Established in 2001 to promote the Australian live performance industry nationally and internationally, the Helpmanns are the Australian equivalent of the Olivier and Tony awards.
In the world of theatre, Sydney Theatre Company came away from the awards ceremony victorious, a telling endorsement for the artistic vision of the husband and wife team of Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton. Nominated for 10 awards, the company’s production of The War of the Roses, starring Cate Blanchett herself, picked up six, including best play and director (Benedict Andrews).
But it was the former artistic director of STC who picked up best actress over Cate – Robyn Nevin collected the award for her tour-de-force performance in Women of Troy.
In all, STC received 14 nominations and seven wins spread over three productions – The War of the Roses, Women of Troy and The Wonderful World of Dissocia.
The awards were tinged with sadness as the best music direction award recipient was Richard Hickox for Billy Budd. The head of Opera Australia died suddenly from a heart-attack earlier this year.
| Gatz | Sydney Opera House & Brisbane Powerhouse |
| Ivanov | Katona Jozsef Theatre, Sydney Festival |
| War of the Roses | Sydney Theatre Company |
| Women of Troy | Sydney Theatre Company |
| Benedict Andrews | War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Neil Armfield | Scorched (Company B) |
| Peter Evans | Blackbird (Melbourne Theatre Co) |
| Barrie Kosky | Women of Troy (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Robert Menzies | War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Colin Moody | Antigone (Thin Ice) |
| Greg Stone | Blackbird (Melbourne Theatre Co) |
| Ben Winspear | Baghdad Wedding (Company B) |
| Alison Bell | Blackbird (Melbourne Theatre Co) |
| Cate Blanchett | War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Robyn Nevin | Women of Troy (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Pamela Rabe | War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Jimi Bani | Yibiyung (Company B) |
| Mark Jones | Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd (Arena) |
| Ewen Leslie | War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Grant Piro | Realism (Melbourne Theatre Co) |
| Marta Dusseldorp | War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Bojana Novakovic | Woyzeck (Malthouse) |
| Christen O’Leary | Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd (Arena) |
| Yael Stone | Scorched (Company B) |
| Monty Python’s Spamalot |
| My Fair Lady |
| Shane Warne The Musical |
| Wicked |
| Geordie Brookman | Metro Street |
| Neil Gooding | Gutenberg The Musical |
| Lisa Leguillou | Wicked |
| Stuart Maunder | My Fair Lady |
| Wayne Cilento | Wicked |
| Gideon Obarzanek | Shane Warne The Musical |
| Jo Stone | Metro Street |
| Nathan M Wright | Gutenberg The Musical |
| Bille Brown | Monty Python’s Spamalot |
| Reg Livermore | My Fair Lady |
| Todd McKenney | Priscilla Queen of the Desert |
| Eddie Perfect | Shane Warne The Musical |
| Lucy Durack | Wicked |
| Amanda Harrison | Wicked |
| Sharon Millerchip | Chicago |
| Lucinda Shaw | Monty Python’s Spamalot |
| Damien Bermingham | Chicago |
| Robert Grubb | My Fair Lady |
| Rob Guest | Wicked |
| Derek Metzger | Monty Python’s Spamalot |
| Nancye Hayes | My Fair Lady |
| Maggie Kirkpatrick | Wicked |
| Gina Riley | Chicago |
| Ursula Yovich | Jerry Springer The Musical |
| Aida | West Australian Opera |
| Billy Budd | Opera Australia |
| The Coronation of Poppea | Victorian Opera |
| The Navigator | Brisbane & Melbourne Festivals |
| Neil Armfield | Billy Budd (Opera Australia) |
| Kate Cherry | The Coronation of Poppea (Victorian Opera) |
| Chris Kohn | The Children’s Bach (ChamberMade) |
| Graeme Murphy | Aida (West Australian Opera) |
| David Hansen | The Coronation of Poppea (Victorian Opera) |
| Philip Langridge | Billy Budd (Opera Australia) |
| Jonathan Summers | Otello (Opera Australia) |
| John Wegner | Billy Budd (Opera Australia) |
| Cheryl Barker | The Makropoulos Affair (Opera Australia) |
| Susan Bullock | Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk (Opera Australia) |
| Rachelle Durkin | A Flowering Tree (Perth Festival) |
| Tiffany Speight | The Coronation of Poppea (Victorian Opera) |
| Kanen Breen | Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk (Opera Australia) |
| Andrew Foote | The Barber of Seville (West Australian Opera) |
| Luke Gabbedy | The Marriage of Figaro (West AustralianOpera) |
| John Wegner | Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk (Opera Australia) |
| Fiona Campbell | The Marriage of Figaro (West AustralianOpera) |
| Dominica Matthews | Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk (Opera Australia) |
| Emma Pearson | The Magic Flute (Opera Australia) |
| Sally Wilson | The Coronation of Poppea (Victorian Opera) |
| Australian Brandenburg Orch | Mozart Requiem |
| Australian Chamber Orch | Euphoric |
| Australian Youth Orchestra | Beethoven - Festival Piano Concerto No 5 |
| West Australian Symphony Orch | A Flowering Tree |
| Eggner Trio |
| Pacifica Quartet | Black Angels |
| Soundstream | Ecstatic Dances |
| Theatre of Voices | The Little Match Girl Passion |
| Kolja Blacher | Mendelssohn Violin Concerto |
| Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra |
| Diana Doherty | Mozart, Beethoven & Schubert |
| Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
| Lisa Gasteen | The Valkyrie |
| West Australian Symphony Orchestra |
| Genevieve Lacey | The Four Seasons |
| Australian Brandenburg Orchestra |
| Herbert Schuch | The Beethoven Festival |
| Australian Youth Orchestra |
| Graeme Murphy’s Firebird | Australian Ballet |
| Mathinna | Bangarra Dance Co |
| Two Faced Bastard | Chunky Move |
| we unfold | Sydney Dance Co |
| 30th Birthday Bash | Circus Oz |
| At First Sight | National Institute of Circus Arts |
| Cinderella on Ice | Lunchbox |
| Lands End | Compagnie Philippe Genty |
| Phillip Adams | Axeman Lullaby (BalletLab) |
| Rafael Bonachela | we unfold (Sydney Dance Co) |
| Graeme Murphy | Firebird (Australian Ballet) |
| Stephen Page | Mathinna (Bangarra Dance Co) |
| Bradley Chatfield | Sid’s Waltzing Masquerade (Sydney Dance Co) |
| Antony Hamilton | Two Faced Bastard (Chunky Move) |
| Reed Luplau | Sid’s Waltzing Masquerade (Sydney Dance Co) |
| Byron Perry | Corridor (Lucy Guerin Inc) |
| Juliette Barton | we unfold (Sydney Dance Co) |
| Michelle Heaven | Two Faced Bastard (Chunky Move) |
| Lana Jones | Firebird (Australian Ballet) |
| Annabel Knight | 360° Degrees (Sydney Dance Co) |
| Leonard Cohen |
| Coldplay |
| Grace Jones |
| Neil Young |
| Paul Kelly |
| Kylie |
| Morning of the Earth |
| Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu |
| 2008 Queenscliff Music Festival |
| Big Day Out 2009 |
| Homebake Music, Film & Arts Festival |
| V Festival |
| Adam Hills | Adam Hills – Inflatable |
| Judith Lucy | Judith Lucy’s Not Getting Any Younger |
| Tim Minchin | Tim Minchin - Ready For This? |
| Julia Morris | Don’t You Know Who I Used To Be? |
| Back to Back Theatre Co | Foodcourt |
| Andy Griffiths | Just Macbeth (Bell Shakespeare Co) |
| Eddie Perfect | Shane Warne The Musical |
| Matthew Robinson | Metro Street (State Theatre Co of South Australia) |
| Bell Shakespeare | Just Macbeth |
| English National Ballet | Angelina’s Star Performance |
| Flying Fruit Fly Circus | The Promise |
| Windmill & Brink | The Clockwork Forest |
| Liza Lim | The Navigator (Brisbane & Melbourne Festivals) |
| The Necks | Foodcourt (Back to Back Theatre Co) |
| David Page | Mathinna (Bangarra Dance Co) |
| Stephen Schwartz | Wicked |
| Matthew Carey | Metro Street (State Theatre Co of South Australia) |
| Nicolette Fraillon | Firebird (Australian Ballet) |
| Richard Hickox | Billy Budd (Opera Australia) |
| Martin Lowe | Jerry Springer The Musical |
| Susan Hilferty | Wicked |
| Michelle Jank | Sid’s Waltzing Masquerade (Sydney Dance Co) |
| Roger Kirk | My Fair Lady (Opera Australia) |
| Tess Schofield | The Wonderful World of Dissocia (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Robert Cousins | The War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Bruce Gladwin, Mark Cuthbertson & Rhian Hinckley | Foodcourt (Back to Back Theatre Co) |
| Eugene Lee | Wicked |
| Brian Thomson | Billy Budd (Opera Australia) |
| Geoff Cobham | Metro Street (State Theatre Co of South Australia) |
| Nigel Levings | Billy Budd (Opera Australia) |
| Kenneth Posner | Wicked |
| Nick Schlieper | War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| David Franzke | Venus Adonis (Bell Shakespeare & The Malthouse Theatre) |
| George Gorga | we unfold (Sydney Dance Co) |
| Max Lyandvert | War of the Roses (Sydney Theatre Co) |
| Tony Meola | Wicked |
| Hidden Republic | The Black Armband |
| Sound Relief | Benefit Concert for Victorian Bushfire Victims, Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Sydney Festival | Dawn Chorus |
| Sydney Festival | Festival First Night |
