2005 Sydney Theatre Award nominees announced
20 December 2005
Nominations were announced today for the inaugural Sydney Theatre Awards for 2005, set up by a group of Sydney theatre critics, The Sydney Reviewers.
It has been more than 10 years since the Sydney Theatre Critics Circle was disbanded and the last Sydney Theatre Critics Awards held. This new group of Sydney critics decided to reinstate annual awards to recognise the strength, quality and diversity of theatre in Sydney.
The Sydney Reviewers consist of Stephen Dunne (Sydney Morning Herald), Bryce Hallett (Sydney Morning Herald), John McCallum (The Australian), Colin Rose (Sun-Herald), Diana Simmonds (The Sunday Telegraph), John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald) and co-ordinator Ian Phipps (ABC Radio).
The 2005 Sydney Theatre Awards will be presented at an informal ceremony at the Statement Bar, under the State Theatre, on Monday January 16 at 6pm. This ceremony is free and open to everyone in the Sydney theatre community.
Bryce Hallett stated, "The Sydney Theatre Awards are a long overdue initiative and a great way to recognise and celebrate the city's outstanding stage talents. The nominations are exciting, strong and diverse. It's a tight field and a good indication of how vibrant, skilful and committed our performers and practitioners are.''
“Looking back over the year was thrilling,” Diana Simmonds said. “From Three Furies at the beginning and Festen at the end with terrific productions of all kinds in between, we have a rich and gutsy theatre community. Public recognition of the people responsible is way overdue.”
NOMINATIONS FOR SYDNEY THEATRE AWARDS
BEST MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Black Medea (Company B)
Festen (STC)
Julius Caesar (STC)
Three Furies (Sydney Festival and Performing Lines)
BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
The Black Swan of Trespass (B Sharp)
Edmond (B Sharp)
Hurly Burly (Stablemates)
Unspoken (Old Fitzroy)
BEST DIRECTION
Benedict Andrews (Julius Caesar)
Neil Armfield (Stuff Happens)
Gale Edwards (Festen)
Jim Sharman (Three Furies)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE
Lynette Curran (The Chairs)
Margaret Harvey (Black Medea)
Caroline O’Connor (End of the Rainbow)
Miranda Otto (Boy Gets Girl)
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Paula Arundel (Three Furies)
Chloe Dallimore (The Producers)
Angela Punch McGregor (Festen)
Toni Scanlan (A View from the Bridge)
BEST ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE
Simon Burke (Three Furies)
David Field (A View from the Bridge)
Philip Quast (The Cherry Orchard)
John Stanton (Festen)
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Wayne Blair (The Sapphires)
Barry Otto (Boy Gets Girl)
Grant Piro (The Producers)
Tony Sheldon (The Producers)
NEW AUSTRALIAN WORK
Ray’s Tempest, by Steve Rodgers
The Sapphires, by Tony Briggs
Strangers in Between, by Tommy Murphy
Three Furies, by Stephen Sewell
BEST NEWCOMER
Adriano Cappelletta (A View from the Bridge)
Rebecca Clarke (Unspoken)
Sam Dunn (Strangers in Between)
Christopher Parker (Summer Rain)
BEST SET DESIGN
Dale Ferguson (Summer Rain)
Brian Thomson (Festen)
Brian Thomson (Stuff Happens)
Brian Thomson (Three Furies)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Shelley Clarke (The Popular Mechanicals)
Alice Lau (Three Furies)
Julie Lynch (Festen)
Lisa Walpole (To the Green Fields Beyond)
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Rachel Burke (Black Medea)
Damien Cooper (Three Furies)
Damien Cooper (Summer Rain)
Mark Truebridge (Festen)
BEST SCORE OR SOUND DESIGN
Basil Hogios (Three Furies)
Max Lyandvert (Julius Caesar)
Jethro Woodward (Black Medea)
SoHee Youn (Love: A Multiple Choice Question)
BEST MUSICAL
Keating! (The Drowsy Drovers)
Love: A Multiple Choice Question (Stablemates)
The Producers (GFO/SEL)
Summer Rain (Sydney Theatre Company)
BEST CABARET PRODUCTION
Back for Seconds (Tim Draxl at Bar Me)
Birth of The Cool (John Turnbull et al at The Sound Lounge)
I Get the Music In You (Queenie Van de Zandt at Statement)
Live (Tim Draxl at Bar Me)
