THE DUBLIN FRINGE FESTIVAL ended on Sunday night, with the presentation of 11 awards chosen from more than 120 shows presented over the 16-day festival.
The event took place in the Hennessy Spiegeltent at Iveagh Gardens - this was the first time the Fringe hub has been based there - with performances from La Clique, Cathy Davey, Bouffon Glass Menajoree, Joseph Keckler and others.
The Spirit of the Fringe Commissioning Award(€4,000 commissioning grant), presented in association with Project Arts Centre to the company that "best embodies the Spirit of the Fringe - fresh, brave and exciting", went to The Woman Who Left Herself(Jouissance Productions), pictured left. Other nominees: Bouffon Glass Menajoree(Ten Directions); Etiquette(Rotozaza); Rock Paper Scissors(RYT Performance Lab); Pinocchio(Silvia Mercuriali and Gemma Brockis).
The Best Productionwinner (€750) was Susan and Darren(Quarantine). Other nominees in the category were: Grasping the Floor With the Back of my Head(Mute Company); War of the Roses(Whiplash); Polaroid(Jo Strømgron Kompani); Bygones(Ingun Bjørnsgaard Prosjekt).
Best Design(€500) was won by The Four Horsemen(Volcano) for its overall design. Other nominees were Chronicles of a Sleepless Moon(overall design, Suitcase Royale); Tundra(lighting design by Conleth White).
The new Bewleys Cafe Theatre Award(€500 plus the chance to present the show at Bewleys), presented to the best Irish Fringe show of less than an hour's duration, was won by Luck(Making Strange Theatre Company). Other nominees: The Common Will(Painted Filly Theatre Company); La Voix Humaine(Randolf SD); Life After Love(Billie Traynor); Love 2.0(thisispopbaby).
The Fishamble New Writing Awardis to a new or emerging Irish (or Irish-based) playwright premiered during the Fringe. The prize includes a playwriting course, dramaturgical support and €1,000 towards the writer's next play. The winner was Elaine Murphy ( Little Gem). Other nominees: Phillip McMahon and Belinda McKeon ( Love 2.0); Jody O'Neill ( They Never Froze Walt Disney); Lawrie Pendlebury ( Thicker Than Water).
Best Female Performer(€500) was won by Anita Reeves, Hilda Fay and Aoife Duffin ( Little Gem). Other nominees were Ana Schmidt ( IDentity dFragments); Saori Tsukada ( Saori's Birthday); Germana Civera ( The Forest); Sigrid Husjord Og Valravin ( Grasping the Floor With the Back of my Head).
Best Male Performer(€500) was Raymond Scannell ( Mimic). Other nominees: Joseph Keckler ( Cat Lady); Robbie O'Connor ( Rock Paper Scissors); Karl Quinn ( All in the Timing); Daniel Costello ( Appointment in Limbo).
Best Spiegeltent Showwas Cathy Davey, for her show Songs that scare children(but in a very beautiful way), presented by Hum and Aiken Promotions. Other nominees: The Fall, presented by Crawdaddy; An Evening with Fujiya and Miyagi, presented by Steo da Cat.
The Culture Ireland Touring Award(€5,000) went to Drinking Dust(Junk Ensemble). This is the first year of a scheme from the Dublin Fringe Festival and Culture Ireland to encourage the international touring and promotion of new Irish work premiered at the festival.
Two awards not chosen by the judging panel are the Audience Choiceaward and Fringe Wild Card(with the prize of a place on Theatre Forum's Next Stage programme). The RTÉ Radio 1 Fringe Audience Choice winner was Love 2.0, from thisispopbaby in association with the Abbey Theatre, and the the Fringe Wild Card went to Aedin D'Arcy of thisisnotashop.
Other nominees and winners of the Fringe awards were chosen by a judging panel, which this year comprised chairwoman Sarah Pyle; photographer and DJ Aidan Kelly; musician Simon Cullen; Geoffrey Perrin, lecturer in sound design at IADT; photographer Richard Gilligan; Bea Kelleher (account director, Olgivyone); theatre director and performer Jaimie Carswell; businesswoman Kay Scorah ; Siobhán O'Malley of the Dock, Leitrim; composer George Higgs; Rough Magic producer Diego Fasciati; Katie Holly (producer, Blinder Films); and Dominic Campbell, arts consultant/artistic director of the Bealtaine Festival.
