The principal event
in the Gauteng theatre calendar came to a dazzling climax on April 19, when the
winners of the prestigious Naledi Theatre Awards were announced to a packed
audience at the Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City.
KZN was well
represented with a number of awards and numerous nominations.
For the first time
in the Awards 12-year history, the same actress has won the Best Lead
Performance in a Play (Female) for two different plays. Fiona Ramsay, one of
South Africa's most prominent performers, received her award for her roles in Miss Dietrich Regrets and Doubt. Her co-star in Doubt, Janna Ramos-Violante, won the
Best Supporting Actress award.
Another exciting
'first' for the Naledi’s was the overwhelming success of Moagi Modise's Lepatata. It won the Best Ensemble
category, making South African theatrical history in the process as the first
Setswana play to win a major theatre award. The play was directed by Makhaola
Ndebele.
Another innovation this
year by Naledi's Executive Director, Dawn Lindberg, was the Lesedi Spirit of
Courage Award which went to Gaynor Young, who was seriously injured during a
production of the musical, Camelot at
the SA State Theatre some years ago.
On winning the
awards, she says: "I am overwhelmed! I am humbled at being awarded the
very first Lesedi Spirit of Courage Award. Courage! That is such a noble and
powerful word suggesting bravery and fearlessness. I possess neither! I am
simply taking part in this wonderful thing called life. Like everyone, I have
experienced downs as well as ups. I am unbelievably fortunate in that my life
is surrounded by love. And that has made all the difference."
Top honours this
year went to Lara Foot's magnificent staging of Fishers of Hope (four awards), including Best Production of a Play.
The dark musical Sweeney Todd, The Demon
Barber of Fleet Street won three awards, and Nataniël's innovative musical After Animals took home five awards.
Janice Honeyman's effervescent musical Sister
Act garnered three awards, and Greg Homann's thought-provoking Alan Paton
drama, A Voice I Cannot Silence, also
walked away with three awards.
Ralph Lawson, who
portrayed controversial author and poet Alan Paton in A Voice I Cannot Silence, took the top acting accolade for Best
Lead Performance in a Play (Male). Bright new face, Menzi Mkhwane, won The
Brett Golden Award for Best Newcomer/Breakthrough for the same production.
Gregg Homann and Lawson also won the award for Best New SA Script.
Apart from winning
the Best Production of a Play category, Fishers
of Hope also provided other winners; Phillip Tipo Tindisa (Best Supporting
Actor), Patrick Curtis (Best Set Design) and Grant van Ster (Best Original
Choreography).
Khayelihle
Dominique Gumede was named Best Director of a Play for his vivid interpretation
of the evergreen Crepuscule about
love across the colour line.
The versatile
Jonathan Roxmouth once again shone on Naledi night, walking away with the Best
Performance in a Musical award for his captivating lead role in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet
Street. Director Steven Stead was voted Best Director of a Musical/Revue
for this production, which also received The Joan Brickhill Award for Best
Production of a Musical Sponsored by Carolyn Steyn.
Veteran musical
maestro, Nataniël, once again stunned audiences with his out-of-the-box
production of After Animals, which
received a host of technical awards. These were for Best Lighting Design (Kevin
Stannet), Best Sound Design (Larry Pullen) and Best AV/Animation (JanHendrik
Burger), and the Best Score/ Arrangement/ Adaptation, while the award for Best
Costume Designer went to Floris Louw.
Sister Act allowed singer and actress Candida Mosoma to show her true mettle and
she danced off with Best Performance in a Musical, while Rowan Bakker, no
stranger to award ceremonies, won Best Musical Director. Phumi Mncayi was named
Best Support/Featured Performance for her part in Sister Act.
The award for Best
Production for Children (0-12) (Supported by Assitej SA) went to Shrek, The Musical JR, which was staged
by Jill Girard and Keith Smith’s People's Theatre, while Making Mandela took the honours in the Best Production for Young
Audiences (13-17) (Supported by Assitej SA) category.
Gamelihle Bovana was
recognised for his performance in James
and the Giant Peach and received an award for Best Performance in a
Childrens' Theatre Production (Supported by Assitej SA).
Johnny Boskak is Feeling Funny received the Best Production: Cutting Edge
nod for writer and co-director Craig Morris.
At this year's
glittering ceremony, Lifetime Achievement Awards were given posthumously to the
late Taliep Petersen and to Cape Town's illustrious entertainer Alvon Collison,
while the World Impact Award went to the internationally renowned acapella
group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Thembi Mtshali, who
has made a vast contribution to the arts over the years, and in particular to
the empowerment of women, was given the Executive Director's Award.
Executive Director,
Dawn Lindberg, says of this year's awards: "The standard of excellence
gets higher and higher each year, making the judges’ job of selecting winners
almost tortalogical; ALL the nominees are winners in our eyes! The panel sees
over 70 productions each year, with over 300 nominees on the list of excellence.
Judging takes place over several days with everyone on the panel allowed space
to debate and discuss each and every of the 27 categories. The final votes are
by secret ballot and verified by Zeridium.
"The process
of seeing, analysing and assessing all professional productions staged in
Gauteng during each year is a full-time job which is not always acknowledged,”
Lindberg continues. "Lack of sufficient financial support from Government
and commercial sponsors is a constant battle, but Naledi is proud to be
internationally recognised as the bench mark of excellence in SA live theatre.”
For more
information, visit www.naleditheatreawards.org.za
and watch the 2016 promotional video here.
Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook
or on Twitter.
FULL LIST OF
WINNERS
Best Production For Children (Supported by Assitej SA) (0 – 12): Shrek, The Musical. JR. Prod. by
People's Theatre. Based on book by William Steig, Dir. by Jill Girard &
Keith Smith.
Best Production For Young Audiences (Supported by Assitej SA) (13 - 17) Making Mandela, Prod. by KBT Productions
& Hello Elephant in ass. with the SA State Theatre & Daphne Kuhn for
the A&G Theatre on the Square. Written & Dir. by Nick Warren &
Jenine Collocott.
Best Performance In A Childrens’ Theatre
Production: Gamelihle
Bovana, James and The Giant Peach
Best
Newcomer/Breakthrough (The
Brett Goldin Award) Sponsored by Distell: Menzi Mkhwane, A Voice I Cannot Silence
Best Costume Design: Floris Louw, After Animals
Best Lighting Design (Sponsored by Robe Lighting): Kevin
Stannet, After Animals
Best AV / Animation: JanHendrik Burger, After Animals
Best Set Design (Sponsored by Dreamsets): Patrick Curtis, Fishers of Hope
Best Sound Design (Sponsored by DWR Distribution): Larry
Pullen, After Animals
Best Score / Arrangement / Adaptation: Nataniël, After Animals
Best Musical Director: Rowan Bakker, Sister Act
Best Production: Cutting Edge: Johnny
Boskak Is Feeling Funny, Written by Greig Coetzee, Co-Dir. by Roslyn
Wood-Morris & Craig Morris.
Best Ensemble: Lepatata,
Prod. by Market Theatre & Windybrow Theatre. Written by Moagi Modise, Dir.
by Makhaola Ndebele.
Best Orginal Choreography: Grant van Ster, Fishers of Hope
Best Director Of A Musical / Revue: Steven Stead, Sweeney Todd
Best Director Of A Play: Khayelihle Dom Gumede, Crepuscule
Best Support/Featured Performance In A
Musical: Phumi Mncayi, Sister Act
Best Performance In A Musical (Female): Candida Mosoma, Sister Act
Best Performance In A Musical (Male): Jonathan Roxmouth, Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Best Lead Performance In A Play (Female): Fiona Ramsay, Miss Dietrich Regrets/Fiona Ramsay, Doubt
Best Lead Performance In A Play (Male): Ralph Lawson, A Voice I Cannot Silence
Best New Sa Script: A Voice
I Cannot Silence. Prod. by Arts Trust of SA (ATSA). Written by Greg Homann
& Ralph Lawson, Dir. by Greg Homann.
Best Production Of A Play: Fishers
of Hope, Prod. by the Baxter Theatre Centre & Mopo Productions in ass.
with the SA State Theatre. Written & Dir. by Lara Foot.
Best Production Of A Musical (THE JOAN BRICKHILL AWARD): Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet
Street, Prod. by Pieter Toerien & KickstArt by arr. with DALRO (Pty)
Ltd. Written by Hugh Wheeler, Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Dir. by
Steven Stead.
Lesedi Spirit Of Courage Award: Gaynor Young
Executive Director’s Award: Thembi Mtshali
Lifetime Achievement Award: Taliep Petersen (Posthumous)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Alvon Collison
World Impact Award: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
The Sophie Mcinga Emerging Voice Award (Sponsored by The Market Theatre 40th Year
Anniversary): Thandazile ‘Sonia’ Radebe.
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