2009 SYDNEY THEATRE AWARDS
At a star-studded ceremony on January 18, 2010, the winners of the 2009 Sydney Theatre Awards were announced. Over 300 members of the Sydney theatre community packed the showroom at Club Swans in Kings Cross to celebrate the best of Sydney theatre throughout 2009.
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Best Mainstream Production was awarded to the Sydney Theatre Company/ Sydney Festival production of The War of the Roses, which also won Best Direction (Benedict Andrews), Best Actor (Ewen Leslie), Best Set Design (Robert Cousins) and Best Lighting Design (Nick Schlieper). Best Independent Production was awarded to The Only Child, produced by The Hayloft Project in association with B Sharp.
STC’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire won three awards – Best Actor (Cate Blanchett), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tim Richards) and Best Score or Sound Design (Paul Charlier). Best Actress in a Supporting Role went to Anita Hegh (The City), Best Newcomer was Josh McConville, who appeared in two Griffin productions in 2009 (The Call and Strange Attractor) and Best New Australian Work went to Andrew Bovell (When the Rain Stops Falling). Best Costume Design was awarded to Julie Lynch (Travesties) and Best Production for Children was The Gruffalo (Christine Dunstan Productions).
The Gordon Frost Organisation production of Chicago scooped the pool in the musical theatre categories, winning Best Production of a Musical, the Judith Johnson Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical (Damien Bermingham) and the Judith Johnson Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical (Sharon Millerchip). Best Cabaret was awarded to Meow Meow for her show Meow to the World: Crisis is Born.
The 2009 Sydney Theatre Award for Lifetime Achievement was presented to the indefatigable performing arts producer and visionary Wendy Blacklock.
The Awards ceremony opened with a rousing performance of Wish I Were Here from the Tony Award-winning musical Next To Normal, sung by 12 emerging musical theatre performers. Other performances were given by singer/songwriter James Smith (Boq in the musical Wicked), Nick Christo (The Fabulous Frances Faye) and Drew Forsythe (The Wharf Revue). Presenters at the ceremony were Lorraine Bayly, Tom Burlinson, Chloe Dallimore, Nick Dare, David Field, Kate Gaul, Wayne Harrison, Nigel Jamieson, Tracy Mann, Leah Purcell and Hazem Shammas.
The Sydney Theatre Awards are run by a group of theatre critics to celebrate the strength, quality and diversity of theatre in Sydney. The Sydney Theatre Reviewers are Jason Blake (Sydney Morning Herald), Deborah Jones (The Australian), Alex Lalak (Daily Telegraph), Jo Litson (The Sunday Telegraph), John McCallum (The Australian), Diana Simmonds (Stagenoise) and John Shand (Sydney Morning Herald), and in 2010 are joined by Elissa Blake (Sun Herald).
The 2010 Sydney Theatre Awards will be presented in January 2011.