Irma Albers, the arts and culture controller for Distell said that musical theatre plays a vital role in the lives of a wide cross-section of South Africans. The Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards are the standard against which performing artists are measured, and to ensure they remain as significant and relevant as they are now, Distell is placing a greater emphasis on musical theatre by creating a separate set of categories for this genre. She added that, at the same time, Distell wanted to promote technical skills by creating specific categories to cover the important work of designers across a wider range of disciplines. Albers also confirmed that the awards organisers have improved the nomination and judging process, which is now being audited and overseen by the legal firm Cluver Markotter.
The award carries a R15 000 cash prize and a silver medallion. The nominees list will be released on Thursday, 9 February and the winners of all categories will be announced at a gala event at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town on Sunday, 18 March.
The 15-member panel of judges, which includes local critics, journalists, writers and drama educators, select nominees for productions performed over the period of one calendar year. The judges are: Marianne Thamm, Len Ashton, Dr Beverley Brommert, Mariana Malan, Marina Nel, Africa Melane, Dr Gabriël Bothma, Wayne Muller, Peter Tromp, Gillian Mitchell, Rone Arendse, Coreen Lloyd, Jill Makram, Denise Bester and Herman van der Westhuizen.
The Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards take place at 6pm on Sunday, 18 March at the Baxter. A limited number of tickets will be available to the public via Computicket.
