Cate Blanchett, Philip Quast, Geoffrey Rush, et al. Among Australia’s Helpmann Award Winners

The winners of the 2011 Helpmann Awards have been announced. The prizes were presented in a ceremony held on August 1 at the Sydney Opera House, hosted by Jonathan Biggins.

Geoffrey Rush has won the Helpmann for Best Male Actor in a Play for his performance in The Diary of a Madman, which also picked up an award for its director, Neil Armfield, and Cate Blanchett has won for Best Female Actor in a Play for Uncle Vanya. In addition, Belvoir’s revival of Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck has been named Best Play, and Anthony Phelan and Anita Hegh have both been honored with awards for their supporting performances in the production.

Mary Poppins has won eight awards, including ones for Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, for Richard Eyre and Matthew Bourne, and Best Choreography, for Bourne and Stephen Mear. The show has also won prizes for its leads, Verity Hunt-Ballard and Matt Lee, as well as for Philip Quast, who has been named Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.

Other musical awards have gone to Esther Hannaford for her performance in Hairspray, and the musical Love Never Dies received three awards, including two for Gabriela Tylesova (for Best Scenic Design and Best Costume Design) and one for Nick Schlieper (for Best Lighting Design).

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