Durban-based KickstArt Theatre has once
again racked up a number of Naledi Theatre Award nominations, this time for
their production of Shrek the Musical.
Executive Directors of KickstArt, Steven
Stead and Greg King, say they couldn’t be more thrilled about their 10
nominations for the 2017 Naledi Theatre Awards.
“Shrek
the Musical was a mammoth show for us to present, and we are beyond
delighted that all the hard work and effort has paid off and that people in
Joburg and Durban loved the show,” says Stead. “[It] is so much more than a
‘kiddies’ musical’, and we are delighted that the judges have recognised the
calibre of our local performers and creative team.”
At this year’s Naledi nomination reveal, Shrek the Musical, which was co-produced
by the Lyric Theatre, received nominations in the following categories; Best
Costume Design, Best Sound Design, Best Original Choreography, Best Musical
Director, Best Director of a Musical/Revue, Best Supporting/Featured
Performance in a Musical/Revue: Male (x2), Best Supporting/Featured Performance
in a Musical/Revue: Female, Best Lead in a Musical/Revue: Male, and Best
Production of a Musical.
Greg King also received a nomination in the
Best Theatre Set Design category for Suddenly
the Storm, produced by the Market Theatre and Auto & General Theatre on
the Square. “This nomination means a huge amount to me, as Greg has not been
recognised for his massive contributions to our productions previously at the
Naledi’s,” says Stead. Suddenly the Storm,
which features a highly-detailed set design that can be adapted for three
different theatre spaces, opens at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town in July.
Proudly representing the 031, Stead says as
the only independent company producing high quality musical theatre,
children’s’ theatre and drama in the city, KickstArt are thrilled to show off
some of Durban’s “awesome talent”. “We are recognised among the folk who
support the theatre in Durban as being fairly significant,” he says, “I know
that if we cancelled our end of year panto there might be a modest riot!”
Stead says that although small, KickstArt
strives to produce shows that are on point in a holistic way. “We are absolute
sticklers for detail,” he explains. “We do not have access to massive
resources, so we have to be absolutely focused on delivering the very best
quality production that we can afford. And that means paying massive attention
to every detail.”
This meticulousness certainly caught the
Naledi judges’ eyes, and when you consider the fact that judges view over 100
productions in the year of review, this is no small feat. Stead says this bears
testament to what the Awards stand for. “These Awards are wonderfully
inclusive, in every way, and because of that, they celebrate work made all over
the country by a great variety of creatives.”
Dawn Lindberg, the Executive Director of
the Awards, says this is a core value of the Naledi’s. “We are proud that our
panel of judges recognise and celebrate original SA work and this affirmation
encourages new creative designers and theatre makers to continue telling our
unique stories. We are also very pleased that more and more excellent
productions are coming to Johannesburg stages from other centres such as Cape
Town and Durban, which makes the Naledi’s truly national!”
The 2017 Naledi Theatre Awards will be
staged on May 30, 2017 at the Lyric Theatre in Johannesburg. The Awards are
currently seeking funding for their 2017 Awards and beyond. Please contact info@naleditheatreawards.org.za
to find out how you or your business can get involved.
For more information, visit www.naleditheatreawards.org.za
and watch the 2016 promotional video here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR3-vsl-FPc&t=2s).
Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.
Connect with KickstArt on www.kickstarttheatre.co.za
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