EDINBURGH 2011: The Stage Announces Nominees For Acting Excellence Awards

Pleasance Theatre has taken six nominations, with Assembly Theatre, the Traverse and Zoo Venues all receiving four nods for this year's Stage Awards for Acting Excellence at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

In a year that has seen an impressive range in theatre of all genres across the Fringe's venues, the Pleasance has enjoyed a particularly strong year, with three nominations in the Best Actor category, as well as two for Best Ensemble and one for Best Actress.

Only two productions received multiple nominations - The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart
(for Best Ensemble and Best Actress) and Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (for Best Actor and
Best Actress). The National Theatre of Scotland received nominations for two separate
productions - The Wheel and The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart.

A number of previous winners are nominated. Billy Mack, Guy Masterson and companies
Theatre Ad Infinitum and National Theatre of Scotland have all won Stage Awards before.

Now in their 17th year, The Stage Awards are the only honours for professional theatre
presented by a national UK publication at the Fringe. They include categories for Best Actor,
Best Actress, Best Ensemble and Best Solo Performer. Nominations are chosen by the
newspaper's review team who see hundreds of productions before making their choice.

Stage critic and chair of the judging panel Gerald Berkowitz said: "This is one of the strongest
and most diverse fields we've nominated in years. Everything from conventional plays to rock
opera, from poetry reading to mime, is represented, and they all prove effective vehicles for
excellent acting."

Fellow judge and critic Thom Dibdin added: "The ensemble category was particularly strong
this year. That list could have been twice as long, with worthy candidates, were we not forced
to bring it down to a manageable size."

The winners will be announced at an invitation-only ceremony at Dance Base, 14-16
Grassmarket, Edinburgh, on the evening of Sunday, August 28, presented by Nick Awde
(Stage Edinburgh team head).

Brian Attwood, the Editor of The Stage, added: "Once again The Stage Awards have been
richly served by the wide array of talent participating on the Edinburgh fringe. It's our hope
that, as ever, the industry publication can serve them too, by providing the premier platform
for highlighting theatrical talent at the festival."

Full list of nominees

Best Actor
BILLY MACK for The Overcoat (Pleasance)
Art Malik for Rose (Pleasance)
SIMON MERRELLS for Oedipus (Pleasance)
MICHAEL PENG for Bashir Lazhar (Assembly)
NIKOLAUS SZENTMIKLOSI for Danny and The Deep Blue Sea (Remarkable Arts at St George's West)

Best Actress
LUCINDA CURTIS for Dust (Universal Arts at New Town Theatre)
SHIAN DENOVAN for Snap. Catch. Slam. (Pleasance)
ALESSIJA LAUSE for Danny and The Deep Blue Sea (Remarkable Arts at St George's West)
CATHERINE WALSH for The Wheel (Traverse)
MADELEINE WORRALL for The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Traverse at Ghillie Dhu)

Best Ensemble
BANANA BAG & BODICE for Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage (Assembly)
MADE FROM SCRATCH for Body of Water (Pleasance)
CITIZENS THEATRE for The Monster in the Hall (Traverse)
WARDROBE ENSEMBLE for Riot (Zoo)
National Theatre OF SCOTLAND for The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Traverse at Ghillie Dhu)
THEATRE AD INFINITUM for Translunar Paradise (Pleasance)

Best Solo Performer
JAKE ADDLEY for One Fine Day (Zoo)
JOE DOHERTY for Bones (Zoo)
NICOLA GUNN for At the Sans Hotel (Assembly)
GERARD LOGAN for The Rape of Lucrece (Zoo)
SABRINA MAHFOUZ for Dry Ice (Underbelly)
GUY MASTERSON for Shylock (Assembly)