The Matilda Awards are awards which recognise excellence in

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, and

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

in southeast Queensland.

History

Established in 1987 by Alison Cotes and Sue Gough, the awards are an annual event held in February or March. The awards are voted by a panel of industry personnel and critics and membership of the panel has changes over time. In 2012 Silver and Gold Matilda statuettes were introduced, awarded for either a single work or a body of work over time. There were five Gold Awards each year but in 2015 only one was awarded as a result of industry advice. In 2013 the Award for the Best Emerging Artist was changed to Bille Brown Award for Best Emerging Artist, named after the late actor. At the 2015 awards co-founder Alison Cotes was farewelled after 25 years on the committee. She later wrote:

"In spite of many changes over its 29 year history, and the often bitter political rows about format and judges, the Matilda Awards are still going strong, and with the backing of Arts Queensland will continue to develop, even if they do annoy many people along the way and attract plenty of criticism."

At the 2015 awards the Gold Matilda was awarded posthumously to

Carol Burns Carol Ann Burns (29 October 1947 – 22 December 2015) was an Australian actress, theatre director and patron of the arts, with a career spanning 50 years. She worked extensively in theatre and television serials, as well as telemovies and min ...

. She was renowned in Brisbane theatre and the audience responded with a standing ovation. There has been some criticism by Kate Wilson (actor, director, teacher) that the awards only recognize Brisbane productions, and for the number of categories. Nathalael Cooper wrote in the ''

Brisbane Times Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

'' that the Matildas give Brisbane performers/craftsmen recognition as the national

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...

tend to ignore Brisbane productions. Over the years awards have been won by productions from many theatre companies including

Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) is a national Australian institution for the culturally sensitive training of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people in the performing arts. Founded in 1997, it has been loca ...

, Fractal Theatre Company, Harvest Rain,

Judith Wright Arts Centre The Judith Wright Arts Centre, formerly the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts, is a visual arts, visual and performing arts centre in Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Queensland. The venue was renovated and re- ...

, La Boite, Grin 'n' Tonic, little red company, Metro Arts, Monsters Appear,

Oscar Theatre Company The Oscar Theatre Company is a theater company operating in Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of ap ...

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...

(QTC), shake & stir, The Escapists, Wax Lyrical, and Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre.

Hall of Fame

In 2011, the Matilda Awards created a Hall of Fame which recognizes performers/craftsmen for a body of work. Current inductees are Sven Swenson, Sue Rider, Eugene Gilfedder, David Walters, Bill Haycock, Dale Ferguson, Andrew Buchanan, Caroline Kennison, Michael Futcher, Helen Howard, Greg Clarke, Hayden Spencer, Helen Cassidy, and Jennifer Flowers.

Awards

Winners are listed on the Matilda Awards website.

References

{{Reflist Australian theatre awards Awards established in 1987 Culture of Brisbane