Theatre News

Off-West End Awards 2019 winners announced

The winners of the annual “Offies” have been revealed

Alex Wood

London

03 February 2019

Wil Johnson and Sarah Niles both won awards for their performances in Bush Theatre's Leave Taking — Wil Johnson and Sarah Niles both won awards for their performances in Bush Theatre's *Leave Taking*
© Helen Murray

The winners of the annual Off-West End Awards, also known as the Offies, have been revealed.

Announced live at Battersea Arts Centre, the awards recognise work created in off-West End venues across London with a team of assessors and super assessors seeing shows before winners are decided by a panel of judges. In total, over 400 shows across 80 venues were judged throughout 2018.

Several other special awards were also announced on the night, including the award for Best Artistic Director, which went to Madani Younis who recently completed his final season at the west London Bush Theatre, and the Special Achievement Award which went to outgoing artistic director of Battersea Arts Centre David Jubb, who was instrumental in the rebuilding of the venue's main hall following a fire in 2015.

Big winners included the recent revival of The Rink which won five awards in four categories – including for Gemma Sutton and Caroline O'Connor, who both starred in The Rink at Southwark Playhouse. The pair shared the award for Best Female Performance in a Musical.

The Bush Theatre's productions of Leave Taking and Misty (which later transferred to the West End) also won awards on the night, while Southwark Playhouse won a total of five awards.

A number of audience-voted awards saw wins for the Arcola Theatre for Best Bar and the Park Theatre for Best Foodie Experience.

Full list of Offies winners and finalists

Costume Design

Gabriella Slade for Six at the Arts Theatre
Jonathan Lipman for Harold & Maude at the Charing Cross Theatre
Pam Tait for Rothschild & Sons at the Park Theatre

Set Design

Bethany Wells for Distance at the Park Theatre
Francis O'Connor for Harold & Maude at the Charing Cross Theatre
Simon Daw for Humble Boy at the Orange Tree Theatre

Lighting Design

Andrew Ellis for Eugenius! at the Other Palace
David Plater for The Outsider at the Print Room
Zoe Spurr for Tiny Dynamite at the Old Red Lion

Video Design

Daniel Denton for Misty at the Bush Theatre
Joshua Pharo for The Shape of the Pain at the Battersea Arts Centre
Will Duke for I'm a Phoenix, Bitch at the Battersea Arts Centre

Sound Design

Jack Elliot Barton for Lifeboat at the Jack Studio Theatre
Luke Swaffield for Forgotten at the Arcola Theatre
Matt Padden for Mirabel at the Ovalhouse
Sam West for Becoming Shades at the Vaults

Elander Moore, Gemma Sutton, Caroline O'Connor and Ross Dawes in The Rink — Elander Moore, Gemma Sutton, Caroline O'Connor and Ross Dawes in *The Rink*
© Darren Bell

Ensemble

Bury the Hatchet presented by Out of Forest Theatre at the Hope Theatre
East presented by Atticist at the King's Head Theatre
Freeman presented by Strictly Arts at Canada Water and Pleasance

Performance Piece

Arinzé Kene in Misty at the Bush Theatre
Bryony Kimmings in I'm a Phoenix, Bitch at the Battersea Arts Centre
Adam Kashmiry in Adam at the Battersea Arts Centre

TBC (shows that didn't fit in any other category)

Creation (Pictures for Dorian) by Gob Squad and LIFT at the Southbank Centre
Dollywould by Sh!t Theatre at the Soho Theatre
Frankenstein by BAC Beatbox Academy at Battersea Arts Centre

Productions for Young People 0-7

Not Now Bernard at the Unicorn Theatre
Jack and the Beanstalk by Lyngo Theatre at Polka Theatre
Huddle by Filskit Theatre and Unicorn Theatre

Production for Young People 8

Beginners at the Unicorn Theatre
Goodnight Mr Tom produced by British Theatre Academy at Southwark Playhouse
The Adventures of Curious Ganz produced by Silent Tide at Little Angel Theatre

Production for Young People 13

Off the Grid at the Half Moon Theatre
The End of Eddy by Untitled Projects and Unicorn Theatre
Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow at Chickenshed

Female Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Genevieve McCarthy in Mythic at the Charing Cross Theatre
Mairi Barclay in Pippin at the Southwark Playhouse
Tessa Kadler in Pippin at the Southwark Playhouse

Male Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical

Gary Trainor in Rothschild & Sons at the Park Theatre
Leon Scott in Midnight at the Union Theatre
Stewart Clarke in The Rink at the Southwark Playhouse

Male Performance in a Musical

Jonathan Carlton in Pippin at the Southwark Playhouse
Mark Inscoe in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Queens Theatre Hornchurch
Rob Houchen in Eugenius! at the Other Palace

Female Performance in a Musical

Caroline O'Connor in The Rink at the Southwark Playhouse
Gemma Sutton in The Rink at the Southwark Playhouse
Natasha Barnes in Wasted at the Southwark Playhouse

New Musical

Grindr the Opera at Above the Stag
Six at the Arts Theatre
Wasted at the Southwark Playhouse

Choreography

Carrie-Anne Ingrouille for Six at the Arts Theatre
Fabian Aloise for The Rink at the Southwark Playhouse
William Whelton for Pippin at the Southwark Playhouse

Musical Director

Adam Gerber and Tom Self for Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Queens Theatre Hornchurch
Joe Bunker for The Rink at the Southwark Playhouse
Zach Flis for Pippin at the Southwark Playhouse

Musical Production

Once at the Queens Theatre Hornchurch
Pippin at the Southwark Playhouse
The Rink at the Southwark Playhouse

Opera Productiom

Der Schauspieldirektor / Bastien und Bastienne by Pop-Up Opera at various venues
La Traviata at the King's Head Theatre
The Rape Of Lucretia at the Arcola Theatre

Rob Houchen won for his performance in Eugenius! — Rob Houchen won for his performance in *Eugenius!*
© Scott Rylander

Most Promising New Playwright

Ben Weatherill for Jellyfish at the Bush Theatre
Joe White for Mayfly at the Orange Tree Theatre
Lisa Carroll for Cuckoo at the Soho Theatre

New Play

Arinzé Kene for Misty at the Bush Theatre
Kenneth Emson for Plastic at the Old Red Lion
Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm for Br'er Cotton at the Theatre 503
Will Eno for The Open House at the Print Room

Female Performance in a Supporting Role in a Play

Kate Terence in The Sword of Alex at the White Bear Theatre
Kristin Milward in A Funny Thing Happened…Oncology Unit… at the Finborough Theatre
Lindsey Campbell in The Open House at the Print Room

Male Performance in a Supporting Role in a Play

Malcolm Sinclair in Pressure at the Park Theatre
Nitin Ganatra in End of the Pier at the Park Theatre
Wil Johnson in Leave Taking at the Bush Theatre

Male Performance in a Play

Andrew Umerah in Sweet Like Chocolate Boy at the Jack Studio Theatre
Harry McEntire in Homos, or Everyone in America at the Finborough Theatre
Irfan Shamji in Mayfly at the Orange Tree Theatre
Jonathan Broadbent in Humble Boy at the Orange Tree Theatre

Female Performance In A Play

Louise Jameson in Vincent River at the Park Theatre
Monica Dolan in The B*easts at the Bush Theatre
Sarah Niles in Leave Taking at the Bush Theatre
Sinead Cusack in Stitchers at the Jermyn Street Theatre

Director

Daniele Sanderson for Freeman at the Canada Water / Pleasance
Femi Elufowoju jr for Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives at the Arcola Theatre
Jack Gamble for The Daughter in Law at the Arcola Theatre
Omar Elerian for Misty at the Bush Theatre