STC CLEANS UP IN MELBOURNE
Girlie Pogson aka Peter Carroll was robbed of the Melbourne Green Room award for Best Actress by fellow Season at Sarsparilla cast member Pamela Rabe. Instead he had to settle for Best Actor; some consolation at least. (They're pictured here with Emily Russell.)
The Sydney Theatre Company production of Patrick White’s classic cleaned up in the traditionally more parochial Melbourne awards. It won seven of the nine awards on offer for mainstage productions: best production, best director ( Benedict Andrews, best design for Robert Cousins and best lighting, Nick Schlieper and best supporting performer for Luke Mullins.
Ironically another STC production was Sarsparilla’s main competition. Which one?
It was the extraordinary adaptation of Women of Troy (which won virtually everything on offer at the Sydney Theatre Awards in January) was nominated in seven categories in Melbourne – best direction (Barrie Kosky), best actress (Robyn Nevin), best supporting performers (the chorus of Queenie van de Zandt, Natalie Gamsu and Jenny Vuletic),best ensemble, best music (Kosky again), best design (Alice Babidge) and best lighting (Damien Cooper). All were unlucky.
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The musical Billy Elliott repeated its success in the 2007 Sydney Theatre Awards with the five title role boys and Genevieve Lemon winning in their categories. Billy also won best production, and best direction for Stephen Daldry. The other musical awards were snapped up by Wicked.
Meanwhile, Peter Carroll and Pamela Rabe are already back in Sydney and hard at work: Carroll in the STC’s high-value education production of The Crucible and Rabe in rehearsal for Elling. Don’t expect to see her prowling the boards, however, as it’s her first mainstage job as director. She’ll be the one looking pale and nervous and trying to be inconspicuous somewhere in Row H or J on opening night.
