The winners of the 15th annual Naledi Theatre Awards were announced on the Mandela Stage at the Joburg Theatre on 20 May 2019.
The biggest winner of the night was the musical The Color Purple, which collected seven awards, followed by The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which received three awards, and the new South African play Shoes and Coups and the children’s theatre piece Goggas, which both garnered two awards.
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The 2019 Naledi judges saw nearly 100 productions during 2018. After which they voted for their respective favourites; the votes for productions are done in secret and the results are audited.
Complete list of the winners of the 15th Annual Naledi Theatre Awards:
Best supporting actress
Heidi Mollentze as Rona in The Revlon Girl
Best supporting actor
Sipho Zakwe in Shoes & Coups
Best production for children and young audiences (Aged 0 – 13)
Goggas! Prod. by National Children’s Theatre, written by Gillian Katz adapted by Francois Theron, dir. by Jade Bowers
Best production for children and young audiences (Aged 14 – 17)
polkadots Prod. by Redhill School in partnership with &CO, dir. by Shelley Adriaanzen
Best performance in a production for young audiences
Jaques De Silva as Antic the Ant in Goggas!
Best breakthrough performance
Ryan de Villiers as Miss Trunchbull in Roald Dahl’s Matilda
Best costume design
Fred Abrahamse and Marcel Meyer – Macbeth
Best lighting design
Gareth Hewitt Williams – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Best AV/animation design
Gareth Hewitt Williams – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Best set design
Stan Knight – Fool for Love
Best sound design
Ntuthuko Mbuyazi – Florence
Best score/arrangement/adaptation
Kabelo “Bonafide” Togoe and Aubrey Sekhabi – Freedom
Best musical director
Rowan Bakker – The Color Purple
Best ensemble
Hani: The Legacy – Prod. by The Market Theatre Laboratory, created by graduates of The Market Theatre Laboratory, dir. by Leila Henriques
Best original choreography
Oscar Buthelezi – The Color Purple
Best director of a musical /revue
Janice Honeyman – The Color Purple
Best director of a play
Charmaine Weir-Smith – The Train Driver
Best supporting/featured performance in a musical/revue: female
Lelo Ramasimong as Shug Avery – The Color Purple
Best supporting/featured performance in a musical/revue: male
Yamikani Mahaka-Phiri as Harpo in The Color Purple
Best lead performance in a musical (female)
Didintle Khunou as Celie in The Color Purple
Best lead performance in a musical (male)
Paul du Toit as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Best lead performance in a play (female)
Zikhona Sodlaka as Queenie in Nongogo
Best lead performance in a play (male)
Kai Luke Brummer as Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Best performance in a solo production: female/male
Daniel Mpilo Richards – Land Acts
Best new SA script
Shoes & Coups – Prod. by The Market Theatre Written and dir. by Palesa Mazamisa
Best production of a play
Tshepang: The Third Testament – Prod. by Joburg Theatre, written and dir. by Lara Foot
Best production of a musical
The Color Purple – Prod. by Joburg Theatre and Bernard Jay, dir. by Janice Honeyman
