West End and Broadway-Bound Enron Wins Best New Play Award in U.K's TMA Theatre Awards

By Mark Shenton
November 2, 2009

Lucy Prebble's play, Enron, which transfers to the West End's Noel Coward Theatre in January and will begin a Broadway run in April 2010, has won the 2009 TMA Theatre Award for Best New Play.

The TMA Theatre Awards are presented annually by the Theatrical Management Association, the major trade association for organizations and individuals involved professionally in the production and presentation of the middle and large-scale performing arts in the U.K. This year's awards were presented in a ceremony Nov. 1 at London's Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, hosted by Nichola McAuliffe.

Other major wins were made by the Watermill Theatre, Newbury's production of Spend Spend Spend, which took the award for Best Musical as well as one for performer Kirsty Hoiles, who won the award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical. Productions from, co-produced or in collaboration with Royal and Derngate, Northampton won three awards, with Anna Francolini winning the award for Best Performance in a Play for her starring role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie there, as well as awards to Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, named Best Director for their production of Othello (presented by Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth in collaboration with Royal and Derngate, Northampton on tour) and to Brief Encounter (winner of the Best Touring Production award, co-produced by the Royal and Derngate Theatre with Kneehigh Theatre).

The Stage award for special achievement in regional theatre went to The Theatre, Chipping Norton. A special award for individual achievement was made to the Tricycle Theatre's Nicolas Kent.

In a press statement, Derek Nicholls, President of the TMA said, "This list of winners is a testament to the sheer talent and creativity at work in theatres across the country. From large scale commercial tours to pioneering children's theatre, the TMA Theatre Awards celebrate the continued excellence which is at the heart of our industry."

The full list of winners is as follows:

Best Performance in a Play
Anna Francolini in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Royal and Derngate, Northampton)

Best Supporting Performance in a Play
Claire Price in Mary Stuart (Clwyd Theatr Cymru)

Best New Play
Enron by Lucy Prebble (A Headlong, Chichester Festival Theatre and Royal Court Theatre production at Chichester Festival Theatre )

Best Show for Children and Young People, supported by Equity
For the Best (Presented by the Unicorn Theatre in collaboration with Mark Storor and Anna Ledgard)

Best Musical
Spend Spend Spend at Watermill, Newbury

Best Performance in a Musical
Alexandra Silber for Carousel (Stanhope Productions, Michael Edwards & Carole Winter, Tiger/WSZ, Stevens-O'Boyle, and Tulchin/Bartner/Ambassador Theatre Group in association with The Churchill, Bromley on tour)

Best Supporting Performance in a Musical
Kirsty Hoiles for Spend Spend Spend at the Watermill, Newbury

Best Set Design
Michael Pavelka for The Merchant of Venice(Watermill Theatre and Propellor on tour)

Best Lighting Design, supported by the Association of Lighting Deisgners
Daniella Beattie for The Wicked Lady (New Victoria Newcastle Under Lyme)

Best Director
Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett for Othello (Frantic Assembly and Theatre Royal Plymouth in collaboration with Royal and Derngate, Northampton on tour)

Best Touring Production, supported by Walton and Parkinson
Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter (David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers and Cineworld present The Kneehigh Theatre Production in a co production with Royal and Derngate Northampton)

Achievement in Opera
Glyndebourne for an outstanding 75th Anniversary season

Achievement in Dance
The dancers of English National Ballet, who showed new strength and interpretative skills across a range of repertory

The Stage Award for Special Achievement in Regional Theatre
The Theatre, Chipping Norton

The Special Award for Individual Achievement
Nicolas Kent