Awards season for Dolphin Theatre2 min read

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Representatives from local institution Dolphin Theatre graced the Auckland Community Theatre Trust Awards nominees list with a whopping 44 nominations.

At the time of going to print, the awards ceremony will have taken place, and regardless of the outcome, it’s an impressive list of nods.

Popular play, Kimberly Akimbo, stood out with a remarkable 11 nominations, including make up and costume design, best properties in a play, lighting design, set design, stage management, two supporting performances, two leading performances, ensemble performance and direction.

Another top nominee was Misery, which earned ten nominations and Rehearsal for Murder, with seven.

The theatre also had its own awards night in February, which they have renamed “The Ronnies”, in honour of theatre founder, Veronica Dow.

The Dolphin is now in its seventh decade and is still evolving and staying current, and the awards night was no different, with some categories updated to be more inclusive.

“Instead of best lead actor, we’ve decided to say best performance by an actor in a male role,” says committee member, actor and director, Mike Daley.

Next year, they’ll also add Best Ensemble to the list. The awards night also saw the first plaque added to a theatre seat to acknowledge someone’s service to Dolphin. The inaugural plaque honoured former set designer, Nick McKinstry, who passed away in 2022.

Currently on stage at Dolphin Theatre is The Ocean Star, penned by Shortland Street stalwart, Michael Galvin (aka Dr Chris Warner), and is described as ‘a darkly comic tale of family dysfunction at its finest.’ The show runs until 16th March.

Mike says they try and have a variety of plays throughout the year, including a murder mystery, a New Zealand work, something classic and something modern. This year, Clue, based on the board game Cluedo, will be staged, as well as Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Tickets for all shows are at dolphintheatre.org.nz