We have an opportunity to have our voices heard, so please support this open-letter by signing below, and do share with fellow writers & theatre industry professionals, and on social media. A full list of current co-signatories can be viewed Here. 

Thank-you, Jack Reitman (Librettist, Associate Member of BML, Off-West End Award-Winning Actor)

Dear Members of the Board of the Society of London Theatre.

As you know, British Musicals are a lifeblood of London theatre. They are selling-out to packed houses in the West End, bringing joy and heartbreak to audiences across the UK, breaking box office records on Broadway, and flying the flag for Britain across the world. From Sydney to Seoul, Beijing to Buenos Aires, British musicals dominate international creative industries. 

And yet The Laurence Olivier Awards, the pinnacle of British theatrical achievement, continues to ignore the specific contributions of the very individuals who are fundamentally responsible for the creation of those so widely celebrated British musicals - the Composers, Lyricists and Librettists.

By failing specifically to recognise the skill, dedication and care needed to create a successful musical’s book and score, The Olivier Awards are missing a vital opportunity to raise recognition for writers, within the industry and beyond. We, the undersigned, think this is wrong. The Olivier Awards has an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the creators of musicals, and to inspire the next generation of British Composers, Lyricists and Librettists.

Since the 1940’s The Olivier Awards’ US counterpart - The Tony Awards - has rightly recognised the mammoth contribution that Musical Theatre writers have brought to the art-form through their ‘Best Original Score’ and ‘Best Book of a Musical’ categories, often elevating once-emerging artists to their now-celebrated status. However, The Olivier Awards inexplicably continue to ignore the specific contribution of writers, without whom there would be no new musicals. (Indeed, ironically this year the highest achievement a British writer in musical theatre can explicitly gain for their writing is a Tony Award, as Composers and Lyricists have now been shut out from The Olivier Awards' renamed ‘Outstanding Musical Contribution’ category - a category that does rightly celebrate the contribution of Musical Directors, Arrangers and Orchestrators).

Whilst this year writers do appear below the titles of the nominees for ‘Best New Musical’, and indeed ‘Best Musical Revival’, this award itself is based on a combination of multiple factors, including performances, and creative, design and technical elements - not solely the specific achievements of the librettist, composer and lyricist.

Like directing, choreographing, and lighting, sound, set and costume designing, creating libretto and score vitally contribute to the overall ‘success’ of a new musical and, like these other skills, deserve to be individually and explicitly recognised. 

We are calling for The Olivier Awards to introduce two new ‘Best Book of a Musical’ and ‘Best Score of a Musical’ categories for the 2024-2025 season, to recognise the brilliant achievement of Librettists, Composers and Lyricists in London’s West End.

Yours sincerely, the undersigned.