Lyn Gardner wins Total Theatre Award

This year's Total Theatre Awards have been announced.

The awards, which have been running since 1997, recognise innovative and artist-led performance at the Edinburgh Fringe. Winners this year were decided by 28 peer assessors, who looked at 538 shows across the first 11 days of the festival. The nominees shortlist was announced on 17 August.

The nominated shows were viewed by a panel of 20 judges who gave seven awards across five categories.

This year Guardian critic Lyn Gardner was given the Significant Contribution Award and was in the winners list alongside the likes of Gandini Juggling's Sigma and Selina Thompson's Salt..

Co-directors Jo Crowley and Becki Haines said: "This year’s awards recognise exceptional artists creating gentle, bold, risk-taking and visionary work that is diverse, inclusive and accessible.

"It highlights the vital role theatre plays in communicating, engaging and opening up space for shared experiences. The artistic voices across this festival continue to provide a lens for audiences to understand one another better in an increasingly divided world."

The judging panel for this year's awards included Donald Hutera, Adrian Berry, Sacha Lee, Dorothy Max Prior, Matt Trueman, Jo Stendall and Kevin Jamieson.

Full list of Total Theatre Award winners

Total Theatre & Farnham Maltings Award for an Emerging Company / Artist

Five Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist
YesYesNoNo (England)
ZOO

Physical / Visual Theatre
Sigma
Gandini Juggling (England)
Assembly

Total Theatre & Jacksons Lane Award for Circus
Fauna
Fauna in association with Aurora Nova and Follow the Rabbit (Sweden)
Assembly

Total Theatre & The Place Award for Dance
Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus
Oona Doherty (Northern Ireland)
Dance Base

Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form
Palmyra
Bertrand Lesca & Nasi Voutsas (England)
Summerhall

salt.
Selina Thompson Ltd (England)
Northern Stage @ Summerhall

Our Carnal Hearts
Rachel Mars (England)
Summerhall

Judges Discretionary Award
Slap And Tickle
Liz Aggiss (England)
ZOO

Significant Contribution Award
Lyn Gardner

See our full Edinburgh Festival coverage here