November 29, 2018

DUNEDIN THEATRE AWARDS SET TO SHINE THE SPOTLIGHT

Finalists have been announced for the 2018 Dunedin Theatre Awards. The annual Awards celebration, in its 9th year, is to be held at Hanover Hall on Monday 10th December. This beautiful ex-church building is well-known to Dunedin as previously being several nightclubs. Over the past couple of years it has been transformed into the home of the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, and was acknowledged as a fine new addition to the performance spaces of Dunedin at last year’s Awards.

This year, the Dunedin Reviewers’ Collective has considered a wide range of theatrical endeavours for recognition. Of course, the occasion cannot pass without a nod to the loss of our beloved Fortune Theatre. This year’s finalists include several Fortune Theatre shows, and of course, the people who worked on them. However, the depth of variety of the finalists shows that theatre in Dunedin is not just surviving, it is continually developing and meeting dramatic challenges.

The Collective will celebrate this resilience with Dunedin’s theatre practitioners and supporters in the best way it knows how; publicly saying ‘thank you’ and ‘well done’! In addition to the published categories, the ceremony will also present some special Awards, recognising the unique and extraordinary in our theatre community. The Awards are run with the support of Otago Community Trust, DCC, and private donors. As ever, this popular event may very well sell out; if available, doorsales will be advertised on the day.

Dunedin Theatre Awards 2018
Hanover Hall
Monday 10 December
5:30pm onwards

And the Nominees are …

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN: 
Anna Sinton:  The Lieutenant of Inishmore     
Garry Kierle:  Eloise in the Middle 
Martyn Roberts:  Dark Matter
Stephen Kilroy:  An Iliad 

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN: 
Jennifer Cattermole, Richard Huber, Jessica Little, Craig Storey:  Blood of the Lamb
Jeremy Mayall:  Dark Matter      
Matthew Morgan:  Eloise in the Middle
Shayne Carter:  An Iliad

OUTSTANDING SCENO DESIGN (SET/COSTUME/AV)
Ashley de Gouw, Brittany Silifant, Abby Forrester, mentored by Martyn Roberts and Cindy Diver:  Homecoming – Sceno/AV Design
Eric Neumann:  Hamlet – Set Design
Ioan Bramhall:  Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect / Nonsense – Set Design
Otago Polytechnic 3rd year Communication Design students in collaboration with Jordan Dickson:  Eloise in the Middle– Sceno/AV Design
Rochelle Brophy:  Elemental – Costumes
Shannon van Rooijen:  The Lieutenant of Inishmore – Set Design
Sofie Welvaert:  Wyrd Sister – Costumes

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE (min 2 Awarded)
Anya Tate-Manning:  My Best Dead Friend – ‘Anya Tate-Manning’
Brook Bray:  Hamlet         – ‘Hamlet’
Helen Fearnley:  Blood of the Lamb – ‘Henry Higginson’
Kate Schrader:  Attila the Hun – ‘Jo’
Mac Veitch:  The Lieutenant of Inishmore – ‘Padraic Osbourne’
Maddie May:  How to Be a Stripper – ‘Maddie May’
Michael Hurst:  An Iliad – ‘The Poet’
Moira Fortin:  The Motorway – ‘The Narrator’
Orion Carey-Clark:  Attila the Hun – ‘Attila the Hun’
Robert Tucker:  Don Giovanni – ‘Don Giovanni’
Sara Georgie:  Eloise in the Middle – ‘Eloise’ and ‘Karen’
Simon O’Connor:  Watching Paint Dry – ‘The Performer’

OUTSTANDING SCRIPT/NARRATIVE: 
Abby Howells:  Attila the Hun – Playwright
Emer Lyons:  The Green – Playwright
Emily Duncan:  Eloise in the Middle – Playwright
John Drummond:  Don Giovanni – Spoken dialogue
Maddie May:           How To Be A Stripper – Playwright
Rochelle Brophy and Jonathan Cweorth:  Elemental – Narrative

OUTSTANDING VISITING PRODUCTION: 
Hudson & Halls LIVE! :  Silo Theatre
Jane Doe:  Zanetti Productions with Q Theatre
Jekyll and Hyde:  A Slightly Isolated Dog
Medea:  Ghost Light Theatre      
My Best Dead Friend:  Zanetti Productions
The Dust Pilgrim:  Red Leap
Troll:  Trick of the Light

OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PRODUCTION: 
Boy Braille:  Julie Woods
Frankensplurta:  Hairy Minded Productions
Intergalactic Space Pirates Puppet Show:  Philip Lomas
Mental Notes:  Suitcase Theatre
Public Programme of Events:  Toitu OSM

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE: 
Cast of:  Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense
Cast of:  Attila the Hun
Cast of:  4 Note Opera
Cast of:  Finding Murdoch
Cast of:  he Lieutenant of Inishmore
Cast of:  Fold

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: 
Andrew McKenzie:  Finding Murdoch
Jonathan Cweorth:  Elemental
Jonathon Hendry:  An Iliad
Jordan Dickson:  Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense
Kerry Lane:  Hamlet
Orion Carey-Clark:  The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Richard Huber:  Blood of the Lamb

PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR: 
An Iliad:  Fortune Theatre
Blood of the Lamb:  Globe Theatre
Elemental:  Brophy Aerials
Eloise in the Middle:  Prospect Park Productions
Finding Murdoch:  Globe Theatre
Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense:  Fortune Theatre
The Lieutenant of Inishmore:  Arcade Productions