TWO productions - a play and a musical - with a Mandela theme made history last night when they shared three awards, the highest won by a single production at the sixth SAtheatre awards, the Naledi Awards.
The awards ceremony, which took place at Gold Reef City Casino in Johannesburg, saw Mandela Trilogy and The Rivonia Trial, two productions with a Mandela flavour, share three awards statuettes with Dreamgirls and The Pirates of Penzance.
Mandela Trilogy, which garnered eight nominations, won awards in the categories of Best Production of a Musical, Best Theatre Set Design (Michael Mitchell) and Best Theatre Lighting Design (Faheem Bardien).
The Mandela name was also associated with another triumphant production that won big on the awards night, Aubrey Sekhabi's The Rivonia Trial, which collected Best Performance by an actor in a lead role (Play) for Sello Maake ka Ncube (playing Mandela), Best New South African Script (Musical or Play) and Best Director: Play or Musical for Sekhabi.
The Mandela productions shared the limelight with two other productions that have nothing to do with politics or political personalities - the rags-to-riches story of up-and-coming 1960s girl group Dreamgirls, which won three out of the 10 for which it had beennominated.
It won the Best Performance in a Musical (Female) for Lindiwe Bungane, Best Performance by Newcomer/Breakthrough (Bjorn Blignaut) and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role /Cameo (Candida Mosoma).
The shortened version of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic masterpiece, The Pirates of Penzance, also won three awards, for Best Original Choreography: Play or Musical (Shelley Adriaanzen), Best Ensemble Production/Cutting Edge and Best Comedy Performance: Play or Musical (David Dennis).
Eccentric Afrikaans entertainment icon Nataniël was also handsomely rewarded as his production Combat: Nataniël bagged two awards, for Best Costume Design (Floris Louw) and Best Performance in a Musical (Male).
He shared two statuettes each with Alan Swerdlow, another talented director. Swerdlow directed the The History Boys, which won Best Production of a Play and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role/Cameo (Clyde Berning).
Another popular theatrical piece, London Road, won Robyn Scott Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role (Play) category for her acclaimed role as the elderly Jewish grandmother in the production. The Executive Directors' Award went to Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler of the Handspring Puppet Company for the internationally acclaimed Warhorse. Music and theatre legends Judy Page and Thandi Klaasen won Lifetime Awards.
Mandela-themed shows share awards
TWO productions - a play and a musical - with a Mandela theme made history last night when they shared three awards, the highest won by a single production at the sixth SAtheatre awards, the Naledi Awards.
The awards ceremony, which took place at Gold Reef City Casino in Johannesburg, saw Mandela Trilogy and The Rivonia Trial, two productions with a Mandela flavour, share three awards statuettes with Dreamgirls and The Pirates of Penzance.
Mandela Trilogy, which garnered eight nominations, won awards in the categories of Best Production of a Musical, Best Theatre Set Design (Michael Mitchell) and Best Theatre Lighting Design (Faheem Bardien).
The Mandela name was also associated with another triumphant production that won big on the awards night, Aubrey Sekhabi's The Rivonia Trial, which collected Best Performance by an actor in a lead role (Play) for Sello Maake ka Ncube (playing Mandela), Best New South African Script (Musical or Play) and Best Director: Play or Musical for Sekhabi.
The Mandela productions shared the limelight with two other productions that have nothing to do with politics or political personalities - the rags-to-riches story of up-and-coming 1960s girl group Dreamgirls, which won three out of the 10 for which it had beennominated.
It won the Best Performance in a Musical (Female) for Lindiwe Bungane, Best Performance by Newcomer/Breakthrough (Bjorn Blignaut) and Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role /Cameo (Candida Mosoma).
The shortened version of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic masterpiece, The Pirates of Penzance, also won three awards, for Best Original Choreography: Play or Musical (Shelley Adriaanzen), Best Ensemble Production/Cutting Edge and Best Comedy Performance: Play or Musical (David Dennis).
Eccentric Afrikaans entertainment icon Nataniël was also handsomely rewarded as his production Combat: Nataniël bagged two awards, for Best Costume Design (Floris Louw) and Best Performance in a Musical (Male).
He shared two statuettes each with Alan Swerdlow, another talented director. Swerdlow directed the The History Boys, which won Best Production of a Play and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role/Cameo (Clyde Berning).
Another popular theatrical piece, London Road, won Robyn Scott Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role (Play) category for her acclaimed role as the elderly Jewish grandmother in the production. The Executive Directors' Award went to Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler of the Handspring Puppet Company for the internationally acclaimed Warhorse. Music and theatre legends Judy Page and Thandi Klaasen won Lifetime Awards.
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