THE MERCURY DURBAN THEATRE AWARDS

Durban’s “Oscars” night to take place on November 23 at 19h30 at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.

Theatre awards time is here again! - the seventh annual awards evening of The Mercury Durban Theatre Awards takes place at 19h30 on November 23 at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.

“The awards system considers only those productions originating in Durban and presented during the period October 1, 2008, to September 30, 2009,” says administrator Peter Taylor. “These productions include the genres of drama and comedy, musical theatre, music revue / music compilation/ cabaret, and children’s theatre, with a total of 46 productions vying for honours at this year’s awards ceremony. The calibre of work produced in Durban remains at a consistently high standard and The Mercury Durban Theatre Awards recognises and acknowledges this standard,”

Hosted by Nothando Ngubane (Gagasi 99.5 FM) and Beauty Ramapelepele (aka Ben Voss), the evening promises to be a sophisticated and glamorous celebration of our local theatre industry. As Monday night is a “night-off” for the theatre industry in Durban, the audience can expect to brush shoulders with the who’s who of Durban’s theatre fraternity. The evening will include excerpts from productions being presented in Durban throughout the festive season offering the audience a glimpse of what will be on offer this festive season.

Once again The Mercury Durban Theatre Awards is grateful for the generous support from its sponsors and partners who have joined in supporting this year’s awards.

Principal sponsors are media partner The Mercury, the Bartel Arts Trust, the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Troubadour Productions, DarkHorse Productions, Black Coffee, Stuart Edwards & Company, Publicity Matters, Makulu Events, ClaviTech, artSMart and Sunshine Factory.

Several organisations have supported the awards since its inception in 2003, most notably the Bartel Arts Trust. This trust was established in 1992 through a bequest of the late Hugo Bartel, a wealthy industrialist with a passion for the arts. The trust sponsors community arts projects, artists, arts projects and student bursaries. The trust established the BAT Centre in 1996 which became a hub of the performing and visual arts in Durban. The BAT Centre was subsequently donated to the BAT Centre Trust. In addition to the theatre awards the trust currently sponsors the Durban Music School, DUT Department of Fine Art, the Phansi Museum and several student bursaries.

Booking is through Computicket.

(The list of nominations will appear shortly)