Goretti Chadwick, in a scene from the poignant Still Life with Chickens, has been named at Auckland's annual theatre awards as one of the year's top performers.
Goretti Chadwick, in a scene from the poignant Still Life with Chickens, has been named at Auckland's annual theatre awards as one of the year's top performers.
A mix of industry veterans and rising newcomers have been honoured in the Auckland Theatre Awards.
The toned-down 2018 ceremony, which ditched the traditional Civic Theatre costume party for a Facebook livestream, was by no means a reflection of the quality of Auckland's theatrical outputs this year.
Quite the opposite, the funds will be used to set up the awards as a more sustainable organisation to better accommodate an industry that continues to thrive. For the first time, four shows received an award for Excellence for Overall Production.
Usually only given to three productions, the award organisers say this highlights the strength of the work this year.
Winners were The Contours of Heaven, a one-woman show performed by The Breaker Upperers' Ana Scotney; Burn Her, the sellout political drama by rising playwright Sam Brooks; Silo Theatre's American import Hir, a blazing dissection of gender; and Tea, the latest creation from writer-director Ahi Karunaharan.
Theatre-maker Nisha Madhan's contributions to Auckland's arts community have earned her a community spirit prize at the city's annual theatre awards.
Former Shortland Street actress Nisha Madhan claimed the Community Spirit Award as recognition of her mentoring work throughout the community. As well as crafting her own award-winning show at the Fringe Festival, Madhan helped five others develop their own works as well as directing and producing multiple other works throughout the year.
A pair of solo performances claimed the top acting prizes. Leon Wadham earned the male award for his Comedy Festival piece Giddy, while Goretti Chadwick earned the female prize for Auckland Theatre Company's Still Life with Chickens. That play will be performed in Sydney next year.
The cast of The Wizard of Otahuhu won big at this year's Auckland Theatre Awards.
The biggest winners were potentially the ensemble cast of
, made up of a whopping 50 actors aged between 9 and 30. It shows no matter the audience, the budget or the concept, Auckland theatre is alive and well across all corners of the Super City.
The full list of award winners are:
Outstanding Newcomer Awards Marianne Infante Micheal McCabe Petmal Lam Emerging company: the Maumahara Girlie team – producer Vanessa Crofskey & director/creator Mya Morrison-Middleton, with Whetu Silver, Freddy Carr, Amanda Tito and Onehou Strickland.
Excellence in Sound Design Claire Duncan for Medusa
Jacob Dombroski in Big J Stylez, his one-man dance, music and theatre show about growing up in New Zealand.
Excellence in Impact by a Company
Everybody Cool Lives Here
Excellence in Performance Leon Wadham for Giddy Goretti Chadwick for Still Life with Chickens The Cast of The Wizard of Otahuhu
Excellence in Lighting Design Rachel Marlow for her body of work in 2018
Miriama McDowell (centre) and Bree Peters in a scene from the award-winning 2018 political drama, Burn Her.
