Theatre News

Offies announce finalists for 2018 awards

The winners will be announced on 4 March

Tom Rhys Harries, Alex Young, Sharon D Clarke
Tom Rhys Harries, Alex Young, Sharon D Clarke
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage

The finalists have been announced for the 8th annual Offies.

The Best Production category sees Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' widely acclaimed An Octoroon at the Orange Tree, face off against Contractions at the New Diorama, The Revlon Girl at the Park and Trouble In Mind at the Print Room.

For Best Musical, two Southwark Playhouse productions – The Life and Working – will compete with Hair, which recently completed its run at the Vaults.

The acting categories see nominations for the likes of Alex Young, Tom Rhys Harries, Sharon D Clarke and Peter Polycarpou.

In terms of venues, Southwark Playhouse leads the way with 13 nominations, followed by the Park Theatre and Orange Tree Theatre which receive seven and 10 respectively.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at The Albany, Deptford on Sunday 4 March.

The full list of finalists is below.


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/Orange Tree 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

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

Ensemble
Bucket List, Battersea Arts Centre
Home Truths, 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

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

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

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

TBC Award
Joan, Ovalhouse
The Last Straw, Ovalhouse
Christopher Green, Prurience, Southbank Centre
Lucy McCormick, Triple Threat, Soho Theatre