2014 Sydney Theatre Awards winners named

At a star-studded ceremony on Monday, January 19, the winners of the 2014 Sydney Theatre Awards were announced, with a record 33 awards presented. Over 340 members of the Sydney theatre community packed the auditorium at Paddington RSL to celebrate the best of Sydney theatre throughout the past calendar year.

Best Mainstage Production was awarded to Bell Shakespeare’s Henry V, which also won Mainstage awards for Best Director (Damien Ryan), Best Stage Design (Anna Gardiner), and Best Score or Sound Design (Steve Francis and Drew Livingston). Best Independent Production went to Sport for Jove’s All’s Well That Ends Well, which also took Independent gongs for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (George Banders), Best Lighting Design (Toby Knyvett) and Best Sound (David Stalley).

Best Actor and Actress in a Leading Role in a Mainstage Production went to Richard Roxburgh (Cyrano de Bergerac) and Sarah Peirse (Switzerland). Best Actor in a Leading Role in an Independent Production was shared by Sean Hawkins and Andrew Henry (Howie the Rookie), while Matilda Ridgway was named Best Actress in a Leading Role in an Independent Production (A Doll’s House). This is the first time in the history of the Sydney Theatre Awards that an award has been shared. In a highly unusual move, two performers were also named joint winners of Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical.

In the Musical categories, it was the Independent sector that triumphed with awards divided between Sweet Charity (Best Musical, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Verity Hunt-Ballard, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Debora Krizak), Miracle City (Best Actress in a Leading Role for Blazey Best, Best Musical Direction for Max Lambert) and The Drowsy Chaperone (Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical and Best Direction of an Independent Production for Jay James-Moody, Best Stage Design for Lauren Peters and Best Costume Design of an Independent Production for Elizabeth Franklin).

The Sydney Theatre Award for Lifetime Achievement was presented to one of Australia’s greatest stage legends, Reg Livermore, whose professional career has spanned 57 years from early roles at the Ensemble, Independent and Tivoli, through musicals including Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Rocky Horror Show and his acclaimed, risqué one-man shows, to his success in recent blockbuster musicals like The Producers and Wicked.

Presenters at the awards ceremony were David Berthold, Justine Clarke, Lucy Durack, Jane Harders, Christopher Horsey, John Paramor, Craig McLachlan, Suzie Miller, Shannon Murphy, Marshall Napier, Susie Porter, Vanessa Scammell, Terry Serio and Dan Wyllie; and there were performances from Wicked’s Jemma Rix, Edward Grey and Emily Cascarino, and the cast of Dirty Dancing.

The Sydney Theatre Awards are run by a group of leading theatre critics to celebrate the strength, quality and diversity of theatre in Sydney. See the full list of winners for the 2014 Sydney Theatre Awards below.

WINNERS OF 2014 SYDNEY THEATRE AWARDS

BEST MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Henry V (Bell Shakespeare)

BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

All’s Well That Ends Well (Sport for Jove)

BEST DIRECTION OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Damien Ryan (Henry V)

BEST DIRECTION OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Jay James-Moody (The Drowsy Chaperone)

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Sarah Peirse (Switzerland)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Richard Roxburgh (Cyrano de Bergerac)

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Matilda Ridgway (A Doll’s House)

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Sean Hawkins (Howie the Rookie)

Andrew Henry (Howie the Rookie)

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Kate Mulvany (Tartuffe)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Josh McConville (Noises Off)

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Georgia Adamson (The Crucible)

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

George Banders (All’s Well That Ends Well)

BEST STAGE DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Anna Gardiner (Henry V)

BEST STAGE DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Lauren Peters (The Drowsy Chaperone)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Julie Lynch (Noises Off)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Elizabeth Franklin (The Drowsy Chaperone)

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Benjamin Cisterne (A Christmas Carol)

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

Toby Knyvett (All’s Well That Ends Well)

BEST SCORE OR SOUND DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

Steve Francis and Drew Livingston (Henry V)

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION

David Stalley (All’s Well That Ends Well)

BEST NEW AUSTRALIAN WORK

Switzerland (Joanna Murray-Smith)

BEST NEWCOMER

Hunter Page-Lochard (Black Diggers, Brothers Wreck, Sugarland)

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST

Is This Thing On? (Belvoir)

BEST PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL

Sweet Charity (Luckiest Productions and Gooding Productions in association with Hayes Theatre Co)

JUDITH JOHNSON AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Blazey Best (Miracle City)

Verity Hunt-Ballard (Sweet Charity)

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

Jay James-Moody (The Drowsy Chaperone)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL

Debora Krizak (Sweet Charity)

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

Robert Grubb (Strictly Ballroom)

BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION

Max Lambert (Miracle City)

BEST CABARET PRODUCTION

Love and Death and an American Guitar (Toby Francis)

BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN

The Piper (My Darling Patricia presented by Sydney Festival and Carriageworks)

BEST PRODUCTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Sugarland (atyp)

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Reg Livermore

Photo: Strictly Ballroom. Photo courtesy of Sydney Theatre Awards.