A Review of the 2020 Black British Theatre Awards
A Review of the 2020 Black British Theatre Awards
On Sunday 25th October 2020, Sky Arts aired the second Black British Theatre Awards.
Established to highlight and celebrate the influence of Black performers and creatives in the UK, the innovative award show hosted at the Young Vic is founded by Actor Omar F. Okai and Solange Urdang.
Opening
The show opened with a superb soulful all-black band singing songs by black musicians. The ceremony started and maintained a joyful vibe throughout.
The first winner of the night was Kenrick Sandy MBE who won ‘Best Choreographer Award’ and later in the evening won ‘Best Dance Performance In A Dance Production Award’. He graced the stage dancing to soca music and even performed a grime rap song on the mic.
Bringing their own unique flair to the screen, each award recipient of the Black British Theatre Awards performed some form of entertainment. From melodies to rhythmic dancing, they freely expressed whatever they felt led to perform, to celebrate receiving their award. Classics like Back To Life By by Soul II Soul were sung by the band as winners approached the stage.
Other award winners of the night included Noah Thomas, from ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ for Black Male Actor In A Musical. Noah sang sweet melodies on the mic when accepting his well-deserved award.
Noah’s counterpart category, ‘Best Female Actress In a Musical’ was won by & Juliet star, Miriam Teak-Lee.
In between each award acceptance, the programme also featured a separate pre-recorded segment where winners spoke further about why they enjoy their art form. Jill Scott-Golden played in the background as they spoke; the perfect song to describe their magical moment.
Presenters
Hosted by Eddie Nester, guest presenters of this year’s Black British Theatre Awards included Obioma Ugoala and Jamael Westman from Hamilton, Danny Sapani from Black Panther, amongst others.
A striking speech of the night was from Rachel Nwokoro who won the Disability Champion award. Rachel shared her personal journey to accepting her disability. She chanted ‘they can’t stop us’ routinely, when rounding up her speech, coaxing the socially distanced crowd to their feet in united applause.
The event ended as it begun, on a high note, as the live band continued to bring soulful vibes and the room rose to their feet to dance. It was a spectacular display of black excellence in various creative forms.
Winners:
BEST DIRECTOR AWARD FOR A PLAY OR MUSICAL
Nadia Latif, Fairview, Young Vic Theatre
BEST PRODUCER AWARD
Adrian Grant, Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre
BEST CHOREOGRAPHER AWARD
Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE, REDD, Barbican Theatre
BEST DANCE PERFORMANCE IN A DANCE PRODUCTION AWARD
Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE, REDD, Barbican Theatre
BEST DANCE PRODUCTION AWARD
Ingoma, Ballet Black, Barbican Theatre
BEST USE OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
‘Nicole Raquel Dennis and Ryan Carter, Turn Up, Cadogan Hall
LIGHT AND SOUND RECOGNITION AWARD
Carmen Wright
COSTUME DESIGN RECOGNITION AWARD
Natalie Pryce
BOOK AND LYRICS RECOGNITION AWARD
MUSICAL DIRECTOR RECOGNITION AWARD
Ian Oakley
CASTING DIRECTOR RECOGNITION AWARD
Isabella Odoffin
BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Rakie Ayola, On Bear Ridge, Royal Court Theatre
BEST MALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Valentine Olukoga, The Fishermen, Trafalgar Studios
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Cherrelle Skeete, The High Table, Bush Theatre
BEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR IN A PLAY
Nari Blair-Mangat, Cyrano de Bergerac, Playhouse Theatre
BEST PRODUCTION PLAY
Death of a Salesman, Piccadilly Theatre
BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Miriam-Teak Lee, & Juliet, The Shaftesbury Theatre
BEST MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Noah Thomas,Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Nicole Raquel Dennis, Dear Evan Hansen, Noël Coward Theatre
BEST SUPPORTING MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL AWARD
Nicholas McLean, Wicked, Apollo Victoria Theatre
BEST MUSICAL PRODUCTION AWARD
Thriller Live, Lyric Theatre
LGBTQ CHAMPION AWARD
Layton Williams
DISABILITY CHAMPION AWARD
Rachel Nwokoro
BEST TEACHER OF PERFORMING ARTS AS A SUBJECT AWARD
David Blake, WAC Arts
BEST RECENT GRADUATE AWARD
Tonye Scott-Obene, Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Shirley Thompson
Written By: Maxine Harrison – a freelance writer and founder of the Remi Reports blog – a blog helping freelance creatives build their business and lifestyle. She has published pieces in The Independent and The Voice Newspaper.
Header Image: courtesy of Black British Theatre Awards – Photo of LGBTQ+ Champions Award presenter Kim Tatum