WE WON!

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence 2007

Despite complaints of a drop in the number of US visitors to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, American performers recorded their best ever win at the prestigious Stage Awards for Acting Excellence.

Of the four prizes on offer, they won a total of two, despite the fact that only three US productions were included amongst the shortlist of 23 nominees.

Shalimar won Best Ensemble for their show La Femme Est Morte, at the Pleasance Dome, while Madi Distefano received Best Solo Performer for Popsicle’s Departure 1989 at the Assembly @ St George’s West.

British wins included Best Actor Award for Garry Cooper for Long Time Dead, hosted by the Traverse. Colleagues Eugenia Caruso and Janet Bamford tied for Best Actress and received a joint award for their performances in Truckstop at The Zoo.

The Stage Awards, now in their 13th year, aim to recognise outstanding theatre performances by individuals and companies on the Fringe. Nominees are selected from nearly 350 productions covered by the reviews team during the festival and the winners were chosen by the principal reviewers, Jeremy Austin, Gerald Berkowitz, Thom Dibdin, Duska Radosavljevic, Nick Awde and William McEvoy.
The 2007 winners
Best Actor
Winner

Garry Cooper for Long Time Dead (Travsere).
Also nominated:

* James Baxter for Scarborough (Assembly @ George Street)
* Daniel Pirrie for Sting for Nolte (Gilded Balloon Teviot)
* Merryn Owen for World’s End (Pleasance Dome)

Best Actress
Winners

Eugenia Caruso and Janet Bamford for Truckstop (The Zoo)
Also nominated:

* Nathalie Armin for Damascus (Traverse)
* Holly Atkins for Scarborough (Assembly @ George Street)
* Beth Fitzgerald for Follow Me (Assembly @ George Street)
* Dillie Keane for Frank and Dolly (Gilded Balloon Teviot)

Best Ensemble
Winner

Shalimar for La Femme est Morte, or Why I Should Not F**k My Son (Pleasance Dome)
Also nominated:

* Druid for The Walworth Farce (Traverse)
* Nimble Fish for The Container (E4 UdderBELLY’s Pasture)
* Arches Theatre Company for Pit (Traverse)
* Song of the Goat for Lacrimosa (Assembly Aurora Nova)
* Analogue for Mile End (Pleasance Dome)
* Angelica for Stonewall (Pleasance Courtyard)

Best Solo Performer
Winner

Madi Distefano for Popsicle’s Departure 1989 (Assembly @ St. George’s West)
Also nominated:

* Linda Marlowe for Believe (Traverse)
* Elisabeth Gray for Wish I Had A Sylvia Plath (Underbelly’s Smirnoff Baby Belly)
* Alexander Campbell for Private Peaceful (Assembly @ George Street)
* Iris Bahr for Dai (Enough) (Pleasance Courtyard)
* Joanna Swain for Talking to Spacehoppers (C soco)