Sharon D Clarke in The Life at the Southwark Playhouse, London. Picture: Roy Tan
More than 80 finalists representing shows at over 30 Off-West End venues have been selected to battle it out for this year’s Offies.
Announced live on Twitter and Facebook by panel judge and critic for The Stage, Mark Shenton, the musical and opera category of awards includes multiple nominations for the Southwark Playhouse’s productions of Promises, Promises; The Life; Working; and Superhero. The Charing Cross Theatre’s productions of Death Takes a Holiday and The Woman in White and The Vaults production of Hair also feature heavily.
Set up to celebrate the best of each year’s Off-West End productions, performances and creatives, the shortlist for the Off-West End Theatre Awards 2018 takes in venues in all four corners of the city. The Arcola, a reclaimed paint factory in North London appears alongside the recently renovated White Bear Theatre inside a pub in the south, while the more established Theatre Royal Stratford represents the East and the Finborough represents the West.
This year’s Offies will be presented at a ceremony on Sunday 4 March at The Albany in Deptford with a red-carpet champagne reception starting at 6pm ahead of the ceremony at 7pm.
The event will include guest presenters representing different areas of the theatre including actors Katie Brayben, Robin Soans, Louise Jameson, and Linda Marlowe. Also on the guest presenter list are: Isobel Waller Bridge (sound designer), Catherine Kodicek (costume designer) and Stephen Mear (choreographer).
In attendance will be industry experts who have agreed to be ‘Patron Saints’ to the individual winners in the 18 categories to offer them specialist advice, useful introductions and guidance in their career.
As part of the Offies’ eighth birthday celebrations, in the eight weeks leading up to the, the Offies will be exploring the reasons why the awards and the off-West End theatre they celebrate are continuing to thrill and thrive.
Picture: Roy Tan
The list of finalists in the Musicals Theatre categories are:
Female in a Musical
Daisy Maywood Promises, Promises, Southwark Playhouse
Sophia Mackay, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Theatre Royal Stratford East
T’Shan Williams, The Life, Southwark Playhouse
Supporting Female in a Musical
Alex Young, Promises, Promises, Southwark Playhouse
Sarah-Louise Young, Yank!, Charing Cross Theatre
Sharon D. Clarke, The Life, Southwark Playhouse
Male in a Musical
Gabriel Vick, Promises, Promises, Southwark Playhouse
Joshua Lay, Top Hat, Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Michael Rouse, Superhero, Southwark Playhouse
Peter Polycarpou, Working, Southwark Playhouse
Supporting Male in a Musical
Cornell S. John, The Life, Southwark Playhouse
Greg Castiglioni, The Woman in White, Charing Cross Theatre
Jordan Shaw, Tick, Tick… Boom!, Park Theatre
Musical Director
Dean Austin, Death Takes a Holiday, Charing Cross Theatre
Gareth Bretherton, Hair, Vaults
Simon Holt, The Woman in White, Charing Cross Theatre
Musical Production
Hair, Vaults
The Life, Southwark Playhouse
Working, Southwark Playhouse
New Musical
Death Takes a Holiday, Charing Cross Theatre
My Land’s Shore, Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre
Superhero, Southwark Playhouse
The Life, Southwark Playhouse
Choreographer
Charlotte Tooth, The Hired Man, Union Theatre
Chris Whittaker, Top Hat, Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Joanne McShane, Salad Days, Union Theatre
William Whelton, Hair, Vaults
The full list of awards can be found at www.offwestend.com
Angela Thomas
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