On 12 April in London, theatre director Ivo Van Hove received the Laurence Olivier award for best director. The British theatre award, named after the actor Laurence Olivier, is considered one of the most prestigious prizes in the British world of theatre.
Ivo Van Hove received the award for ‘A View from the Bridge’, an adaptation of the work by the famous American playwright Arthur Miller. Van Hove had already won the prestigious British Critic's Circle Theatre Award this year for his role in directing the same piece and he was also elected best director in London in 2014.
In fact ‘A View from the Bridge’ went home with a grand total of three Laurence Olivier awards, as the work also received the prize for best adaptation and the leading actor Mark Strong was crowned best actor.
Van Hove was not the only Belgian to be honoured with a prize at the Laurence Olivier awards ceremony. ‘32 Rue Vandenbranden’ by the Belgian company ‘Peeping Tom’ received the award for the best new dance production.
The British actress Penelope Wilton claimed the award for best actress in her role in ‘Taken at Midnight’. Other noteworthy winners were the American actor Kevin Spacey, who received a special award, and the British rocker Ray Davies (The Kinks), who received a prize for his ‘Outstanding Achievement in Music’.
The Olivier awards consider all theatre productions on stage between 1 January and 31 December in a British theatre, on the condition that they have been performed at least 30 times at the time of nomination.
