18th Annual Helpmann Awards: Act 1 Winners Announced!

This year, for the very first time, 43 Helpmann Awards are being presented across two nights and two events in Sydney.

This evening, Sunday 15 July, from 6pm the first 20 Helpmann Awards were presented at the 2018 Helpmann Awards Act I, an intimate cocktail hour event the 2018 Helpmann Awards held at the Sydney Town Hall. The winners were announced for the best creative, designer and supporting roles as well as the Awards for Best Presentation for Children, Best Regional Touring Production and Best Special Event in front of an industry A-list crowd.

Check out the full list of winners for Act I below:

A full list of Act II winners can be found here.

Best Male Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera - Kanen Breen for Coronation of Poppea.

Best Female Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera - Lorina Gore for Hamlet.

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play - Mitchell Butel for Mr Burns, A Post-Electric Play.

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play - Anita Hegh for The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.

Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical - Mat Verevis for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical - Amy Lehpamer for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Best Costume Design - Gabriela Tylesova for Muriel's Wedding The Musical.

Best Scenic Design - Jacob Nash for Bennelong.

Best Lighting Design - Nick Schlieper for Bennelong.

Best Sound Design - Michael Waters for Muriel's Wedding The Musical.

Best Music Direction - Isaac Hayward for Muriel's Wedding The Musical.

Best Original Score - Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall for Muriel's Wedding The Musical.

Best Special Event - Taylor Mac: A 24 Decade History of Popular Music.

Best Presentation for Children - Emil and the Detectives by Slingsby.

Best Regional Touring Production - OUR Land People Stories by Bangarra Dance Theatre.

Best Choreography in a Ballet, Dance or Physical Theatre Production - Stephen Page for Bennelong.

Best Choreography in a Musical - Andrew Hallsworth for Muriel's Wedding The Musical.

Best Direction of a Play - Sarah Goodes for The Children.

Best Direction of an Opera - Neil Armfield for Hamlet.

Best Direction of a Musical - Marc Bruni for Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Hosts Rhoda Roberts AO and Michael Lynch CBE AO were joined by special guest presenters including actor Mitchell Butel, director Neil Armfield AO, musical theatre stars Verity Hunt-Ballard, Matt Lee and Sharon Millerchip, choreographer Kelley Abbey, actor Peter Carroll, musical director Vanessa Scammell and composer Max Lambert.

Wonderful performances included Chloe Dallimore and Amanda Laing with the Lyrebird Song from Monkey Baa Theatre Company's "Josephine Wants to Dance", the Sydney Youth Orchestra Quartet, musical theatre rising star Georgina Hopson and dynamic opera duo Andrew Jones and Jenny Liu singing the Papageno and Papagena duet from Mozart's The Magic Flute.

The Helpmann Awards are the premier celebration of Australia's vibrant live performance industry. The Awards recognise distinguished achievement and excellence in Australia's live performance sectors including musicals, contemporary music, comedy, opera and classical music, theatre, ballet, dance and physical theatre, presentations for children, regional touring and cabaret.

The Helpmann Awards were established in 2001 by Live Performance Australia (LPA). Chief Executive of LPA, Evelyn Richardson said "We are delighted this year to present 43 Awards over two exciting nights. Two shorter shows enables us to better highlight the artistry and excellence in our dynamic live performance industry. Over the past 18 years the Helpmann Awards have received nearly 11,000 entries and announced over 2,750 Nominees which highlights the scale of the live performance industry enjoyed by 18.4 million people each year in Australia".

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