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Wednesday, April 26, 2017

KICKSTART - 2017 NALEDI NOMINATIONS



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