2016 SYDNEY THEATRE AWARDS

The winners of the 2016 Sydney Theatre Awards were announced on Monday January 23, 2017 at the York Theatre at the Seymour Centre, with 35 Awards presented, shared between 15 productions which played in Sydney during the calendar year of 2016.

Best Mainstage Production was awarded to Belvoir’s The Drover’s Wife, which also won Mainstage awards for Best Director (Leticia Caceres), Best Score or Sound Design (The Sweats) and Best New Australian Work (Leah Purcell). Best Independent Production went to Sport for Jove’s Antigone, which also took Independent gongs for Best Director (Damien Ryan and Terry Karabelas), Best Female Actor in a Leading Role (Andrea Demetriades), Best Male Actor in a Leading Role (William Zappa), Best Stage Design and Best Costume Design (Melanie Liertz), and Best Lighting Design (Matt Cox).

Belvoir’s Faith Healer took out three acting awards in the Mainstage categories, Best Male Actor in a Leading Role (Colin Friels), Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Alison Whyte) and Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Pip Miller), while Best Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Mainstage Production went to Marta Dusseldorp for Griffin’s Gloria.

In the Musical categories, Hayes Theatre Co’s Little Shop of Horrors dominated, winning Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical (Dean Bryant), Best Choreography (Andrew Hallsworth), Best Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Esther Hannaford) and Best Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Brent Hill). The critics voted Working Class Boy: An Evening of Stories and Songs, Jimmy Barnes’ personal show about his life which played at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, as Best Cabaret.

The Sydney Theatre Award for Lifetime Achievement was presented to actor Judi Farr. From her early roles with the Old Tote Theatre Company, to her legendary performance as Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman for Nimrod opposite Warren Mitchell and Mel Gibson, and on to roles with the Sydney Theatre Company (Angels In America, Beauty Queen of Leenane), Belvoir (Cloudstreet, Buried Child) and all major Australian theatre companies, as well as an extensive body of work in film and television, Judi Farr has been at the top of her profession for more than 40 years.

Presenters at the Awards ceremony were Damien Bermingham, Adam Cook, Mel Dyer, Danielle Ironside, Madeleine Jones, Angharad Lindley, Luke McGettigan, Pacharo Mzembe, Tyran Parke, Anthony Phelan, Rebecca Poulter, Ellen Simpson, Minka Stevens, Ben Wood, Vanessa Wright and Meyne Wyatt; and there were performances from Robyn Archer, Ben Hall and David Campbell (Only Heaven Knows), and David Whitney and Kurt Phelan with a song and dance ensemble.

The Sydney Theatre Awards are run by a group of leading theatre critics to celebrate the strength, quality and diversity of theatre in Sydney. The Sydney Theatre Reviewers are Elissa Blake (Fairfax), Jason Blake (Fairfax), Dee Jefferson (Time Out), Deborah Jones (The Australian), Jo Litson (Sunday Telegraph/ Limelight), John McCallum (The Australian), Ben Neutze (Daily Review), Diana Simmonds (stagenoise.com), Polly Simons (Daily Telegraph) and Cassie Tongue (AussieTheatre).

The Sydney Theatre Awards are sponsored by The Seaborn, Broughton and Walford Foundation, Industrie, William Fletcher Foundation, Showcast, Currency Press, Ticketmaster, Hayes Theatre Co, Bellbird Cottages, ACMN and JPJ Audio.

WINNERS OF 2016 SYDNEY THEATRE AWARDS

BEST MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

The Drover’s Wife (Belvoir)

BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Antigone (Sport for Jove)

BEST DIRECTION OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Leticia Caceres (The Drover’s Wife)

BEST DIRECTION OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Damien Ryan and Terry Karabelas (Antigone)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Marta Dusseldorp (Gloria)

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Colin Friels (Faith Healer)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Andrea Demetriades (Antigone)

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

William Zappa (Antigone)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Alison Whyte (Faith Healer)

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Pip Miller (Faith Healer)

BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Meredith Penman (The Whale)

BEST MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Thomas Campbell (Three Sisters)

BEST STAGE DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Owen Phillips (Little Shop of Horrors)

BEST STAGE DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Melanie Liertz (Antigone)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Tim Chappel (Little Shop of Horrors)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Melanie Liertz (Antigone)

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Matt Cox (Lake Disappointment)

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Matt Cox (Antigone)

BEST SCORE OR SOUND DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

The Sweats (The Drover’s Wife)

BEST SCORE OR SOUND DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Nate Edmonson (Good With Maps)

BEST NEW AUSTRALIAN WORK

Leah Purcell (The Drover’s Wife)

BEST NEWCOMER

Jonny Hawkins (Relatively Speaking)

BEST ENSEMBLE

Broken (Darlinghurst Theatre Company)

BEST PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL

Little Shop of Horrors (Luckiest Productions and Tinderbox Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co)

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL

Dean Bryant (Little Shop of Horrors)

JUDITH JOHNSON AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Esther Hannaford (Little Shop of Horrors)

JUDITH JOHNSON AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Brent Hill (Little Shop of Horrors)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL

Laura Murphy (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL

Scott Johnson (Little Shop of Horrors)

BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION

Lucy Bermingham (Spring Awakening)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A MUSICAL

Andrew Hallsworth (Little Shop of Horrors)

BEST CABARET PRODUCTION

Working Class Boy: An Evening of Stories and Songs (Jimmy Barnes)

BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN

The Peasant Prince (Monkey Baa)

BEST PRODUCTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Spring Awakening (atyp)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Judi Farr