If you know and love theatre and would be grateful for a year's supply of free tickets, then you should apply for the Olivier Awards Public Judging Panel.

Every year, the Society of London Theatre searches for 14 members of the theatre-going public to join the officially appointed panel members in the judging of the prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards. Throughout the Awards year, spanning Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2002, panelists will be given a pair of complimentary tickets for all productions they are asked to view.

There are four different judging panels that the public can apply to, including theatre, opera, dance, and the work of the Society's affiliate members (Almeida, Hampstead, Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, Tricycle and Young Vic).

Applicants for the Theatre panel and Affiliates panel are asked to select one new play or musical they have seen in London during the last 6 months and describe why they believe it should receive an Olivier award in a 100-150 word summary. Applicants for the Opera and Dance panel are also asked to write a 100-150 word summary describing why a new production that they have seen in the past 12 months should win an award.

People professionally connected with the theatre industry are not eligible to apply and previous panel members are unlikely to be reselected. If you wish to apply for the Public Judging Panel call the application hotline on 020 7557 6777, or Click Here

The closing date for all panel applications is Nov. 16.

—by Theatrenow