London, March 22 (IANS) Hollywood actress Rachel Weisz won the Laurence Olivier Award for best actress for her acclaimed performance in the play 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.

The Oscar winner beat actresses like Gillian Anderson, Imelda Staunton and Juliet Stevenson to win the title for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in the play.

Weisz's co-star Ruth Wilson walked away with the gong for best actress in a supporting role for her outstanding performance as Stella in the play by Tennessee Williams.

American playwright Katori Hall, 28, won the best new play award for 'The Mountaintop' that narrates Martin Luther King's activities the night before his assassination. She is the first black female playwright to win the award.

The Best Musical award went to Debbie Allen's version of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'.

'The Olivier Awards reflect a year of outstanding creativity and production excellence which brought the public rushing to the theatre taking box office and attendance records to an all-time high,' telegraph.co.uk quoted Nica Burns, president of the Society of London Theatre, as saying.

'The London theatre is a shining light in the continuing recessionary gloom - something we can all be proud of,' Burns added.