The winners of The Pantomime Awards 2024 were announced at a ceremony at G Live in Guildford this week.
Audiences were entertained with musical performances by Rob Madge (My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do?)), panto Dame Matthew Siviter, clown Tweedy, and students from Stagecoach Performing Arts, whilst the event was presented by Angellica Bell, Myra DuBois and Ore Oduba.
British Theatre Guide’s own Simon Sladen, chair of the UK Pantomime Association, said, “congratulations to all the nominees and winners at The Pantomime Awards 2024! There is such a wealth of talent across the pantomime industry, which these awards truly acknowledge and celebrate. Pantomime is an important and integral aspect of British culture, and one the UK Pantomime Association is proud to champion.”
The award winners are:
Outstanding Achievement Award
- Twins FX for their exceptional contribution to the pantomime industry. The creativity of their special effects have revolutionised the genre and help create the true magic of pantomime.
Special Recognition Awards
- Award for Achievement in Inclusive Practice - Aladdin at Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling
- Award for Achievement in Innovation - Cinderella at The Theatre, Chipping Norton
Award for Pantomime History, Tradition and Heritage
- Michael J Batchelor whose inventive and playful designs have perfected the art of costuming the Dame
Best Choreography
- Myles Brown: Beauty and the Beast, Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells (Little Wolf Entertainment)
Best Comic
- Matt Slack: Jack and the Beanstalk, Birmingham Hippodrome (Crossroads Pantomimes)
Best Costume Design
- Dawn Allsopp: Snow White, Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds (In-House)
Christopher Biggins Awards For Best Dame
- Ben Roddy: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Marlowe Theatre and Evolution Productions)
Best Direction
- Simon Fielding: Cinderella, Towngate Theatre, Basildon (Towngate Theatre and Simon Fielding Ltd)
Best Ensemble
- Danielle Cato, Oliver Imeson, Sophie Karaolis, Sarah Jane Lowe, Louis Parkins and Luke Stone: Mother Goose, Cambridge Arts Theatre (In-House)
Best Lighting Design
- Jamie Corbidge: Cinderella, Swansea Grand Theatre (Imagine Theatre)
Carmen Silvera Award For Best Magical Being
- Amanda Henderson: Jack and the Beanstalk, Rhyl Pavilion (Anton Benson Productions)
Best Contribution To Music
- Chris Wong: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Marlowe Theatre and Evolution Productions)
Best Early Career Newcomer
- Jewelle Hutchinson: Cinderella, Nottingham Playhouse (In-House)
Best Newcomer To Pantomime
- Benjamin Armstrong: Aladdin, Lighthouse Theatre, Poole (In-House)
Barbara Windsor Award For Best Principal Lead
- Alexandra Mardell: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Theatre Royal Plymouth (Crossroads Pantomimes)
Best Script
- Paul Hendy: Aladdin, Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury (Marlowe Theatre and Evolution Productions)
Best Secondary Lead
- Lotti Brogan: Dick Whittington, King’s Lynn Corn Exchange (Jordan Productions)
Best Set Design
- David Shields: Snow White, Grand Theatre Wolverhampton (In-House)
Best Sisters
- Iain Lauchlan and Andy Hockley: Cinderella, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry (Belgrade Theatre and Imagine Theatre)
Best Sound Design
- Nigel Bayliss: Sleeping Beauty, Theatre Royal Bath (UK Productions)
Best Supporting Artist
- Ben Tanner: Mother Goose, Derby Arena (Little Wolf Entertainment)
Best Villain
- Wendi Harriott: Sleeping Beauty, Watersmeet Theatre, Rickmansworth (Paul Holman Associates)
Best Pantomime (under 500 seats)
- Aganeza Scrooge, Tron Theatre, Glasgow (In-House)
Best Pantomime (500–900 seats)
- Sleeping Beauty, Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage (Jordan Productions)
Best Pantomime (over 900 seats)
- Jack and the Beanstalk, Birmingham Hippodrome (Crossroads Pantomimes)
For these, the third Pantomime Association Awards, seventy judges saw 728 performances at 259 venues across the United Kingdom. A list of the nominees is available online.
The Pantomime Awards 2024 are presented in association with Stagecoach (awards sponsors are Breckman & Company, Trafalgar Entertainment John Good, Drama Kids, Production Light and Sound, Howden Insurance, Blue i Group, and Staffordshire University).