Theatre News

Offies 2018 winners announced

The winners of this year’s Off-West End awards have been announced

Sharon D Clarke and T'Shan Williams
Sharon D Clarke and T'Shan Williams
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage

The winners of this year's Offies have been announced in a ceremony at The Albany in Deptford.

People recognised include Mimi Ndiweni for Best Female in a Play for her performance in The Convert at the Gate Theatre and joint winners of Best Male in a Play for Ben Aldridge for his role in Run The Beast Down at the Finborough Theatre and Ken Nwosu for for his role in An Octoroon at the Orange Tree Theatre.

Ned Bennett also won the Best Director for his work on An Octoroon, which transfers to the National Theatre later this year. The Life at Southwark Playhouse took home four awards for Best Musical Production, T'Shan Williams for Female in a Musical, Cornell S John for Supporting Male in a Musical and Sharon D Clarke for Supporting Female in a Musical.

Southwark Playhouse also scored high in winners, with Michael Rouse winning Male in a Musical for Superhero which ran at the venue, and also got the Best New Musical award.

Other winners of the evening included Katie Bonna for Most Promising New Playwright for her piece All The Things I Lied About at Soho Theatre, Theatre Ad Infinitum's Bucket List at Battersea Arts Centre for Ensemble and Deafinitely Theatre's production of Contractions for Best Production. Read the full list of winners below.

The Offies were announced in a ceremony at The Albany in Deptford on Sunday, with London's night czar Amy Lamé hosting. Guest presenters included Sheila Hancock, Katie Brayben, Robin Soans, Louise Jameson, Linda Marlowe and Isobel Waller Bridge.

Several Special Awards were also announced on the night, including the award for Best Artistic Director, which went to Kerry Michael and the Special Achievement Award which went to Amber Massie-Blomfield.

The Offies recognise work created in Off-West End venues across London, with over 190 shows assessed at around 60 venues in London. A team of assessors and super assessors see the shows and winners are decided by a panel of judges including WhatsOnStage's Daisy Bowie-Sell, The Stage's Mark Shenton, The Arts Desk's Matt Wolf, Time Out's Andrzej Lukowski and The Guardian's Lyn Gardner.

Full list of Offies winners

Female in a Play
Charlotte Gray / The Revlon Girl / Park Theatre
Katherine Pearce / Low Level Panic / Orange Tree Theatre
Lucy Robinson / Late Company / Finborough Theatre
Mimi Ndiweni / The Convert / Gate Theatre

Male in a Play
Ben Aldridge / Run The Beast Down / Finborough Theatre
Ian McDiarmid / What Shadows / Park Theatre
Ken Nwosu / An Octoroon / Orange Tree Theatre
Patrick Sandford / Groomed / Soho Theatre

Supporting Female in a Play
Jo Martin / Doubt: A Parable / Southwark Playhouse
Molly Hanson / Posh / Pleasance Theatre
Sinead Matthews / Loot / Park Theatre
Vivian Oparah / An Octoroon / Orange Tree Theatre

Supporting Male in a Play
Danny-boy Hatchard / Eyes Closed, Ears Covered / Bunker
Jonathan Blaydon / Lord Dismiss Us / Above The Stag
Tom Rhys Harries / The Pitchfork Disney / Shoreditch Town Hall
Will Pinchin / Frankenstein / Jack Studio

New Play
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins / An Octoroon / Orange Tree Theatre
David Ireland / The End Of Hope / Soho Theatre
Neil Anthony Docking / The Revlon Girl / Park Theatre
Roland Schimmelpfenning (translated by David Tushingham) / Winter Solstice / Orange Tree Theatre

Most Promising New Playwright
Alex Gwyther / Eyes Closed, Ears Covered / Bunker
Katie Bonna / All The Things I Lied About / Soho Theatre
Natasha Marshall / Half Breed / Soho Theatre
Stephen Unwin / All Our Children / Jermyn Street Theatre

Ensemble
Bucket List / Battersea Arts Centre
Home Truths / The Bunker
The Gap In The Light / New Diorama

Production
An Octoroon / Orange Tree Theatre
Contractions / New Diorama
The Revlon Girl / Park Theatre
Trouble In Mind / Print Room

MUSICALS & OPERA

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

Opera Production
Cosi Fan Tutte / Baseless Fabric Theatre / Morden Civic Centre
L’Incoronazione Di Poppea / Hampstead Garden Opera / Jackson’s Lane
Tosca / King's Head Theatre

PLAYS & MUSICALS
Costume Design
Adrin Erra Puente / White Fang / Park Theatre
Jonathan Lipman / Death Takes A Holiday / Charing Cross Theatre
Mike Lees / The Tailor Made Man / White Bear Theatre

Lighting Design
Ben Jacobs / The Wolves Of Willoughby Chase / Jack Studio
David Plater (lighting) and Andzrej Goulding (video) / Room / Theatre Royal Stratford East
Norvydals Genys / Eyes Closed, Ears Covered / Bunker
Zoe Spurr / Phoenix Rising / Car Park, Smithfield Meat Market

Set Design
Lily Arnold / Room / Theatre Royal Stratford East
Max Dorey / Talk Radio / Old Red Lion Theatre
Rosanna Vize / Low Level Panic / Orange Tree Theatre

Sound Design
George Dennis / Guards at the Taj / Bush Theatre
Juan Coolio / White Fang / Park Theatre
Max & Ben Ringham and George Dennis / Killer / Shoreditch Town Hall

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

Director
Audrey Sheffield / The Dark Room / Theatre503
Josette Bushell-Mingo / The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin / Theatre Royal Stratford East
Ned Bennett / An Octoroon / Orange Tree Theatre
Ramin Gray / Winter Solstice / Orange Tree Theatre

SPECIAL AWARDS

TBC Award
Lucy J Skilbeck / Joan / Ovalhouse
The Last Straw / Ovalhouse
Christopher Green / Prurience / Southbank Centre
Lucy McCormack / Triple Threat / Soho Theatre

Production for Young People under 7
My Brother, My Sister & Me / Polka Theatre
Snow White & Rose Red / Battersea Arts Centre
Zeraffa Giraffa / Omnibus Theatre / Little Angel Theatre

Production for Young People 8
Boys Don't / Papertale / Half Moon Theatre
Hansel & Gretel / Iris Theatre / St Paul's Church
Laika / Unicorn Theatre
The Little Prince / The Playground Theatre

Production for Young People 13
A Midsummer Night's Dream / Creation Theatre / Omnibus Theatre
What Once Was Ours / Half Moon Theatre / Zest Theatre