The winners of the 58th Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards were announced on Sunday, March 26 at the Oude Libertas Amphitheatre in Stellenbosch. On March 27th, the event was one of many around the world commemorating World Theatre Day.
Contested Bodies, produced by Abrahamse and Meyer Productions, which received sixteen nominations, was the night’s most decorated production. It won awards for Best Director – Fred Abrahamse, Best Costume Design – Marcel Meyer, and Best Performance by an Ensemble for the cast of Matthew Baldwin, Lungile Lallie, and Marcel Meyer.
The late Mncedisi Shabangu was announced as the winner of the Best Performance by a Lead Actor award for his portrayal of Zacharia in Athol Fugard’s play Blood Knot. His name was one of many that appeared in the program’s memorial section, where artists who died during the year were remembered and mourned. Mwenya Kabwe received the award for Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Play for her role as Rosa Feigel in Hold Still, which was also named the Best New South African Script by writer Nadia Davids.
JM Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K, adapted for the stage by Lara Foot, won the coveted Best Production Award for a collaboration between the Baxter Theatre, Theater der Welt in Düsseldorf, and Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg.
Conroy Scott and Brittany Smith won Best Performances in the Male and Female categories in an Opera for their performances in Mozart’s opera, Le Nozze di Figaro. The Most Promising Student Award went to Mikayla Joy Brown of Stellenbosch University. Her production will make its festival debut later this year, and it is richly deserved.
Lifetime Achievement Awards were given to David Kramer and Peter Cazalet. Kramer was recognized for his significant contribution to the arts and entertainment industry as a national and internationally renowned artist, singer, songwriter, guitarist, creator and producer of iconic musical theatre production and an archivist of South African music and stories.
Peter Cazalet was honored for his significant contribution to the national and international arts and entertainment industries, first as a ballet dancer and later as an award-winning set and costume designer and Capab’s head of design. His enduring and captivating stage designs are still admired and used in current productions, most recently in Cinderella.
Empatheatre, a research-based theatre-making methodology, won the Innovation in Theatre Award for co-directors Neil Coppen, Dr Dylan McGarry, and Mpume Mthombeni. Their ability to connect people and places, as well as their practice of public storytelling and listening, is unparalleled. Through their contributions to parliament and global conferences, they have had a profound personal impact on individuals, communities, and the general public.
The panel was blown away by the caliber of theatre on offer this year. Last year (2022) was a challenging year for the industry as it emerged from the most devastating period in South African theatre history. The number of eligible productions, 71 in total, has returned to pre-pandemic levels, demonstrating our theatre makers’ resilience once again. Performances in Cape Town and its environs were frequently immersive, often daring, at times breath-taking, and, when needed, very funny, evoking a range of complex emotions from audiences.
Winners of the 58th Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards are:
AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING STUDENT
Mikayla Joy Brown | University of Stellenbosch/Honours
BEST NEW SOUTH AFRICAN SCRIPT
Nadia Davids | Hold Still
BEST NEW DIRECTOR
Carlo Daniels | No Complaints – New Day, New Dawn
BEST THEATRE PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Marinda Engelbrecht and Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck | Vlooi en die geheim/Kipper and the Secret
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE
Marcel Meyer, Matthew Baldwin and Lungile Lallie | Contested Bodies | Doctor James Barry, Lord Charles Somerset and John Nobody
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A REVUE, CABARET OR ONE-PERSON SHOW
Daniel Newton | Shadow Boxing | Flynn
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW
Earl Gregory | Star+Crossed | Billy
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW
Isabella Jane | Star+Crossed | Bess
BEST PUPPETRY DESIGN
Adrian Kohler | Handspring Puppet Company | Life and Times of Michael K
BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Gideon Lombard | Karatara
BEST SET DESIGN
Greg King | Fordsburg’s Finest
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Marcel Meyer | Contested Bodies
BEST SOUND DESIGN, ORIGINAL MUSIC, SOUNDSCAPE OR LIVE PERFORMANCE
Gideon Lombard | Karatara | Sound design
BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERA – MALE
Conroy Scott | Le Nozze di Figaro | Figaro
BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERA – FEMALE
Brittany Smith | Le Nozze di Figaro | Susanna
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Carlo Daniels | The Unlikely Secret Agent | Various roles
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Berenice Barbier | Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf | Honey
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Mwenya Kabwe | Hold Still | Rosa Feigel
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY
Mncedisi Shabangu | Blood Knot | Zacharia
BEST DIRECTOR
Fred Abrahamse | Contested Bodies
BEST PRODUCTION
Baxter Theatre Centre; Theater der Welt, Düsseldorf; Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg | Life and Times of Michael K
2022 eligible productions:
A Christmas Carol, A Revue of the Songs of Brel and Piaf, A Streetcar Named Desire, Agulhasvlakte, Alcina, Aunty Merle: Things Get Real, Back to Ashes (Zabalaza Best of the Fest), Betrayal, Blood Knot, Bon Appétit, Born Naked, Buzani Kubawo, Concerning the Life of Babyboy Kleintjies, Contested Bodies, Curl Up and Dye, Dance of the La Gumas, Defending the Gay Man, Die Goeie Pa, Die sewe doodsondes, Dinner with the 42s, Don Pasquale, Double Star, Earworm, Firefly, Fordsburg’s Finest, Four Fathers: Bananas for the Baboons, Hamlet, He Had it Coming, Hold Still, Hostel Lights (Zabalaza Best of the Fest), How to Hold the World, I Want to Write You a Submarine, iKrele leChiza, Île, Imbilini…My Friend!, Irma, Karatara, Kiss of the Spider Woman, L’elisir d’amore, Le Nozze di Figaro, Liewe Heksie en die Rolskaatse, Life and Times of Michael K, Love! Valour! Compassion!, Mad About the Boys, May I Have This Dance, More Than a Handful, Mutton Hour, Neon Smoel, Nêrens, Noord-Kaap, No Complaints – New Day, New Dawn, Once on This Island, One Arm, Peter Pan, Platform 9: Coming Home, Sara Baartman – The Opera, Shadow Boxing, Shirley Valentine, Sonde met die Spoke, Star+Crossed, The Dead Tinder Society, The House of Truth, The Last Five Years, The Marvelous Wonderettes, The Triplets of Bellville, The Unlikely Secret Agent, Thuto, Vincent, Vloeibare moed, Vlooi en die geheim/Kipper and the Secret, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Your Song – The Music of Elton John.
The panel for the year 2022, selecting the 2023 nominees and winners:
Africa Melane (Chair), Dr Beverley Brommert, Hadley Tituss, Dr Lwando Scott, Mariana Malan, Marina Griebenow, Tracey Saunders, Dr Wayne Muller.