Feature: 58TH 2023 FLEUR DU CAP AWARDS at Oude Libertas Amphitheatre

The stars and beautiful people came out to play at the 58th FLEUR DU CAP AWARDS last Sunday night - 26 March 2023. It was such a treat to be surrounded by so many great theatre makers and talented human beings, as well as to honour those who have done incredible things in the last year.

What was most exciting, for me and I think for everyone there, was just how much theatre had happened in the last year. At the 2022 ceremony, we saw the devastating impact that the pandemic had on our sector in the far smaller number of eligible shows. This year, we were back up to 71 productions being considered for the awards in the space of a year - pre-pandemic levels. You just cannot keep theatre makers down!

And now to the winners from the 58th FLEUR DU CAP AWARDS:

1. AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING STUDENT

Mikayla Joy Brown | University of Stellenbosch/Honours

2. BEST NEW SOUTH AFRICAN SCRIPT

Nadia Davids | Hold Still

3. BEST NEW DIRECTOR

Carlo Daniels | No Complaints - New Day, New Dawn

4. BEST THEATRE PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Marinda Engelbrecht and Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck | Vlooi en die geheim/Kipper and the Secret

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE

Marcel Meyer, Matthew Baldwin and Lungile Lallie | Contested Bodies | Doctor James Barry, Lord Charles Somerset and John Nobody

6. BEST PERFORMANCE IN A REVUE, CABARET OR ONE-PERSON SHOW

Daniel Newton | Shadow Boxing | Flynn

7. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW

Earl Gregory | Star+Crossed | Billy

8. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW

Isabella Jane | Star+Crossed | Bess

9. BEST PUPPETRY DESIGN

Adrian Kohler | Handspring Puppet Company | Life and Times of Michael K

10. BEST LIGHTING DESIGN

Gideon Lombard | Karatara

11. BEST SET DESIGN

Greg King | Fordsburg's Finest

12. BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Marcel Meyer | Contested Bodies

13. BEST SOUND DESIGN, ORIGINAL MUSIC, SOUNDSCAPE OR LIVE PERFORMANCE

Gideon Lombard | Karatara | Sound design

14. BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERA - MALE

Conroy Scott | Le Nozze di Figaro | Figaro

15. BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERA - FEMALE

Brittany Smith | Le Nozze di Figaro | Susanna

16. BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Carlo Daniels | The Unlikely Secret Agent | Various roles

17. BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Berenice Barbier | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf | Honey

18. BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Mwenya Kabwe | Hold Still | Rosa Feigel

19. BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY

Mncedisi Shabangu | Blood Knot | Zacharia

20. BEST DIRECTOR

Fred Abrahamse | Contested Bodies

21. BEST PRODUCTION

Baxter Theatre Centre; Theater der Welt, Düsseldorf; Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg | Life and Times of Michael K

INNOVATION IN THEATRE AWARD

Neil Coppen, Dr Dylan McGarry and Mpume Mthombeni - Empatheatre

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

David Kramer was honoured for his immeasurable 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 acknowledged for his vast contribution to the national and international arts and entertainment industry, initially as a ballet dancer and subsequently as an award-winning set and costume designer and Capab's head of design. His enduring and captivating stage designs set a high standard and are still admired and used in current productions, most recently in CINDERELLA.

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.

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