Human Helen bags top award at Buxton Fringe

Published: 26 July 2016
Reporter: Steve Orme

Best actor: Helen Rutter
Top young actor: Eleanor Hibbert receives her award from Robbie Carnegie Credit: Ian J Parkes
Family award: Mouth of Lions for Dr Zeiffal, Dr Zeigal and the Hippo that Can Never Be Caught

Derbyshire actor Helen Rutter picked up a best actor award for her one-woman show Human at Buxton Festival Fringe.

Daniel Holme won a similar award for his role in Anna Beecher’s Skin of the Teeth.

The production award went to the one-man show Waiting Room by All Things Considered Theatre. The new writing award went to David Holmes and Kieran O’Rourke, writers of The Communist Threat. The John Beecher award for original, challenging work with high production values went to Raving Mask for The Conductor.

Buxton Community School student Eleanor Hibbert swept the board in the young theatre category, picking up a youth production award, a youth actor award and a nomination for new writing for her show Dolly’s Playlist.

The football-inspired show The Beautiful Game from Nottingham’s Next Door Dance won the dance award, Steve Larkin won spoken word with his prison-based piece N.O.N.C.E and Mouth of Lions won the families award for their show Dr Zeiffal, Dr Zeigal and the Hippo that Can Never Be Caught.

Chair Keith Savage said the intention of the awards ceremony was to “acknowledge and recognise the wonderful creative work that has been presented to us over the past 19 days”.

The Fringe committee gave a special award to Underground Venues which started in the basement of the Old Hall Hotel in 2006 and has completed its final year there because of the redevelopment of The Crescent. The award was to thank it for “making the Fringe a much bigger and more prestigious event and for bringing people to Buxton who might otherwise not have come”.

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