2023 Sydney Theatre Awards
January 29, 2024, York Theatre, Seymour Centre
Nominations were announced for the 2023 Sydney Theatre Awards, which will be presented at an industry gala ceremony on Monday 29 January 2024 at 7pm at the York Theatre, Seymour Centre.
Nominations in the 28 categories were spread across 50 different productions, which played on Sydney stages during 2023. Leading the list with seven nominations were Fences and Hubris & Humiliation (both produced by Sydney Theatre Company), while A Streetcar Named Desire (Red Line Productions), Constellations (Sydney Theatre Company) and The Turn of the Screw (Tooth and Sinew and Seymour Centre) received six. Receiving five nominations were Consent (Outhouse Theatre Co and Seymour Centre), Metropolis (The Little Eggs Collective and Hayes Theatre Co) and The Poison of Polygamy (Sydney Theatre Company).
The nominees for Best Mainstage Production are Constellations (Sydney Theatre Company), Fences (Sydney Theatre Company), The Master & Margarita (Belvoir), The Poison of Polygamy (Sydney Theatre Company) and The Visitors (Sydney Theatre Company). The nominees for Best Independent Production are Consent (Outhouse Theatre Co and Seymour Centre), Dumb Kids (Legit Theatre Co in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company), The Face of Jizo (OMUSUBI Productions in association with Red Line Productions) and A Streetcar Named Desire (Red Line Productions). Vying for Best Production of a Musical are A Little Night Music (Hayes Theatre Co), Miss Saigon (Cameron Macintosh and Opera Australia), Murder for Two (Hayes Theatre Co) and Sweeney Todd (Sydney Opera House, Victorian Opera and New Zealand Opera).
The Sydney Theatre Awards have been presented annually since 2005 by a group of Sydney’s leading theatre critics to celebrate the strength and diversity of Sydney’s theatre artists and productions. Judging panels have been bolstered over the past four years to include prominent industry specialists who see all eligible productions in their area and vote on the nominations.
John Shand, Theatre Critic for The Sydney Morning Herald, said, “Could it be that those two years of Covid upheavals, and then two years of playing catch-up, were, oddly, good for theatre? Could it be that the fallow periods and the postponed and rethought productions gave everyone a chance to catch their breath? The evidence of 2023 suggests the answer is yes, because this was a year of lofty ambitions routinely fulfilled to an unusual degree across mainstage, independent and musical theatre platforms. A truly vintage season.”
Jason Blake, Digital Editor of Limelight, added, “Even a cursory glance down the list of nominees this year shows you something of the breadth of ideas and talent in Sydney right now and the diversity of our creatives. The willingness to engage with big themes while evolving the form of theatre itself is something this city can be proud of.”
The Sydney Theatre Awards gratefully thanks major sponsor, the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation, without which the Awards would not be possible. The Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation is a charity founded to assist the performing arts and, following the wishes of founding President Dr Rodney Seaborn AO OBE, proudly supports a wide variety of performing arts initiatives through funding, attending performances and preserving precious theatrical records for education and research, as well as providing accessible and affordable space for rehearsals and small performances.
The other sponsors of the Sydney Theatre Awards are The William Fletcher Foundation, Showcast, Currency Press, Ticketmaster, Actors Benevolent Fund, ACMN, JPJ Audio and Helen Constance.
2023 SYDNEY THEATRE AWARDS NOMINATIONS
BEST MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Constellations (Sydney Theatre Company)
Fences (Sydney Theatre Company)
The Master & Margarita (Belvoir)
The Poison of Polygamy (Sydney Theatre Company)
The Visitors (Sydney Theatre Company and Moogahlin Performing Arts)
BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Consent (Outhouse Theatre Co and Seymour Centre)
Dumb Kids (Legit Theatre Co in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre Company)
The Face of Jizo (OMUSUBI Productions in association with Red Line Productions)
A Streetcar Named Desire (Red Line Productions)
BEST DIRECTION OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Eamon Flack (The Master & Margarita)
Ian Michael (Constellations)
Shari Sebbens (Fences)
Courtney Stewart (The Poison of Polygamy)
BEST DIRECTION OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Craig Baldwin (Consent)
Alexander Berlage (A Streetcar Named Desire)
Amelia Burke (All His Beloved Children)
Shingo Usami and David Lynch (The Face of Jizo)
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Justine Clarke (Girls & Boys)
Bert LaBonté (Fences)
Zahra Newman (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill)
Shan-Ree Tan (The Poison of Polygamy)
Catherine Văn-Davies (Constellations)
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Janet Anderson (Collapsible)
Challito Browne (Beyond the Break)
Sheridan Harbridge (A Streetcar Named Desire)
Anna Samson (Consent)
Shingo Usami (The Face of Jizo)
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Charles Allen (Clyde’s)
Andrew McFarlane (Hubris & Humiliation)
Dorian Nkono (Fences)
Toby Schmitz (The Seagull)
Helen Thomson (The Importance of Being Earnest)
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Tel Benjamin (All His Beloved Children)
Martelle Hammer (The Turn of the Screw)
Josh Price (A Streetcar Named Desire)
Jack Richardson (The Turn of the Screw)
Catherine Văn-Davies (A Streetcar Named Desire)
BEST STAGE DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Jeremy Allen (Fences)
Michael Hankin (On the Beach)
Isabel Hudson (Constellations)
Isabel Hudson (Hubris & Humiliation)
BEST STAGE DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Adrienne Andrews (All His Beloved Children)
Soham Apte (Consent)
Angus Callander and Solomon Thomas (UFO)
Nick Fry (Metropolis)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Elizabeth Gadsby (The Visitors)
Isabel Hudson (Hubris & Humiliation)
Renée Mulder (The Importance of Being Earnest)
Nicol & Ford (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Soham Apte (Consent)
Grace Deacon (An ox stand on my tongue)
Angela Doherty (The Turn of the Screw)
Michael Hankin and Bella Rose Saltearn (On A Clear Day You Can See Forever)
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Benjamin Brockman (Constellations)
Damien Cooper (Macbeth)
Verity Hampson (Fences)
Karen Norris (The Visitors)
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Frankie Clarke (All His Beloved Children)
Ryan McDonald (Metropolis)
Ryan McDonald (The Turn of the Screw)
Morgan Moroney (Collapsible)
BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Brendon Boney (Fences)
James Brown (Constellations)
Danni A. Esposito (Sex Magick)
Kelly Ryall (Suddenly Last Summer)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE OF A MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Grace Ferguson (On the Beach)
Mathew Frank (Hubris & Humiliation)
Stefan Gregory (The Master & Margarita)
Matt Hsu (The Poison of Polygamy)
BEST SOUND DESIGN OR COMPOSITION OF AN INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
Me-Lee Hay and Zachary Saric (The Face of Jizo)
Chrysoulla Markoulli (The Turn of the Screw)
Zachary Saric (A Streetcar Named Desire)
Zara Stanton (Metropolis)
BEST NEW AUSTRALIAN WORK
An ox stand on my tongue (Jane Montgomery Griffiths)
Hubris & Humiliation (Lewis Treston)
The Poison of Polygamy (Anchuli Felicia King)
Pony (Eloise Snape)
Sex Magick (Nicholas Brown)
The Turn of the Screw (Richard Hilliar)
BEST NEWCOMER
Abigail Adriano (Miss Saigon)
Roman Delo (Hubris & Humiliation)
Ryan Panizza (Hubris & Humiliation)
Carmel Rodrigues (Hairspray)
Theo Williams (Choir Boy)
BEST ENSEMBLE
Choir Boy (National Theatre of Parramatta)
The Lucky Country (Hayes Theatre Co)
The Master & Margarita (Belvoir)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Hayes Theatre Co)
The Visitors (Sydney Theatre Company and Moogahlin Performing Arts)
BEST PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL
A Little Night Music (Hayes Theatre Co)
Miss Saigon (Cameron Macintosh and Opera Australia)
Murder for Two (Hayes Theatre Co)
Sweeney Todd (Sydney Opera House, Victorian Opera and New Zealand Opera)
BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Dean Bryant (A Little Night Music)
Richard Carroll (Murder for Two)
Dash Kruck (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)
Stuart Maunder (Sweeney Todd)
JUDITH JOHNSON AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Abigail Adriano (Miss Saigon)
Courtney Monsma (Wicked)
Seann Miley Moore (Miss Saigon)
Maverick Newman (Murder for Two)
Ruva Ngwenya (Tina The Tina Turner Musical)
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Rohan Browne (Beauty and the Beast)
Nancye Hayes (A Little Night Music)
Shannen Alyce Quan (Metropolis)
Henry Rollo (The Rocky Horror Show)
Mat Verevis (Tina The Tina Turner Musical)
BEST MUSICAL DIRECTION
Natalya Aynsley (On A Clear Day You Can See Forever)
Claire Healy (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812)
Abi McCunn and Damon Wade (City of Angels)
Zara Stanton (Metropolis)
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A MUSICAL
Sam Hooper (City of Angels)
Vi Lam (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)
Cameron Mitchell (Urinetown)
Brendan Yeates (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812)
BEST PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN
Are We There Yet? (CDP Kids and Sydney Opera House)
Hide the Dog (Performing Lines and Sydney Festival)
The Story of Mr B (Shake Shake Theatre and Riverside)
Waru (Bangarra Dance Theatre and Sydney Festival)
BEST PRODUCTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Choir Boy (Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta)
The Lies We Were Told (Shopfront Arts in association with Monkey Baa)
The Resistance (ATYP)
Soul Trading (ATYP)
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
To be announced at the ceremony
