Musical Theatre Awards Fringe 2009
WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE THIRD YEAR OF
MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS AT THE EDINBURGH
FESTIVAL FRINGE 2009
Musical Theatre Matters (MTM:UK) has announced this year's award winners in a special gala event at Musical Theatre @ George Square which took place on Tuesday 25th August. The awards, sponsored by OD Musical (Korea) and Whatsonstage.com, were assessed by a team of judges and the results are as follows:
Winner of the MOST PROMISING BOOK for a NEW MUSICAL
§ A-TEAM - THE MUSICAL - Gareth Kane
Winner ED: THE MUSICAL - Stuart Price
§ MURDER MYSTERY MUSICAL - Alister Cameron and Shaun McKenna
Winner of the MOST PROMISING LYRICS for a NEW MUSICAL
BARBERSHOPERA II - Rob Castell and Tom Sadler
ED: THE MUSICAL - Michael Bruce
winner OVER THE THRESHOLD - Christopher Hamilton
Winner of the MOST PROMISING MUSIC for a NEW MUSICAL
§ BLOODBATH - THE MUSICAL - David Young & Julie Maguire
§ ED: THE MUSICAL - Michael Bruce
winner OVER THE THRESHOLD - Christopher Hamilton
Winner of the MOST PROMISING NEW MUSICAL
winner ED: THE MUSICAL - Stuart Price (book), Michael Bruce (music/lyrics), Lauren Southwick (director) and Stopped Clock (producer)
§ GREAT BRITISH SOAP OPERA, THE - Jake Brunger (book/lyrics), Pippa Cleary (music/lyrics), Luke Sheppard (director) and Take Note Theatre (producer)
§ OVER THE THRESHOLD - Christopher Hamilton (music/book/lyrics), John Brant (director) and Jomo Productions in Association with Perfect Pitch (producers)
§ PORN THE MUSICAL - Malcolm Galea (book/lyrics), Kris Spiteri (music/lyrics) and Boris Cezek (music/lyrics), Malcolm Galea (director) and Indiskarf with Latina Pictures (producers)
Winner of the BEST PRODUCTION of a MUSICAL
(Both new productions and revivals are eligible for the award)
winner ACCIDENTAL NOSTALGIA - Cynthia Hopkins with Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg
§ GREAT BRITISH SOAP OPERA, THE - Take Note Theatre
§ REBEL CELL, THE - SPL
§ SHOWSTOPPER! THE IMPROVISED MUSICAL - Showstopper Productions in association with The Sticking Place and Festival Highlights
In addition to the nominations, above, the panel awarded a number of JUDGES' DISCRETIONARY AWARDS:
§ Arthur Darvill for music, BEEN SO LONG
§ MC Dizraeli for performance, THE REBEL CELL
§ Pippa Cleary for development, THE GREAT BRITISH SOAP OPERA
Commenting on the process, Awards Co-ordinator Fiona Orr said: "The Judging Panel have made awards that reflect the increasing talent shown in Edinburgh across the Musical Theatre genre. The inaugural Judges' Discretionary Awards are particularly interesting as it gives the panel the opportunity to recognise and reward talent beyond the main MTM Awards."
The MTM:UK Awards were established in 2007 to champion the next generation of Musical Theatre producers, writers and shows. Whilst Musical Theatre is not excluded from many other Edinburgh awards, the artform did not seem to be achieving the plaudits deserved by the creatives. In addition we wanted to ensure that all new works received a review on-line which could help lead audiences, other critics, and talent spotters to this new work. In the first two years we reviewed 132 mainly new works and 11 shows were selected for commendations and awards.
Many of those pieces, or the creatives involved have moved on - 6 of the 11 have had presentations in London, one has recently played the New York Summer Play Festival, three have had UK tours. With the help of the whole industry we can, we hope, raise the profile of the next generation of Musical Theatre so that audiences will grow familiar of new names, and welcome new projects.
Musical Theatre Matters (MTM:UK) is a not-for-profit organisation established in the UK by and for professional theatre creatives/producers wishing to develop and champion new musicals, new opportunities and new writers throughout the UK.
For more information contact:
FIONA ORR, MTM AWARDS COORDINATOR: fiona@torrpartnership.com
0131 552 3250
