One of London’s leading awards in the theatre calendar, The Offies Winners were revealed by Sir Patrick Stewart via Twitter on Sunday 26 February.
After hours of deliberation, a panel of assessors and judges whittled down the year’s nominations to a small selection of shortlisted finalists after viewing over 400 productions in over 100 theatres throughout 2016. The Offies awards aims to recognise and celebrate the work of independent theatres across London, raising the profile of new theatre talent and introducing the winners to experts at the heart of the industry who can guide their next steps in the coming year.
This year, the newly refurbished Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond came out on top, scoring 4 awards out of 8 shortlists. With Best New Play and Most Promising New Playwright under their belt, the theatre cements its status as a leader in promoting new work, such as Joe & Jess Forever and The Rolling Stone. In addition, Sheppey proved successful for the men, winning Best Male (John Ramm) and Best Supporting Male (Josh Dylan and Dickie Beau).
Close behind was the Southwark Playhouse which after racking up the most nominations, scoring 9 in total for new musicals such as Grey Gardens and The Toxic Avenger, walked away with 3 awards including Best New Musical for Grey Gardens, Best Director (Tom Hughes for Punkplay) and Best Choreographer (Lee Proud for Allegro).
At the Charing Cross Theatre, Ragtime came out on top for its music, winning Best Musical Director (Jordan Li-Smith) and Best Musical Production. In the opera category, the King’s Head Theatre took the award for Cosi Fan Tutte, a show that also achieved success at the Royal Opera House.
Visit the website for full details of the winners and nominees.
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