Shortlists Announced, Voting Open for 2017 Also Recognised Awards

By: Feb. 23, 2017
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

Shortlists for the third annual Also Recognised Awards have been announced by MyTheatreMates, founded by Mark Shenton and Terri Paddock. These audience-voted industry accolades celebrate talent in fields often overlooked by other award bodies. Voting is now open for all categories and closes on Sunday 26th March 2017. Cast your vote at www.mytheatremates.com/AlsoRecognisedAwards-2017!

The Also Recognised Awards were launched online in 2015 and include the UK's first-ever prize for Best Musical Direction as well as other key categories, such as Best Ensemble Performance and Best Solo Performance. The Awards also uniquely put the spotlight on the creativity of digital marketing and advertising disciplines in theatre with recognition for Best Show Poster, Best Show Trailer and Best Twitter Engagement.

Terri and Mark also now work together on the annual Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, which Mark once again hosted and Terri produced for the first time at the West End's Prince of Wales Theatre in January. Mark is also a judge for The Offies and The Stage Awards.

Mark and Terri commented on the Also Recognised Awards, The UK has a number of theatre awards, each of which provides a unique perspective on our industry. But despite the spectrum of opinion gauged in these many prize-givings, there are still some key categories that aren't well covered elsewhere. We founded the Also Recognised Awards to fill some of those gaps. These online awards are purely about recognising and celebrating that talent.

Nominations for the Also Recognised Awards were drawn up by Shenton, Paddock and Ian Foster, with input from Andrew Keates and Mike Dixon (the industry lobbyists who have been the driving force behind establishing creative parity for Musical Direction) and other members of the My Theatre Mates collective of independent theatre bloggers and commentators.

And the nominees are...

Best Musical Direction

  • Jordan Li-Smith - Ragtime, Charing Cross Theatre
  • Laura Bangay - Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, National Theatre
  • Michael Bradley - Grey Gardens, Southwark Playhouse
  • Michael Reed - Sunset Boulevard, London Coliseum
  • Nick Finlow - Dreamgirls, Savoy Theatre
  • Tom Deering - Jesus Christ Superstar, Open Air Theatre

Best Original Music

Best Twitter Engagement

Best Ensemble Performance

  • Belarus Free Theatre - Burning Doors at Soho Theatre & Tomorrow I Was Always a Lion at the Arcola Theatre
  • Boy - Almeida Theatre
  • Donmar's Shakespeare Trilogy - Donmar at King's Cross
  • Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour - National Theatre
  • Steel Magnolias - Hope Theatre
  • Titanic - Charing Cross Theatre

Best Solo Performance

  • Cush Jumbo - White Rabbit Red Rabbit, Southbank Centre & Good Chance Theatre
  • James Cartwright - Raz, Trafalgar Studios
  • Luke Wright - What I Learned From Jonny Bevan, Soho Theatre
  • Ruby Wax - Sane New World, Arts Theatre
  • Sean Michael Verey - Tonight with Donny Stixx, The Bunker
  • Sophie Melville - Iphigenia in Splott, National Theatre

Best Shakespearean Production

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare's Globe
  • Donmar's Shakespeare Trilogy - Donmar at King's Cross
  • Hamlet - RSC, Royal Shakespeare Theatre
  • Henry V - Open Air Theatre
  • King Lear - Old Vic Theatre
  • Kings of War - Toneelgroep Amsterdam at the Barbican

Best Musical Cabaret

London Newcomer of the Year

  • Anthony Boyle - Harry Potter & the Cursed Child, Palace Theatre
  • Charlie Stemp - Half a Sixpence, Chichester Festival & Noel Coward Theatre
  • Frankie Fox - Boy, Almeida Theatre
  • Sam Thomas - Floyd Collins, Wilton's Music Hall
  • Sarah Snook - The Master Builder, Old Vic Theatre
  • Zoe Cooper (playwright) - Jess and Joe Forever, Orange Tree Theatre & tour

Theatre Event of the Year

  • Emma Rice's departure announcement from Shakespeare's Globe
  • Shakespeare Live! at the RSC as part of Shakespeare 400th birthday celebrations
  • The premiere of Harry Potter & the Cursed Child
  • Three-show day for the Donmar's Shakespeare Trilogy
  • Understudy Natasha J Barnes stepping in - triumphantly - for Sheridan Smith in Funny Girl
  • Understudy Ria Jones stepping in - triumphantly - for Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard

Best Show Poster

  • A Raisin in the Sun - Albany Theatre
  • Flowers for Mrs Harris - Sheffield Crucible
  • Hand to God - Vaudeville Theatre
  • Parade - Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
  • The Maids - Trafalgar Studios
  • They Drink It In the Congo - Almeida Theatre

Best Show Trailer

MyTheatreMates invites suggestions for other new award fields not already covered elsewhere. Recommendations with sufficient merit and industry backing will be introduced in future years. Visit www.mytheatremates.com for more information.

Digital hub MyTheatreMates takes its name from the Ma in Mark and the Te in Terri. In addition to hosting the Also Recognised Awards, it collates the best content from the individual sites of the founders and more than 30 independent bloggers. Regular contributors to My Theatre Mates include: Libby Purves, Carole Woddis, Jonathan Baz, Ian Foster, Johnny Fox, Thom Dibdin, Edward Seckerson, Aleks Sierz, Susan Elkin, Chris Grady, Caroline Hanks-Farmer, Katharine Kavanagh, Laura Kressly, Matt Merritt, Kristy Stott, Helen McWilliams, Emma Clarendon, Simon Parris, Daniel Perks, Emily Garside, Vicky Anderson and Shanine Salmon. For more information on each, visit mytheatremates.com/about-us/authors.

Mark Shenton is one of the UK's leading theatre critics and correspondents, whose regular credits include Playbill.com and The Stage, where he is associate editor and joint chief critic. He is also chair of the drama section of the Critics' Circle, and hosts the annual Critics' Circle Theatre Awards, held at the Prince of Wales Theatre in January. He blogs independently at www.shentonstage.com.

Terri Paddock founded WhatsOnStage.com and the WhatsOnStage Awards, running the company and its events from 1996 to 2013. She now acts as a digital, content strategy and event consultant for theatres, producers and other clients. In addition to running MyTheatreMates, she has launched www.stagefaves.com, a pioneering social media directory for musical theatre, and produces the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards. She is also the author of two novels, Come Clean and Beware the Dwarfs. She blogs independently at www.terripaddock.com.



Comments

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Vote Sponsor


Videos