IRISH THEATRE COMPANY Fishamble is appealing for the retrieval of its prized Laurence Oliver Award, which was stolen from the company’s Dublin offices among other items in a break-in early on Saturday night.

The Olivier Award was given to the Fishamble team and Pat Kinevane in 2016 for its production of Silent, which has toured around the world.

Fishamble are the only Irish Theatre company to win this prestigious award.

President Higgins with Clodagh O'Donoghue, Jim Culleton, Pat Kinevane, Fionnuala Murphy and the Olivier Award.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the Olivier is asked to contact the fishamble team on @fishamble or the #BringLarryBack on X. People can also contact the gardaí, who are investigating the break-in.

As you may have heard, our Olivier award along with a number of other items were stolen from our offices over the weekend.

Help us #BringLarryBack!https://t.co/gkeSx3BsIC#Fishamble pic.twitter.com/KzFt8okz70

— Fishamble: The New Play Company (@Fishamble) October 22, 2024

Speaking on RTÉ’s News At One today, the company’s artistic director Jim Culleton said “On Saturday night, unfortunately, the building where Fishamble is based here on Great Denmark Street was broken into at four o’clock in the morning.”

The building was vacant at the time of the break-in.

“A number of things were stolen from the office, a number of awards: an Irish Times theatre award and a Herald Arc Angel and also our Olivier Award, so we’re sorry to see those go and I suppose hoping that they’re not [of] much value to anyone else apart from us and hopefully they might turn up in the next while.”

Culleton said that the Olivier Award was of particular value to the company, and that the award tours with the company’s shows. 

“It’s valuable to us, it’s got sentimental value, but not necessarily something anyone else would want to have,” he said. “We’re hoping it’ll get back to us soon.”