Toot-too-tooooot-toot! – it’s the 2025 Nelson Fringe Awards
We had a team of very dedicated judges who (between them) managed to see every single show in the festival. Phew! We thank each and every one of them from the bottom of our festy hearts. We then collated their feedback, and voilà – a list of Awards!
Congratulations everyone! It’s a massive effort to get on stage for a fringe show, whether it’s a well-honed show-on-the-road, or a brand-new, bunny-in-the-limelight kinda experience. Every performer (and their phenomenal support crew) deserve almighty praise for their triumphs.
HUGE congrats to our winners!
BEST OF THE FEST
Winner: THE KIDS MIGHT DIE (a tale told by an idiot) (Young & Wise Theatre Co)
Nominees:
– A Year and a Day (Raising Cain Productions)
– Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers (Accordion Ryan)
– Bottom Surgery (Lily Catastrophe)
– Rubber Gloves: The Glad Rags Story (Glad Rags Cleaning)
BEST SOLO PERFORMER
Winner: Christopher Sainton-Clark – A Year and a Day
Nominees:
– Huen, Suzanne – Dance with Dementia
– Daniel Nodder – Only Bones – Daniel Nodder
– Jill Young – THE KIDS MIGHT DIE (a tale told by an idiot)
BEST ENSEMBLE
Winner: Rubber Gloves: The Glad Rags Story – Jennifer Currie & Trish Sullivan
Nominees:
– Laser Kiwi Good Time – work in progress
– Lines & Lyrics: Poems & Songs by Mark Raffills & Leigh Strange
– Tell Tales Collective
– The Elephant in the Room
BEST ACTOR
Winner: Christopher Sainton-Clark – A Year and a Day
Nominees:
– Huen, Suzanne – Dance with Dementia
– Tom Knowles – The Uber-cool Musical
– Jill Young – THE KIDS MIGHT DIE (a tale told by an idiot)
BEST DIRECTOR
Winner: Calliope Weisman – THE KIDS MIGHT DIE (a tale told by an idiot)
Nominees:
– Donna Chapman – Cheese Wraps & Blueberries
– Susanne Smith – Frankenstein Abridged
– Juliet Thompson-Blythe – The Extra
BEST SCRIPT
Winner: Christopher Sainton-Clark – A Year and a Day
Nominees:
– Lily Catastrophe – Bottom Surgery
– Nikkie Karki – Cheese Wraps & Blueberries
– Tom Knowles – The Uber-cool Musical
– Jill Young – THE KIDS MIGHT DIE (a tale told by an idiot)
BEST STAND UP
Winner: Naomi Strain: Rampage – the true story of a drug-fuelled adventure at Nelson Hospital
Nominees:
– Glenn Cousins: A Stand-up Show!
– Itay Dom: Half-Baked Ideas
– Snap: Spinster
BEST DESIGN
Winner: Chuang, Yu-Fang – Dance With Dementia (Lighting Design)
Nominees:
– Charlie Jones – Blip (Video and Projection)
– Jennifer Currie & Trish Sullivan – Rubber Gloves: The Glad Rags Story (Costume)
– Calliope Weisman – THE KIDS MIGHT DIE (a tale told by an idiot) (Lighting Design)
BEST LOCAL SHOW
Winner: Rampage – the true story of a drug-fuelled adventure at Nelson Hospital (Naomi Strain)
Nominees:
– Rubber Gloves: The Glad Rags Story (Glad Rags Cleaning)
– The Elephant in the Room (Breffni O’Rourke)
– The Extra (Earnest Productions)
Special Mention: Up Late Cabaret (which would have been nominated except that it included some non-local artists)
BEST CABARET OR MUSICAL
Winner: Bottom Surgery (Lily Catastrophe)
Nominees:
– Accordion Ryan (Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers)
– Captain Houndstooth (Captain Houndstooth)
– FunnYouth (CRE8)
– Up Late Cabaret (Nelson Showgirl Academy)
MOST INNOVATIVE SHOW
Winner: Only Bones – Daniel Nodder (Daniel Nodder)
Nominees:
– blip (blip the siren)
– Bottom Surgery (Lily Catastrophe)
– The Uber-cool Musical (Tom Knowles)
DEVELOPMENT AWARD
(given to a show with fewer than 7 previous performances or 3 seasons)
Winner: Rubber Gloves: The Glad Rags Story (Glad Rags Cleaning)
Nominees:
– Laser Kiwi Good Times – work in progress (COLOSSAL/Laser Kiwi)
– Bottom Surgery (Lily Catastrophe)
– The Elephant in the Room (Breffni O’Rourke)
– The Extra (Earnest Productions)
SPIRIT OF THE FRINGE
Juliet Thompson-Blythe, writer and director of The Extra
Acknowledging and celebrating a teenager for having the determination, ability and spirit to create, write, direct and produce a show at the Fringe. She made it happen!
