Acclaimed actor and director Kenneth Branagh will be presented with a Special Award at the Olivier Awards 2017 ceremony on Sunday 9th April at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

The award will be presented in recognition of his outstanding contribution to British theatre.

Awarded Best Newcomer by the Olivier Awards in 1982, his career has since spanned stage, film and television where he has received acclaim as both an actor and director. Branagh’s stage acting credits include 'Another Country', 'Henry V', 'Golden Girls', three productions of 'Hamlet', 'Love’s Labour’s Lost',' Romeo and Juliet' (also directed), 'Public Enemy', 'As You Like It', 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'Look Back in Anger', 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' (also directed), 'King Lear' (also directed), 'Coriolanus', 'Richard III', 'Edmond', 'Ivanov', 'The Painkiller' and 'Macbeth' (also co-directed). The plays he has directed also include John Sessions’ 'The Life of Napoleon' and 'Napoleon – The American Story', 'Twelfth Night', 'Uncle Vanya', 'The Play What I Wrote', and 'Ducktastic'.

Most recently the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company put on its inaugural West End season with 'Plays at the Garrick'. The 2016 season comprised seven plays, received eight Olivier Award nominations and three productions – 'The Winter’s Tale', 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'The Entertainer' – were seen in cinemas across the world by over 430,000 people.

Past recipients of the Special Award include Kevin Spacey, Stephen Sondheim, Judi Dench and Ian McKellen.

Caro Newling, President of the Society of London Theatre, said:“The Society of London Theatre is delighted to formally celebrate Kenneth Branagh’s outstanding contribution to London theatre. Whether acting or directing, there is no greater advocate for our industry”.

The Society of London Theatre, organisers of the Olivier Awards, will also be presenting four highly-respected industry figures: Victor and Lilian Hochhauser (joint recipients), Richard Bullimore and Frank Dunlop with Special Recognition Awards during the Nominees Celebration on Friday 10 March at Rosewood London.

Nominations for the Olivier Awards with Mastercard will be live-streamed at 12 noon on Monday 6 March via bit.ly/OlivierNoms2017. The announcement will be hosted by Denise Gough (Best Actress In A Play 2016) and Matt Henry (Best Actor In A Musical 2016).