2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award Winners

Sydney Lyric Theatre hosted the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment AwardsThe winner of the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award was announced at a thrilling Grand Final Concert at the Sydney Lyric Theatre in November. Competing against five other outstanding Semi-Finalists with his performances of Part of the Painting and Moving Too Fast, Linden Furnell took out the prestigious award after being chosen by an expert panel of judges, which included Kelley Abbey, Guy Simpson, Andrew Pole and Michael James Scott.

 

Hosted by Lucy Durack and Penny McNamee, the exciting event, now in its eighth year, featured performances by pop sensation Paulini, principal members from Aladdin, the Helpmann Award-winning Molly Barwick, cast members from Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical, and Bella Thomas, who originated the role of Matilda in Australia. Past winners Samantha Leigh Dodemaide, Blake Bowden and Daniel Assetta also performed. The six finalists were Du Toit Bredenkamp, Hilary Cole, Linden Furnell, Stefanie Jones, Genevieve Kingsford and Matthew Predny.

 

Furnell took home the top $20,000 prize, and the runner-ups were each awarded $1,500. The Melbourne’s East End Theatre District Artist Development Award, an initiative of Mike Walsh and the Marriner family, presented a $5,000 cash prize to Genevieve Kingsford.

 

Linden Furnell won the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment AwardIn addition, the Playbill Future Prospect Award went to Kieran McGrath. This award, generously sponsored by Playbill, is a $1,500 cash prize to a semi-finalist who didn’t make the finals but the judges wanted to encourage to return to the competition next year.

 

This year saw the return of two categories recognising further excellence in other fields of musical theatre. The Rob Guest Endowment Technical Award in Honour of Sue Nattrass was awarded to Ash Kurrle and the Rob Guest Endowment Musician Award was won by Emma Ford. Funded by the Capitol Theatre and the Sydney Lyric Theatre, both winners took home a $10,000 cash prize intended to help fund the tuition and experience needed to help them become leaders in their field.

 

The Rob Guest Endowment executive committee was “blown away” by the calibre of talent on stage at the Gala Concert. Rob Guest Endowment Patron John Frost AM says the Rob Guest Endowment Awards are an incredible legacy.

 

“Rob Guest was an inspiration to all, and a great teacher and mentor to those he worked with,” said Frost.

 

For more information, visit www.robguestendowment.com.au. 

 

Photo (top): From left, Linden Furnell, Matthew Predney, Genevieve Kingsford, Du Toit Bredenkamp, Hilary Cole and Stefanie Jones at the Rob Guest Endowment Awards. Photo (left): Linden Furnell with his award. Photos by Robert Catto.