The winners of the 2022 Sydney Theatre Awards were announced last night (Monday 23 January) at a star-studded ceremony, with 30 Awards presented, shared between 18 productions which played on Sydney stages during 2022. Over 500 members of the Sydney theatre community gathered at the York Theatre, Seymour Centre to celebrate.
Best Mainstage Production was awarded to Belvoir’s The Jungle and the Sea, which also won Best New Australian Work (S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack), Best Ensemble and Best Original Score of a Mainstage Production (Arjunan Puveendran).
Best Independent Production went to Albion from Secret House, New Ghosts Theatre Company and Seymour Centre, which also took home Best Direction of an Independent Production (Lucy Clements). Best Performer in a Leading Role in an Independent Production was awarded to Jane Phegan (The End of Winter).
Best Direction of a Mainstage Production was presented to Kip Williams for Sydney Theatre Company’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, while Best Performer in a Leading Role in a Mainstage Production went to Heather Mitchell (RBG: Of Many, One).
Best Musical was presented to Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Global Creatures) and Best Direction of a Musical to Cameron Mitchell (Nice Work If You Can Get It).
The Judith Johnson Award for Best Performance in a Leading Role in a Musical went to Stefanie Jones (Mary Poppins), and Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical went to Simon Burke (Moulin Rouge! The Musical). Masego Pitso (Chewing Gum Dreams) took home Best Newcomer.
Two Sydney Theatre Awards for Lifetime Achievement were presented, one to legendary photographer and performance artist William Yang, and the other to beloved Executive Producer John “Robbo” Robertson.
William Yang combined his skills as a writer and photographer in 1989 when he began to perform monologues with slide projection as theatre shows. William has created seven full-length performance pieces, including Shadows, Blood links and Objects For Meditation.
His third show, Sadness, which wove together two themes, the discovery of his Chinese heritage and the rituals of dying and death in Sydney, toured successfully nationally and internationally.
In 1956, John Robertson left a career in accountancy to join the theatre, and has since worked as a stage manager, production manager, stage director and executive producer. As Operations Manager for Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, he worked on touring productions of Evita, Annie, Barnum and Oklahoma amongst others.
“Robbo” then joined Cameron Mackintosh’s Australian company and was Executive Producer for the original Australian productions of Cats, Les Misérables, Five Guys Named Moe, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon and Rent. He has since leant his expertise as a consultant to many tours throughout Australia and Asia.
Presenters at the Awards ceremony included Liz Alexander, Nancye Hayes, Michelle Lim Davidson, David McAllister, Elise McCann, Steve Rodgers, Tobhiyah Stone Feller, Melanie Tait, Michael Tyack, Daryl Wallis, Elijah Williams, Darren Yap and Ursula Yovich.
There were performances by four of musical theatre’s greatest stars, a performance by Brittanie Shipway from the new Australian musical The Dismissal, and by 34 of the cast of the 1987, 1997 and 2014 Australian tours of Les Misérables, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the opening of the legendary musical in Australia.
The Sydney Theatre Awards gratefully thanks major sponsor The Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation, as well as other sponsors: William Fletcher Foundation, Showcast, Currency Press, Ticketmaster, Actors Benevolent Fund, Hayes Theatre Co, Griffin Theatre Company, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, ACMN, JPJ Audio, the Seymour Centre and Helen Constance.
The Sydney Theatre Awards are presented annually to celebrate the strength, quality and diversity of theatre in Sydney. For more information, visit: www.sydneytheatreawards.com for details.
Image: Moulin Rouge! The Musical (supplied)
2022 SYDNEY THEATRE AWARDS WINNERS
BEST MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
The Jungle and the Sea (Belvoir)
BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Albion (Secret House, New Ghosts Theatre Company and Seymour Centre)
BEST DIRECTION OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Kip Williams (Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde)
BEST DIRECTION OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Lucy Clements (Albion)
BEST PERFORMER IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Heather Mitchell (RBG: Of Many, One)
BEST PERFORMER IN A LEADING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Jane Phegan (The End of Winter)
BEST PERFORMER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Peter Carroll (The Tempest)
BEST PERFORMER IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Merridy Eastman (Hand to God)
BEST STAGE DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Mel Page (A Raisin in the Sun)
BEST STAGE DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Grace Deacon and Kelsey Lee (Destroy, She Said)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Romance Was Born and Anna Cordingley (Amadeus)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Esther Zhong (Moon Rabbit Rising)
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Nick Schlieper (Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde)
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Tyler Fitzpatrick (Moon Rabbit Rising)
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Michael Toisuta (Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Arjunan Puveendran (The Jungle and the Sea)
BEST SOUND DESIGN AND COMPOSITION OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Christine Pan (Moon Rabbit Rising)
BEST NEW AUSTRALIAN WORK
The Jungle and the Sea (S. Shakthidharan and Eamon Flack)
BEST NEWCOMER
Masego Pitso (Chewing Gum Dreams)
BEST ENSEMBLE
The Jungle and the Sea (Belvoir)
BEST PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Global Creatures)
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Cameron Mitchell (Nice Work If You Can Get It)
JUDITH JOHNSON AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Stefanie Jones (Mary Poppins)
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Simon Burke (Moulin Rouge! The Musical)
BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION
Chris King, Steven Kramer and Nigel Ubrihien (Jekyll and Hyde)
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY OF A MUSICAL
Cameron Mitchell (Nice Work If You Can Get It)
BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN
Yong (Monkey Baa Theatre)
BEST PRODUCTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The Deb (ATYP)
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
John Robertson
William Yang