MTM Winners: From the Fire, Wasted Love, Scary Gorgeous

The Awards were presented in a prize-giving gala today (24 August 2011) at the George Square Theatre, for the first year part of Assembly’s George Square complex. As well as awarding prizes the gala also saw performances from shows in the Best New Musical category Wasted Love, Hamlet House of Horror, Lillia and Best Production nominees Homemade Fusion and The Prodigals. There was also a performance from last year’s Best New Musical winner Fresher the Musical.

From the Fire, Tony-nominated composer Elizabeth Swados‘ dramatisation of the infamous New York Triangle Factory Fire of 1911 in which 146 immigrant garment factory works perished, capitalised on five nominations with wins for Best Production, Best Music and Best New Musical.

The production dramatises the fire against a backdrop of industrial action and women’s suffrage which saw 20,000 of the workers rise up and strike for the first time. The aftermath of the fire saw a raft of industrial safety legislation passed as well as reform to working conditions in New York.

Directed by Cecilia Rubino, From the Fire is produced by Bonnie Roche for New York-based Triangle Productions. The show finished its run at Zoo Roxy on 20 August 2011.

Leeds-based RashDash Theatre were awarded the Best Book prize for their Fringe First-winning production, Scary Gorgeous. The company return to the Bedlam Theatre, where their show Another Someone, also a Fringe First winner, ran last year.

Written and created by RashDash founders Helen Goalen and Abbi Greenland, the piece intertwines two stories of love, sex and friendship with physical theatre and music from a three-piece band. The production finished its run on 20 August 2011.

Wasted Love, the Kielty Brothers’ new musical about the unpredictable route from heartbreak to healing scooped the prize for Best Lyrics. The show, presented by RSAMD’s One Academy at C venues, follows the brothers’ The Sundowe which the Edinburgh-based writing trio wrote for Cameron Mackintosh‘s Highland Quest For a New Musical in 2007.

The judges also awarded two discretionary prizes at today’s ceremony. The first, for innovation in musical theatre, was presented to RashDash for Scary Gorgeous. The second was presented to director Alexandra Spencer-Jones for her work on Action to the Word’s Constance and Sinestra. The gothic fairytale is currently running at C soco.

The judges panel for this year’s MTM:UK Awards was chaired by producer Richard Jordan and also included Whatsonstage.com’s Andrew Girvan, MJ Chung of OD Musical Company, Korea, and actor, playwright and musician Dave Anderson. The panel was co-ordinated by Fiona Orr.

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The full list of winners of the 2011 MTM: UK Awards are:

Best Production

From the Fire, Triangle Productions, directed by Cecilia Rubino, Roxy Zoo.

Best Book

Scary Gorgeous, RashDash Theatre, written and created by Helen Goalen and Abbi Greenland, Bedlam Theatre.

Best Music

From the Fire, Triangle Productions, written by Elizabeth Swados, Roxy Zoo.

Best Lyrics

Wasted Love, One Academy, written by John and Gerry Kielty, C venues

Best New Musical

From the Fire, Triangle Productions, Roxy Zoo.

Discretionary Award for Innovation in Musical Theatre

Scary Gorgeous, RashDash Theatre, written and created by Helen Goalen and Abbi Greenland, Bedlam Theatre.

Discretionary Award

Alexandra Spencer-Jones as an emerging director, acknowledging her work on Constance and Sinestra, Action to the Word in a association with C theatre, C venues.