Olivier Award for Best New Play, "Jitney": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

2002 Olivier Award, "The BBC Award for the Best New Play" awarded to the August Wilson play "Jitney."

The brushed bronze colored award features a square base with a rectangular pillar and Laurence Olivier’s bust at the top, wearing a crown and cape. The crown has three points in the front with an oval gem shape below. The cape is buttoned in the front and has a collar that is sticking up. There are words carved into the front of the pillar which read [LAURENCE / OLIVIER / AS / HENRY V / 1937 / THE OLD VIC]. The word “FRANCHETTI” is carved onto the back of the pillar. Underneath the word it reads [403 1998].

There is a rectangular area on the square part of the base where a placard should be attached. The placard is metal and is gold in color. Is has etched text which reads [THE LAURENCE OLIVIER AWARDS 2002 / THE BBC AWARD FOR BEST NEW PLAY / JITNEY].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2002
• Issued by: Society of London Theatre, British, founded 1908
• Subject of: August Wilson, American, 1945 - 2005
• Subject of: Laurence Kerr Olivier, English, 1907 - 1989
• Type: trophies (prizes)
• Medium: bronze
• Dimensions: L x W (a.): 4 × 4 × 10 1/2 in. (10.2 × 10.2 × 26.7 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (b.): 1 × 3 3/4 in. (2.5 × 9.5 cm)
• Place used: London, England, United Kingdom, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Drama (Theatre)
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2021.23.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Sherry L. Mordecai in memory of Benjamin Mordecai
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Society of London Theatre Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.