical -
Hairspray
Special Award -
Andrew Lloyd Webber
