The inaugural Fringe Theatre Awards

Just when you thought awards season had packed up and gone home, the first Fringe Theatre Awards lit up a grey Sunday in London at the legendary Clapham Grand. Our PR Account Director, Elaine Jones, threw on her glad rags and practically rolled out of bed to get there - perks of living just a few streets away! She was front and centre as the winners clutched their trophies, the room buzzed with excitement, and the magic of fringe theatre took its well-deserved moment in the spotlight. Here's the inside scoop on a night to remember…

The Fringe Theatre awards (FTA) have arrived and honestly it’s great to have a new set of awards honouring and recognising outstanding achievements in Fringe Theatre. Over the past year assessors have soaked up the best plays, musicals, cabaret, opera and shows for younger audiences and whittled them down into 42 categories covering everything from performance to writing to puppetry. Basically, if it happens on a Fringe stage there’s an award for it. 

Leading the pack of nominees was The Mill at Sonning’s acclaimed adaptation of My Fair Lady which had six nods, proof that the classics still have plenty of life in them. Hot on its heels with four nominations was the hit climate change musical Hot Mess which ran at Southwark Playhouse Elephant and not far behind, tied on three nominations each were psychological thriller Radiant Boy at Southwark Playhouse Borough, Gen Z drama Dick at Drayton Arms and verbatim documentary play that centres around a photo album from World War II Here There are Blueberries at Stratford East. 

When it came to taking home the gold on the night, the spoils were largely shared. The three biggest winners of the night each took home two prizes; My Fair Lady walked away with best musical and newcomer, Hot Mess claimed best casting and director (musical) and Here There are Blueberries won best director (play) and production (play). 

A special shout out to two of our shows! Wallis Currie-Wood who was nominated for Lead Performance for Our American Queen from the american vicarious at Bridewell Theatre and Nancy Hirst who was nominated for The Snow Queen - A Woodland Adventure at the Albany in Deptford. Both are our winners. 

The evening itself was a total delight. The always fabulous Michael Twaits hosted with his trademark charm and wit. Performances came thick and fast including the 'Prince of Tap' himself, New Zealand's Bayley Graham, who reached the semi-finals of America's Got Talent and won for Choreography and Dance in Cabaret for Adam Garcia's recent London hit Emerald Storm. The cast of the brilliantly nostalgic 90s musical I Made You A Mixtape from Response Theatre Company, fresh from their run at the Cockpit, brought down the house. And Michael closed the show in spectacular style, backed by the FTA Boys - Paul MacDonald, Adam Norton, Nick Brittain and Kane Verrall - choreographed by the brilliant Robbie O'Reilly.

But if there was one overarching winner on the night it was Fringe theatre itself. The evening was a reminder of the importance of celebrating Fringe work. While the West End and major regional theatres can dominate the headlines, the Fringe is where so many artists cut their teeth and productions begin their lives before going onto major careers and runs in the West End and beyond. Not to mention all those Fringe stars who build their entire careers this field, pushing boundaries in writing and performance. My favourite thing about Fringe Theatre is finding work that tells underrepresented stories, challenges you and pushes traditions and takes risks. All while often working with pretty tight budgets. These shows, artists and venues more than deserve their flowers! 

All in all a fantastic evening was had. Thanks to the Fringe Theatre Awards team for having us and for organising a fantastic event. See you next year!

If you were there on Sunday too and have some thoughts to share do let us know, we’d love to hear from you!

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