There were two wins each for the Southwark Playhouse run of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years and the Park Theatre transfer of Hope Mill Theatre’s critically-acclaimed production of Rags (Charles Strouse, Stephen Schwartz, Joseph Stein), directed by Bronagh Lagan, at OffWestEnd’s 2021 Offies Awards.
Jonathan O’Boyle won in the Director category for his actor-musician staging of The Last Five Years and there was a win too for the show’s producer, Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment.
Actor Dave Willetts celebrated a win for his Supporting Performance in Rags at the Park Theatre and Joe Bunker also came out top in the Musical Director category. Elsewhere, Frances Barber won for her Lead Performance in Musik (Jonathan Harvey, Pet Shop Boys) at the Leicester Square Theatre.
The winners of the Off West End Awards 2021, encompassing the Offies, OffFest, OnComm and OneOff Awards, were announced in an online ceremony on 21 February 2021 via Scenesaver. In this ‘special circumstances’ year, the Offies 2021 Awards Ceremony celebrated the creativity and resilience of artists in fringe, alternative and independent theatre in a time of crisis “who have found new ways to produce fresh and inventive work for thousands of stay-at-home audiences”.
Presented by OffWestEnd director Geoffrey Brown, the event included many specially recorded messages of love and support from friends from the industry and beyond, including Brian Blessed, Sharon D Clarke, Judi Dench, Sonia Friedman, Stephen Fry, Sadiq Khan and Michelle Terry.
Geoffrey Brown, director of OffWestEnd, said: “What a wonderful night! So exciting to be able to celebrate all that has been happening in 2020, from live theatre through to innovative and imaginative new work online and to recognise the outstanding work of 2020.
“I am also thrilled that so many individuals from the theatre sector were willing to give their time to send messages of support and congratulations – it just shows the importance of independent, alternative and fringe theatre, whether it is live or online.”
Categories with musical theatre winners:
Director:
Jonathan O’Boyle, The Last Five Years, Southwark Playhouse
Lead Performance:
Frances Barber, Musik, Leicester Square Theatre
Musical Director:
Joe Bunker, Rags, Park Theatre
Production:
Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment, The Last Five Years, Southwark Playhouse
Supporting Performance:
Dave Willetts, Rags, Park Theatre
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