THE MERCURY DURBAN THEATRE AWARDS

Theatre awards time is here again! The eighth annual awards evening of The Mercury Durban Theatre Awards takes place on November 22 at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.

“The awards system considers only those productions originating in Durban and presented during the period October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2010,” 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 Mercury Durban Theatre Awards recognise and acknowledge the quality of work produced in Durban in a given year. This work is maintained at a consistently high standard.”

This year’s ceremony will be hosted by Jailoshini Naidoo (Eastern Mosaic) and 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 of its sponsors and partners who have joined in supporting this year’s awards ceremony.

Principal sponsors are media partner The Mercury, the Bartel Arts Trust, the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Troubadour Productions, DarkHorse Productions, Black Coffee Design, Stuart Edwards & Company, Publicity Matters, Makulu Events, Monica Fairall Memorial Trust, ClaviTech, artSMart, Val Adamson Photography 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.

The Mercury Durban Theatre Awards take place at 19h30 on November 22 at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. Booking is through Computicket.