35th Annual Robert Finley Awards

The 35th Annual Robert Finley Awards, Western Australia’s Community Theatre Awards, attracted the highest attendance in over ten years, with nearly 450 people gathering to hear the results.
The most successful show of the year was Roleystone Theatre’s Sweeney Todd, which won six major awards including Best Musical, Best Musical Theatre Performer (Male) to Scott Burns, Best Musical Theatre Performer (Female) to Lindsay McNab, Best Supporting Actor to Tim How, Best Director of a Musical for first time director Stephen Carr and Best Musical Director to Matt Austin.
Playlovers’ The Talented Mr. Ripley was named as Best Play and also received Best Actor for Izaak Lim and Best Director for John Milson.
For the first time, two major awards were given to non-actors. The Yvonne Lynch Award for a Breakthrough Performance was given to young pianist Joshua Haines, who single-handedly accompanied Murray Music and Drama’s Oklahoma!, while the Brian Maddocks Youth award went to Beth Shaw, who at only ten years of age operated the sound desk for a major musical, Playlovers’ 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
The talents of voice-over presenters Kerri Hilton and Jarrod Buttery, and excerpts from productions throughout the year, chosen to reflect the diversity of WA Community Theatre, entertained patrons.

Photo: The director cast and crew of Sweeney Todd (Photographer: Zyg Woltersdorf)

Full Results
Best Musical: Sweeney Todd (Roleystone Theatre)
. Runner Up: Nunsense (Wanneroo Repertory Club).
 Third Place: Greenwicks (University Dramatic Society).
Best Play: The Talented Mr Ripley (Playlovers Theatre). Runner Up: A Streetcar Named Desire (Old Mill Theatre). 
Third Place: The Shape of Things (Old Mill Theatre).
David Crewes Award for Best Set: The Young Ones (Stage Left Theatre Troupe Goldfields
).

Best Costumes: The Producers (Murray Music and Drama)
Brian Maddox Youth Award went to Beth Shaw for Audio Operator for Spelling Bee (Playlovers)


Yvonne Lynch Breakthrough Award went to Joshua Haines as pianist for Oklahoma! (Murray Music and Drama)
Best Other Than Lead Female : Gemma Northover for her role in A Streetcar Named Desire (Old Mill Theatre)


Best Other Than Lead Male: Tim How for his role in Sweeney Todd (Roleystone)
Best Choreography : Jessica Dunn for Greenwicks (University Dramatic Society)
Best Musical Director: Matt Austin for Sweeney Todd (Roleystone Theatre)
Elizabeth Crewes Front of House Award went to Playlovers

Sheila Buchanan Encouragement Award went to Murray Music & Drama
Best Musical Theatre Performer Male: Scott Burns for his role of Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd (Roleystone Theatre)
Best Musical Theatre Performer Female: Lindsay McNab for her role as Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd (Roleystone Theatre)
Best Actor went to Isaak Lim for his role as Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr Ripley (Playlovers)
Best Actress went to Jenny McCann for her role as Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire (Old Mill Theatre)
Best Director of a Musical: Stephen Carr for Sweeney Todd (Roleystone)
Best Director: John Milson for The Talented Mr Ripley (Playlovers)

Adjudicators Certificates
David Wallace 
“Outstanding Delivery of Dialogue in a Foreign Language Assassins (Roleystone Theatre)
Pixie Bowles 
“Best Performance [Other than Human]” 
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 ¾ (Stirling)
“Outstanding Choreography and Dance”
Dream Scene, Oklahoma!, Murray Music and Drama
Jeff Watkins 
“Community Spirit”
Jeff Hansen 
“Club Spirit”
Lauchlan Bain 
“Triple Threat”
Graeme Johnson 
“Wording: For the LOVE of a Lamp”
Absent Friends. (Melville)
Courtney Hudson 
“Blue/Cold makeup applied to Elijah Melvin (Kevin), who had been shut in the freezer” 
Greenwicks (UDS)
Sue Hayward 
“Most Appetising Aroma During a Performance” 
Look Who’s Talking (Kwinana)
Jo Sterkenburg 
“Best Stand-In Performance” 
Move Over Mrs Markham (Harbour Theatre)
“Best Comic Ensemble”
 Nunsense (Wanneroo)
M&M Productions – James Marzec & John McPherson 
“Excellence in Scriptwriting & Musical Composition” 
Greenwicks (UDS).