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British plays 'are doing the West End proud'
The slew of Olivier Award nominations for London plays came as no surprise to one theatre insider.
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
A theatre insider has paid tribute to the British talent which is making the West End the place to go to see top-quality plays.
Speaking to the Guardian in response to news that plays have been given more Laurence Olivier Award nominations this week than musicals, Society of London Theatre president Nica Burns said the past 12 months have been "outstanding" for drama.
She said that "a whole new generation of playwrights" has stepped forward to make the UK stand out when it comes to producing excellent theatre.
Ms Burns paid particular tribute to Jez Butterworth and Lucy Prebble for writing Jerusalem and Enron respectively, both of which have received six Olivier nominations.
Audiences are also responding well to plays, with almost a quarter of the 14 million theatre tickets sold being for straight drama last year.
In January, Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre, told the BBC's Today programme that people enjoy plays because they help them to relate to serious issues.
