This is a list of winners of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director presented from 1976 to honour directors of plays and directors of musicals. In 1991 the category was briefly retired and divided into the categories Best Director of a Play and Best Director of a Musical. These two categories were in turn retired in 1995, and the Best Director Award was reinstated.
The Laurence Olivier Awards are a series of awards presented annually by The Society of London Theatre. They are presented in recognition of achievements in commercial British theatre, most notably plays and musicals in the West End of London, an area commonly referred to as "Theatreland". The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards in 1976 and, in 1984 they we renamed in honour of the renowned British actor Lord Olivier. The Olivier Awards are the most prestigious theatrical awards in the United Kingdom and are the UK equivalent of the Tony Awards.
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