The second round of voting for the brand new Laurence Olivier Audience Award is now open, with West End shows War Horse, We Will Rock You, Billy Elliot The Musical, Wicked and The Phantom Of The Opera all in the running to be crowned the theatregoers’ favourite long-running show.

The first stage of voting ended on 1 February when the original 20 shows eligible for the award were whittled down to the five most popular productions. Voters now have until 17:00 on 17 March to have their say on which show should take home the only Laurence Olivier Award to be decided on solely by the theatregoing public. Anyone is eligible to vote by visiting the Audience Award voting page, whether they voted in the first stage or not. Everyone who votes will be entered into a prize draw to win four tickets to the winning show.

War Horse, the only non-musical production in the category, opened at the National Theatre in 2007 where it enjoyed two runs before moving into the West End to play at the New London theatre in 2009. Michael Morpurgo’s First World War drama uses a unique mix of puppets and actors to tell the story of a boy’s adventure to find his beloved horse who was sold to the cavalry and shipped to France.

Pitted again War Horse, We Will Rock You is an entirely different show with a rock and roll soundtrack and futuristic setting. Written by Ben Elton and featuring songs by Queen, the musical has played at the Dominion theatre since it opened in 2002. Popular worldwide, it has played in over 10 countries across the globe.

Billy Elliot The Musical, which won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 2006, has played at the Victoria Palace since opening in 2005. With music by Elton John, the musical was based on Lee Hall’s 2000 hit film of the same title and took the story of the mining-town boy who wanted to be a ballerina onto the West End stage.

Broadway transfer Wicked is the fantastical musical about the witches of Oz. The all-singing, all-dancing show opened at the Apollo Victoria in 2006 where it still currently resides starring Alexia Khadime and Dianne Pilkington, with reality talent show star Lee Mead soon to join the cast.

Lastly, one of the longest running West End musicals, The Phantom Of The Opera, takes its place on the shortlist. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous musical opened in 1986 – when it also won Best New Musical at the Laurence Olivier Awards – at Her Majesty’s theatre where it has played ever since. The long awaited sequel to the Parisian romantic drama, Love Never Dies, is set to open at the Adelphi theatre on 9 March.

The Audience Award will be presented to the winning show on 21 March at the star-studded Laurence Olivier Awards ceremony at Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Official London Theatre will be offering exclusive live coverage of the event on the night.

CM