Buxton Festival Fringe Announces Awards for 2014
PRESS RELEASE 28th July 2014: For immediate release
A sizzling Buxton Festival Fringe 2014 has concluded with a packed-out Awards Ceremony, this year at the Old Clubhouse, a key venue during the Fringe, beautifully decorated for the occasion.
Chair Keith Savage welcomed performers, Fringe Friends and supporters, recognising that people would be eager to know who had won awards but wanting first to thank all the entrants. “I have seen some 45 events and not a bad show among them”, he said to applause from the audience.
With thousands of tickets bought and sold at the Fringe, he went on to thank all the front of house staff at venues and particularly the Buxton Opera House box office. He also saluted the technical support at venues as well as the huge help delivered by volunteers throughout the Fringe. The University of Derby was praised for its dedicated, on-going sponsorship of the Fringe and Keith went on to thank all those who offer financial and other support to the Fringe now in its 35th year.
In a very competitive Theatre category, the production award went to the uplifting First World War musical Swan Canaries by Arletty Theatre. Acting awards went to Ami Jones for Shrew and Gerard Logan for Wilde Without the Boy, while James Beagon picked up the new writing accolade for the powerful drama, First Class.
In youth theatre the awards went to local group REC Youth Theatre Company winning the production prize for the second year running with Blue Remembered Hills. Alex Brown from Mansfield-based Shadow Syndicate won the young actor prize for his menacing performance in Lapse.
There were local winners in many of this year’s categories: Buxton Drama League's Shakespeare Jukebox for Street Theatre; Buxton Film's Open Shorts for Film; High Peak Magic Society for Other Events and the rain-defying Chapel-en-le-Frith Morris Men for Spirit of the Fringe.
Dance was a rather special category this year with the award going to a company viewed by many as having delivered the best show ever seen at the Fringe, Dotdotdot Flamenco Company.
Music category was a very large section, its overall high quality reflected in no less than five awards; Amaretti Chamber Orchestra were given the Large Ensemble prize; CLOUDS Harp Quartet scooped Small Ensemble – World Music, and Flute and Piano performers Rachel Johnson & Jemima Palfreyman won Small Ensemble – Classical Tradition. Pianist Jonathan Ellis won Instrumental Performance, and Buxton-raised Laura Monaghan won Vocal Performance.
Local artists triumphed in Visual Arts. The event prize went to the hugely popular and utterly magical Grinlow Art and Storytelling Trail 2014 with Buxton photographer Caroline Small from the Green Man Gallery winning the Artist award.
For Comedy, Bulletproof Jest (The Dead Secrets) won the show award while Nathan Cassidy picked up the award for Individual comedy performer for his show Date of Death.
In other awards, Box Tale Soup won the For Families award with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Buxton-based Word Wizards won Spoken Word for its Free Fringe extravaganza featuring 32 performers in 16 unique events.
In an emotional conclusion to the ceremony, Keith awarded the John Beecher Memorial Award for original, challenging work with high production values to an overwhelmed and delighted Off-Off-Off Broadway Company for Back Door.
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