December 8, 2015

DUNEDIN THEATRE AWARDS CELEBRATE MANY THEATRE SUCCESSES  

Dunedin celebrated its theatre community in style last night at Allen Hall Theatre. The ceremony was presided over by two very special guests; MC Barry Dorking, and the esteemed Louise Petherbridge QSO, who was the recipient of Dunedin Theatre Award’s ‘Living Taonga’ Award in 2012. The Awards are made possible by the generous support of many, including Otago Community Trust and Dunedin Creative Communities Scheme.

Special Awards presented included ones that recognised two superb community events: The Fortune Theatre’s 86 Hour Shakespeare Marathon and Farley’s Arcade: The Wildest Place in Town, an immersive theatre event produced by Wow! Productions. Rua McCallum received a Special Award as Kaitiaki for the Farley’s production. Talking House Productions was also celebrated for their community engagement through the use of Verbatim theatre. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Natalie Ellis for her decades of involvement across many different theatre groups in Dunedin. Lara Macgregor, until recently Artistic Director of Fortune Theatre, was recognised for her Outstanding Contribution to Dunedin theatre, an honour that was certainly confirmed by the number of times she came to the stage to accept an Award!

The Award recipients are:

‘Robert Lord Award’ for Script/Narrative of the Year:
Phil Braithwaite – for The War Play (Fortune)

Promotion of the Year:
Gareth McMillan & Zoe Robson – for Farley’s Arcade (Wow!)

Technical Design of the Year:
Matthew Morgan – Sound for The Hound of the Baskervilles (Fortune) 

Scenographic Design of the Year: 
Martyn Roberts, Richard Clark, Stephen Kilroy – Set Design for Farley’s Arcade (Wow!)

Male Performer of the Year:
Jared Kirkwood – for Punk Rock (Fortune)

Female Performer of the Year:
Nadya Shaw Bennett – for Farley’s Arcade (Wow!)

Outstanding Contribution of the Year:
Lara Macgregor (Fortune) 

Director of the Year:
Lara Macgregor – for Punk Rock (Fortune)

Ensemble of the Year:
The Hound of the Baskervilles cast (Fortune) 

‘Outstanding Performance’ Production of the Year:
Punk Rock – Fortune Theatre/ OU Theatre Studies 

SPECIAL AWARDS PRESENTED:

Lifetime Achievement – Natalie Ellis 

Kaitiaki – Rua McCallum

‘Otago Community Trust’ Outstanding Community Event: ‘86 hour Shakespeare Marathon’, Fortune Theatre

‘Otago Community Trust’ Outstanding Community Event: ‘Farley’s Arcade: The Wildest Place in Town’, Wow! Productions

‘DCC Creative Communities Scheme’ Outstanding Community Engagement: Talking House