David Tennant and Catherine Tate’s Much Ado About Nothing pairing nominated for Theatre Event of the Year.
Legends Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones both up for Best Actress and Best Actor for Broadway transfer of Driving Miss Daisy.

James Corden, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tamsin Greig, Jude Law, Kevin Spacey, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ruth Wilson, Sheridan Smith, Arthur Darvill, Amanda Holden, Nigel Harman, Mark Gattiss, Richard Fleeshman, Tara Fitzgerald, Simon Callow, Matt Lucas, Alfie Boe, Ruby Wax, Reece Shearsmith, Sarah Lancashire and Daniel Kitson receive performance nods.

Blockbusters Matilda and Ghost – both directed by Matthew Warchus – go head to head with 9 nominations each, including Best New Musical and London Newcomer of the Year for Matilda’s Tim Minchin.

Ecstasy and Grief: Mike Leigh up for Best Play Revival and Best New Play.
The National leads the way with 22 nominations, including five for One Man, Two Guvnors and four for Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein.

The shortlist of nominations for the 12th annual Whatsonstage.com Awards were revealed yesterday at a star-studded launch party at London’s Café de Paris. The Awards from the UK’s leading theatre website are the only UK event for the theatre industry voted for purely by the ticket-buying public. More than 11,000 theatregoers have cast nominations for their favourite performances and productions across 26 different award categories.

A major year for musicals

In the battle of the big musicals, screen-to-stager Ghost the Musical goes head-to-head with the RSC’s musical adaptation of Matilda, which opened in the West End after a sell-out season at Stratford-upon-Avon, with both grabbing nine nominations each.

In addition to competing for the Best New Musical, the shows’ stars are running neck and neck in all the musical performance categories: Best Actor in a Musical (Ghost’s Richard Fleeshman vs Matilda’s Bertie Carvel), Best Actress in a Musical (Caissie Levy vs the four young girls who alternate as Matilda), Best Supporting Actor in a Musical (Andrew Langtree vs Paul Kaye) and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical (Sharon D Clarke vs Lauren Ward).

The two blockbusters share key members of their creative teams with Matthew Warchus (Best Director) and Rob Howell (Best Designer) duly nominated for their work on both productions. Matilda’s composer and lyricist, comedian Tim Minchin, is also singled out for London Newcomer of the Year for his musical debut.

Several of the year’s other big musicals are also nominated, including Crazy for You, Betty Blue Eyes (with six apiece), Rock of Ages, Shrek the Musical (with five apiece) and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production of The Wizard of Oz (with four).

Also in the running for Best Actress in a Musical are: Amanda Holden (Shrek), Clare Foster (Crazy for You), Emma Williams (Love Story) and Sarah Lancashire (Betty Blue Eyes). Additional Best Actor in a Musical nominees are: Nigel Lindsay (Shrek), Oliver Tompsett (Rock of Ages), Reece Shearsmith (Betty Blue Eyes) and Sean Palmer (Crazy for You).

Les Miserables, which won three awards in the 2011 Awards for its 25th anniversary celebrations, receives three nominations for the 2012 Awards: co-stars Alfie Boe and Matt Lucas (who reprised their O2 birthday gala performances in a limited West End season this year) compete for Best Takeover in a Role, and the Cameron Mackintosh production battles other long-runners Jersey Boys, The Phantom of the Opera, War Horse, We Will Rock You and Wicked for Best West End Show bragging rights.

The play’s the thing

Waving the flag for big-hitter plays are the Donmar Warehouse’s revival of Anna Christie and the National’s One Man, Two Guvnors, with five nods each. One Man’s James Corden (a two-time host of the Whatsonstage.com Awards in 2008 and 2009) and Anna Christie’s Jude Law are both nominated for Best Actor in a Play, one of this year’s toughest fields, where the other nominees are Benedict Cumberbatch (Frankenstein), Kevin Spacey (Richard III), David Tennant (Much Ado About Nothing, Wyndham’s) and James Earl Jones (Driving Miss Daisy).

One Man, Two Guvnors is also tipped for Best New Comedy and earns nominations elsewhere for Jemima Rooper (Best Supporting Actress), Oliver Chris (Best Supporting Actor) and Nicholas Hytner (Best Director). And Anna Christie is shortlisted for Best Play Revival and Best Supporting Actor (David Hayman), while its leading lady Ruth Wilson faces stiff competition from Eve Best (Much Ado About Nothing, Globe), Kristin Scott Thomas (Betrayal), Samantha Spiro (Chicken Soup with Barley), Vanessa Redgrave (Driving Miss Daisy) and Tamsin Greig (Jumpy), who won this past year’s Whatsonstage.com Best Supporting Actress prize for The Little Dog Laughed.

Richard Bean (One Man Two Guvnors and The Heretic) is one of two playwrights nominated in two different categories. His Royal Court play, The Heretic, is up for Best New Play, competing with Grief, the latest stage play by Mike Leigh, whose Hampstead production of his 1976 play Ecstasy is shortlisted for Best Play Revival.

Sheridan Smith, who last year won the Whatsonstage.com and Olivier Best Actress in a Musical gongs for Legally Blonde, is nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Play for Flare Path. Hers is one of four nods for Flare Path, including Best Play Revival and Best Director for Trevor Nunn, who has overseen this year’s full in-house programme at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and is jointly nominated for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Big names, big events

This summer’s West End production of Much Ado About Nothing, reuniting Doctor Who’s David Tennant and Catherine Tate, caused such a stir that it has been nominated for Theatre Event of the Year, as well as Best Director (for Donmar Warehouse artistic director-in-waiting Josie Rourke) and Best Actor for Tennant. The 1980s-set Much Ado battles it out with Jeremy Herrin’s period production of the same play (and opened just a week earlier) at the Globe for Best Shakespearean Production.

The always-eclectic Theatre Event of the Year category also pays tribute to the RSC’s 50th anniversary season and reopening of its Royal Shakespeare Theatre home after a four-year, £112 million makeover. Other events in the running are: the Bush Theatre’s 24-hour cycle of 66 Books, Michael Sheen and Bill Mitchell’s The Passion for the National Theatre of Wales, Headlong’s 9/11 milestone Decade and The Phantom of the Opera’s 25th anniversary spectacular at the Royal Albert Hall.

The London Newcomer of the Year shortlist fields wide-ranging nominees from across plays and musicals. In addition to Tim Minchin for Matilda, there is Danielle Hope (The Wizard of Oz), X Factor winner Shayne Ward (Rock of Ages), musician-turned-actor Johnny Flynn (The Heretic), former EastEnder-cum-Strictly Come Dancing victor Kara Tointon (Pygmalion) and Kyle Soller (The Glass Menagerie, Government Inspector and The Faith Machine).

Other big names on this year’s shortlists include: Danny Boyle (nominated for Best Director for his return to the stage with Frankenstein), Catherine Tate (Best Supporting Actress for Season’s Greetings), Mark Gatiss (Best Supporting Actor for Season’s Greetings), Doon Mackichan (Best Supporting Actress for Jumpy), Niamh Cusack (Best Supporting Actress for Playboy of the Western World), Tara Fitzgerald (Best Takeover in a Role, Broken Glass) and outgoing Donmar boss Michael Grandage (Best Director for King Lear and Luise Miller).

Voting to crown the winners opened yesterday and will close at the end of January 2012. The winners will be revealed at the Awards Concert on 19 February 2012 at the West End’s Prince of Wales Theatre. Last year more than 46,000 theatregoers voted for their favourites. The Whatsonstage.com Awards are held in association with our 2012 presentation rights sponsor Time Out London in aid of this year’s adopted charity, Stage One, which is dedicated to developing the theatre producers of the future.

I’m backing Ruby Wax for Best Solo Performance in Losing It at the Menier Chocolate Factory & Duchess as well as ZooNation‘s Kate Prince for Best Choreographer for Some Like It Hip Hop, which is also nominated for Best Ensemble Performance. So, what are you waiting for? Get voting!

- See the full list of nominations
- Check out the photos

My recent creative thinking course was really inspiring. It was all about liberating creativity, exploring how creative thinking works and the most fun of all was the hands on approach in which I was able to experiment with a range of creativity techniques. It’s interesting to hear that creativity can be learned, so there is hope for those who claim that they do not have a creative mind.

Here are just some points on how to liberate your creativity:
- Culture is a strong homogeniser, so although it’s good to work with people that you get on with, you must mix it up a bit and work with a range of people, because that’s where you get the diffusion from
- Routine can corrode creativity – French critic Marcel Proust said: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having fresh eyes,” so creativity requires you to be curious of what’s around you and to have a child-like freshness approach to your surroundings
- To generate ideas you must stop evaluating at an early stage and judging yourself. Don’t kill the idea so quickly because you’re thinking about the practicalities (you can think about that at a later stage, give the idea some time to incubate) and no, you won’t sound stupid for contributing or for sharing your thoughts
- Assumptions, expectations and habit stop us from being creative.

Here’s a clip of Edward de Bono, one of the most celebrated advocates of lateral thinking.

I’ve just been doing some reading online and have found these sites. Check out the links below:
- Morphological matrix
- Creativty techniques
- Slide: Six Thinking Hats
- Slide: Creative Thinking Skills
- Introduction to Creative Thinking

Zeebox is available both as iPad and web app and it really brings a whole new social level to watching telly. This free app allows you to see what your Facebook friends are watching whilst simultaneously enabling you to chat with them. It also provides Twitter feeds, Google search results, Wikipedia articles etc. to anything related to the show, as well as iTunes links to music and films. Here’s a really good clip explaining what Zeebox is about:

Check out the promo:

It’s quite an exciting way of enabling the users to consume content. Zeebox is tagged as television’s new best friend. This companion viewing application has content at your finger tips and although there are still some features to fix / add, there is definitely a lot of potential for some cool second screen propositions that could create two-way experiences and contextual experiences around live television. What I particularly find impressive about Zeebox is its eCommerce element in which products on telly are not only recognised, reviewed and purchasable but it also allows synchronised first and second screen advertising. I feel that this is the beginning of being able to monetise this untamed landscape.

Rose said: “My goal is to create a win-win between technology and editorial.”

Zeebox is currently only available in the UK but there are firm plans to make it available globally.

Some interesting links:
- Zeebox website
- Huffington Post: Janis Curry – Will Zeebox revolutionise the way we watch TV?
- The Register: Natalie Apostolou – iPlayer founder launches next big TV thing-Zeebox

The RTS Craft & Design Awards recognise the huge variety of skills and processes involved in programme production, from costume design and digital effects to editing and lighting. Nigel Pickard, Group Director, Family Entertainment and Drama at Zodiak Media Group, chaired this year’s awards.

The biggest winner of the evening was The Crimson Petal and The White, produced for BBC Two by Origin Pictures/Cité Amérique, which won in three categories: Costume Design – Drama, Make Up Design – Drama and Production Design – Drama.

Other programmes awarded included 24 Hours In A&E, produced by The Garden Productions for Channel 4, which won Multicamera Work; Strike Back: Project Dawn, produced by Left Bank Pictures for Sky1 HD, which won Big Bang Stunts & Effects; and Downtown Abbey, produced by Carnival Film and Television for ITV1, which won Photography – Drama.

The Winners:

Effects – Digital
The Mill – Doctor Who – Series 6 ‘A Christmas Carol,’ BBC Wales for BBC One
“A vast array of visual effects, displaying a Hollywood-style ambition, was hugely impressive, despite a modest budget.”

Nominees
Phil Dobree, Dan Upton, Sophie Orde & Matt Chandler, Jellyfish Pictures – Inside The Human Body, BBC Productions/Jellyfish Pictures for BBC One
Erik Ellefsen, George Kyparissous, Sarah Norton & Jo Amery – Misfits Series 2, Clerkenwell Films for E4

Effects – Special
Big Bang Stunts & Effects – Strike Back: Project Dawn, Left Bank Pictures for Sky1HD
“Precision effects and stunts achieved with perfect timing, combined with fast-paced choreography, delivered high-tension drama in a way that is rarely seen on television.”

Nominees
Danny Hargreaves – Coronation Street – Tram Crash, Real SFX for ITV Studios for ITV1
Ed Smith, Colin Gorry Effects – The Shadow Line, A Company Pictures/Eight Rooks/Baby Cow Production in association with CinemaNX and Isle Of Man Films for BBC Two

Costume Design – Drama
Annie Symons – The Crimson Petal and The White, Origin Pictures/Cité Amérique for BBC Two
“Stunning, highly designed with beautiful detail. The jury thought the heightened reality was like nothing they’ve ever seen before, showing the underbelly of a period with extraordinary use of colour.”

Nominees
Joanna Eatwell – Eric and Ernie, BBC Wales in association with Blue Door Adventures for BBC Two
Charlotte Walter – This Is England ’86, Warp Films and Big Arty Production for Channel 4

Costume Design – Entertainment & Non Drama Productions
Lucia Santa Maria – The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson, BBC Productions for BBC One
“The costumes were hilarious, taking the jury by surprise, and the detail really added to the impressions.”

Nominees
Stephen Adnitt – Dancing On Ice – Series 6, ITV Studios for ITV1
Annie Hardinge – Come Fly With Me, Little Britain Productions/BBC Productions
for BBC One

Picture Enhancement
Sonny Sheriden – Eric and Ernie, BBC Wales in association with Blue Door Adventures for BBC Two
“A fresh take on nostalgia, this astounding piece of grading elevated the production to a whole new level.”

Nominees
Ross Baker – Armstrong And Miller – Series 3, Hat Trick Productions for BBC One
Gareth Spensley, Molinare – The Hour, Kudos Film and Television for BBC Two

Lighting For Multicamera
Chris Chisnall & The Lighting Team – Coronation Street – Live, ITV Studios for ITV1
“The jury was impressed with the degree of atmospheric and dramatic lighting that the team achieved in a very challenging and ambitious live drama.”

Nominees
Mark Kenyon – Strictly Come Dancing – Series 8 ‘Halloween Special’, BBC Productions for BBC One
Roger Williams – Copycats – Series 2, BBC Children’s Scotland for CBBC

Multicamera Work
Camera Team – 24 Hours In A&E, The Garden Productions for Channel 4
“This winner was a perfect marriage of subject matter and technique. Its extremely complex use of 70 fixed camera rigs captured the drama with a commendable level of skill and respect.”

Nominees
Paul Davies & The SIS Camera Team – Wimbledon – Nadal Vs Murray (Men’s Semifinal), SIS Live for BBC Sport
The Team of Directors & Cameramen – The Royal Wedding, BBC Productions (Entertainment and Events) for BBC One

Sound – Drama
Glen Marullo, Nigel Edwards, Linda Murdoch & Lee Crichlow – The Shadow Line, A Company Pictures/Eight Rooks/Baby Cow Production in association with CinemaNX and Isle Of Man Films for BBC Two
“This sound team demonstrated excellent location recording coupled with a highly detailed mix to create a subtle and yet tense atmosphere. It was the intimacy of the quiet scenes that particularly impressed the judges.”

Nominees
Alan Monks & The Sound Team – Coronation Street – Live, ITV Studios for ITV1
Sound Team – Bill Bailey’s Little Cracker, Sprout Productions for Sky1 HD

Sound – Entertainment & Non Drama
Matt Skilton, Paul Paragon & The Sound Team – Wootton Bassett: The Town That Remembers, BBC Bristol for BBC One
“The judges were extremely impressed by the unique sound treatment of this show. It conveyed the mood of the day perfectly, whilst demonstrating superb technical ability in difficult circumstances. It gave an intimate insight into the story of repatriation in a moving way, achieved on the whole by the superb soundtrack.”

Nominees
Tony Revell, Andy Tapley & Howard Hopkins – Strictly Come Dancing – Series 8 ‘Halloween Special’, BBC Productions for BBC One
The Farm Audio Team – The X Factor – Series 8, A Syco TV Production/ talkbackTHAMES for ITV1

Make Up Design – Drama
Jacqueline Fowler – The Crimson Petal and The White, Origin Pictures/Cité Amérique for BBC Two
“The detail of the winning entry was perfect, the hair and make up had a very strong sense of itself and the make up in particular gave the characters an unhealthy look. The whole piece was visually amazing and bold choices were taken for the cast to be unadorned.”

Nominees
Christina Baker – Eric and Ernie, BBC Wales in association with Blue Door Adventures for BBC Two
Penny Smith – Psychoville Halloween – Series 2, BBC Productions for BBC Two

Make Up Design – Entertainment & Non Drama Productions
Lisa Cavalli-Green & Team – Come Fly With Me, Little Britain Productions/BBC Productions for BBC One
“The make up totally delivers the comedy for this series. It’s hard to believe the characters are two men.”

Nominees
Lisa Armstrong – Strictly Come Dancing – Series 8 ‘Halloween Special’, BBC Productions for BBC One
Lucy Cain & Team – The Impressions Show with Culshaw and Stephenson, BBC Productions for BBC One

Photography – Drama
David Katznelson – Downton Abbey, Carnival Film and Television for ITV1
“A visual delight conveying in beautifully observed detail the different worlds above and below stairs, from the rigidity of stiff upper-lipped life upstairs, to the frenzied hustle and bustle of work downstairs.”

Nominees
Kieran McGuigan – Christopher and his Kind, Mammoth Screen for BBC Two
Owen McPolin – Martina Cole’s The Runaway, Company Pictures/Warner Sisters for Sky1 HD

Photography – Documentary/Factual & Non Drama Productions
The Camera Team – Human Planet – Jungles, BBC Productions for BBC One
“A work which triumphed over astonishing technical challenges and delivered an amazing sense of tribal and jungle life in one of the most remote and endangered corners of the world.”

Nominees
Camera Team – Human Planet – Oceans – Into The Blue, BBC Productions for BBC One
Matt Norman, Tony Miller, Vijay Bedi & Alphonse Roy – Storyville – Marathon Boy, One Horse Town Productions/Renegade Pictures for BBC Four

Production Design – Drama
Grant Montgomery – The Crimson Petal and The White, Origin Pictures/Cité Amérique for BBC Two
“The winning programme simply took you to another world with its stunning imagery of Victorian life. Nothing was sacrificed transferring this novel to the small screen.”

Nominees
Brian Sykes – Psychoville Halloween – Series 2, BBC Productions for BBC Two
Chris Roope – South Riding, BBC Productions/Masterpiece for BBC One

Production Design – Entertainment & Non Drama Productions
Harry Banks – Miranda – Series 2, BBC Productions for BBC Two
“The sets in this winning show genuinely feel like characters that add hugely to the comedy, allowing the central protagonist to perform all manner of slapstick. The semi heightened reality of each location ties together beautifully across the series to give it a distinctive look and feel.”

Nominees
Peter Aston, BDA Set Design – Match Of The Day/Football Focus, BBC Sport for BBC One
Iain McDonald – How Not To Live Your Life – Series 3, Brown Eyed Boy Productions for BBC Three

Music – Original Score
Vince Pope – Misfits Series 2, Clerkenwell Films for E4
“Powerful, emotive, weighty and contemporary. A truly engaging score that worked well with the pictures… always adding to the drama, never becoming melodrama.”

Nominees
Will Gregory – Polar Bear: Spy On The Ice, John Downer Productions for BBC One
Rob Lane – The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher, Hat Trick Productions for ITV1

Music – Original Title
Adrian Johnston – Zen, Left Bank Pictures for BBC One
“Sexy, sophisticated and very classy, with beautifully understated references to Bacharach and David. A real signature tune.”

Nominees
David Arnold – Come Fly With Me, Little Britain Productions/BBC Productions for BBC One
John Lunn – Downton Abbey, Carnival Film and Television for ITV1

Tape & Film Editing – Drama
Roy Sharman – Exile, AbbottVision/Red Production Company for BBC One
“Beautifully built with abstract detail and clever atmosphere. The complex time frame is handled with care and precision to balance the differing time periods and building tension within the plot. A classic example of craft editing that shapes a stunning production graced by an excellent cast.”

Nominees
Victoria Boydell – Random, Hillbilly Films for Channel 4
John Smith A.C.E – Thorne, Stagereel/Cité-Amérique for Sky1HD

Tape & Film Editing – Documentary & Factual
Chris King – Our War – Ambushed, BBC Productions for BBC Three
“The fact that the programme was cut from material that was never intended for broadcast is testament to the skill and talent of the editor. He had the immense challenge of trying to make sense out of hours of rough and incoherent footage that had been filmed on helmet cameras. What he achieved was an incredibly powerful and moving piece of television. The narrative that was constructed out of the chaos was absolutely compelling.”

Nominees
Stuart Napier & Imogen Pollard – Polar Bear: Spy On The Ice, John Downer Productions for BBC One
Edit Team – 24 Hours In A&E, The Garden Productions for Channel 4

Tape & Film Editing – Entertainment & Situation Comedy
Lucien Clayton – Friday Night Dinner, A Popper Pictures/Big Talk Production for Channel 4
“This programme breathes new life into the traditional family-based sitcom and the way it has been edited is instrumental to its success. The editor displays great comic timing and pacing and captures quick fire banter and subtle nuance.”

Nominees
Post Production Team – I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Series 10, ITV Studios for ITV1
The Farm Editing Team – The X Factor – Series 8, A Syco TV Production/ talkbackTHAMES for ITV1

Graphic Design – Programme Content Sequences
Richard Gort, Mark Wilkin, Eddie Butler & Turquoise Branding – F1 Monaco Grand Prix, BBC Sport/Turquoise Branding for BBC One
“This was a stylish and very well conceived package with all of the elements dovetailing perfectly. The script, colouring and typography echoed a James Bond theme but still managed to make a distinctive creative design statement. Slick, classy and appropriate to its audience, it was beautifully executed.”

Nominees
Julian Gibbs, Ron Chakraborty & Richard Gort – Superbowl XLV, Intro for BBC One
Stuart Pitcher, Simon Dowling, Jason Griffin & Tim Baxter, Fugitive Studios – Random, Hillbilly Films for Channel 4

Graphic Design – Titles
Hugo Moss, Justin Lowings & Paul McDonnell – Any Human Heart, Carnival Film And Television for Channel 4
“A wonderful colour palette, great design and a stylish, elegant realisation made these titles a perfect introduction to the series. Flickers of light and lengthening shadows, clean lines and beautifully choreographed animation lifted the visuals into a class of their own.”

Nominees
Amy Merry & Yianni Papanicolaou – The Hour, Kudos Film And Television for BBC Two
Production Team – Come Fly With Me, Little Britain Productions/BBC Productions for BBC One

Design & Craft Innovation
Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice Production Team
“This delightful and amazing film was principally shot by unmanned cameras over a period of six months in the very extreme and demanding conditions of the Arctic. Using spy cameras, this film gets the viewer closer than ever before to the world’s greatest land predator, the polar bear.

The cameras, using complex central rigs, not only achieved remarkable close-up footage of the bears but also star in the film as distinct characters in their own right, with names like Iceberg Cam, Blizzard Cam and Drift Cam. These state-of-the-art cameras enabled the production team to uniquely capture an intimate portrait of polar bears’ lives, creating a classic natural history programme while at the same time making a film that was innovative and contemporary in the way it was shot and the technology that was used.”

Judges’ Award

Spooks Production Team
“This year, the Judges’ Award goes to the production team behind one of the most important original British drama series of the last decade – a series which has re-invigorated the genre. First airing in May 2002, the series ushered in a new wave of smart, sophisticated, thought-provoking and above all entertaining drama on British television and beyond. It has firmly established its producer, Kudos, as one of the leading drama producers in the UK. Intelligent and complex narratives, often scarily precognitive, combined with craft and design innovation has made it a massive success.

Its wonderfully inventive visual style is created by a perfect combination of photography, powerful direction and stylish design. The late Colin Green pioneered the incredible editing style which included innovative transitions and multi screen scenes that helped interweave the complex plots and build the tension.

Graded like a commercial, sounding like a feature film and layered with special and digital effects that defied its budget, the series became the launch pad for many outstanding and award-winning craftspeople in our industry. However, their names were never revealed on air – it was the first and only BBC drama to have no end credits on screen.

The success and sustainability of the show, which has just completed its tenth and final series, is down to its outstanding production team.”

Lifetime Achievement Award
Martin Hawkins
“The recipient of this special award made his mark in the late 80s, running across fields chasing a young woman in Challenge Anneka. This is where he perfected his hand held camera technique as well as getting extremely fit.

Very soon he would make an even bigger impression as Director of Photography on many of the top comedy series of the last 20 years. Shows such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Birds of a Feather, Vicar of Dibley, Outnumbered, Armstrong and Miller, The IT Crowd, The One Ronnie and Phone Shop to name a few.

His sense of humour, infectious laughter combined with his skill at lighting and capturing the story made him the first choice for many producers and directors. He is also a joy to work with.

He has gone on to work especially well with writer/performer/directors such as Richard Ayoade on Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, and more recently with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant on Extras and Life’s Too Short.

Here is what Ricky and Stephen have to say about our recipient who they have dubbed The Hawk:

“The Hawk is one the finest DOPs we’ve worked with and he has a great pair of knees, which he shows off by wearing shorts whatever the weather.

On set he’s always calm and full of good-humour – and always does a terrific job whatever shooting style we throw at him – which could be hand-held documentary one minute, phony Hollywood blockbuster the next.

Congratulations on your lifetime achievement award, Hawk, much deserved. Although it better not push your price up.”

- Royal Television Society website

Some Like it Hip Hop, written by ZooNation founder Kate Prince and Felix Harrison, is the company’s first full-length production since the award-winning West End smash hit, Into the Hoods.

With a nod to Billy Wilder’s much loved film and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Some Like it Hip Hop is a comical tale of love, mistaken identity, cross-dressing and revolution; all played out in ZooNation’s trademark style of hip hop, comedy and physical theatre.

Directed by Kate Prince, with original music by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde, the all star cast includes Tommy Franzén (So You Think You Can Dance, Blaze, Goldberg) Lizzie Gough (So You Think You Can Dance, Blaze) and Teneisha Bonner (Into the Hoods, Insane in the Brain, StreetDance 3D, Shoes).

ZooNation Dance Company was founded in 2002 by Kate Prince. In 2006, the company premiered Into the Hoods, which went on to become the longest running dance show the West End has ever seen. In 2010 ZooNation became a Resident Company at Sadler’s Wells, and Kate Prince became an Associate Artist.

Here’s a video to give you a flavour of what the show is about:

Having seen Blaze The Streetdance Sensation, there are a few familiar faces in there including Carlos Neto and Tommy Franzen. Check out some behind the scenes footage:

It’s the last week of Some Like It Hip Hop, so there’s still time to catch it at the Peacock Theatre. It’s on until Saturday 19 November.

Read some of the reviews:
- The Guardian review – Luke Jennings
- The Independent – Zoe Anderson
- The Telegraph – Louise Levene

Discussing the concept of ‘structured reality’, the evening featured the major players of this genre: Sarah Dillistone (Executive Producer, Made In Chelsea), Claire Faragher (Executive Producer, TOWIE, series 2), Daran Little (award-winning television writer now Story Supervisor, MIC). And of course the evening was completed by reality TV stars Amy Childs (TOWIE) and Ollie Locke (MIC).

Certainly with shows like TOWIE and MIC, constructed reality shows are here to stay. The panel talked through the evolution of both of these key shows, from initial idea to production process, revealed a few trade secrets, fascinating tips and exclusive insider information along the way. One thing that became apparent is that there is an enormous amount of duty of care to the contributors from the production side of things and the latest technological advances are also shaping the way and speed in which these shows are being made.

Some interesting read about constructed reality:
- Mail Online: From The Only Way is Essex…to The Sloaney Way is Chelsea: After the success of the reality TV show, an upmarket version
- Mail Online: The Only Way Is Essex: How I created TV’s most reviled show – and won a Bafta
- The Guardian: A different kind of reality TV

Renowned performer and choreographer Akram Khan presents his new full length solo, DESH at Curve Theatre, Leicester, which started last night until Saturday, 17th September. DESH, which means homeland, sees Khan reconnect with his Bangladeshi roots.

Here’s what Khan has to say about DESH:

This production, according to the show’s producer, Farooq Chaudhry, is possibly the biggest collaborative project Akram Khan Company has done so far. For this solo performance, Khan has teamed up with Oscar-winning Chinese visual artist Tim Yip, who is production designer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist and lighting designer Michael Hulls; dramaturg Ruth Little; Indian writer and poet Karthika Nair and Olivier Award-winning composer Jocelyn Pook, whose impressive credit list includes Brick Lane and Eyes Wide Shut.

Check out Khan on his DESH collaborators:

Sneak preview during rehearsal:

The world premiere of DESH is at Curve Theatre Leicester tomorrow. Don’t miss it! For ticket information, go to the Curve Theatre website and to book tickets online, click here.

:: Best Food Show – Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals

:: Best Entertainment Show – Celebrity Juice

:: Best Drama Series – Being Human

:: Best New Drama – Sherlock

:: Best Daytime Show – The Jeremy Kyle Show

:: Best Game Show – The Cube

:: Best Family Drama – Doctor Who

:: Best Reality Show – The Apprentice

:: Best Talent Show – Britain’s Got Talent

:: Best Comedy – The Inbetweeners

:: Best Lifestyle Show – Come Dine With Me

:: Best Factual Entertainment Show – Top Gear

:: Best Actor – David Tennant (Single Father)

:: Best Actress – Karen Gillan (Doctor Who)

:: Best Soap Newcomer – Paula Lane (Coronation Street)

:: Best Soap Storyline – 50th Anniversary tram crash (Coronation Street)

:: Best Soap Actress – Jessie Wallace (EastEnders)

:: Best Soap Actor – Shane Richie (EastEnders)

:: Best Soap – EastEnders

Congratulations to all the winners!

It’s all about Osamu Tezuka, who is regarded as the Godfather of Manga. The show heavily features two of his most popular works – Astroboy (which I used to watch on TV as a child) and Buddha. Watch the video below to get an idea of the thinking behind the show, which is part of Sadler’s Wells Out of Asia season:

Here’s how Sadler’s describes the production:

Visionary Japanese manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka provides the inspiration for internationally renowned choreographer and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s brand new work – TeZukA.

Working with an international cast of 10 performers including Daniel Proietto (AfterLight) and long time collaborator Damien Jalet (Babel (words)), three musicians and a calligrapher, Cherkaoui explores Tezuka’s fascinating world – a blend of tradition, science fiction and contemporary reality. Two of Tezuka’s manga stories which are well known in Japanese popular culture – Astro Boy and Buddha – have particularly captured Cherkaoui’s imagination in creating this new work.

TeZukA will feature a specially commissioned score from award-winning composer Nitin Sawhney with lighting and visual design by Willy Cessa and costumes by fashion designer Sasa Kovacevic. Tezuka’s original illustrations will be projected alongside work by video artist Taiki Ueda and calligraphy by Tosui Suzuki. Using the dancers’ movements to trace the physical evolution of Tezuka’s drawings – from a line on a blank page to a single Japanese kanji (letter) to a fully-formed manga character – Cherkaoui will bring the “God of Manga’s” philosophy, drawings and characters to life.

For me the highlights were the music and projections. Needless to say, the dancers had very impressive stamina and were mesmerising to watch. The only thing that I found quite heavy was them talking about bacterial theory… but all in all loved the cross-cultural mix and great to see two of the Shaolin monks from Sutra involved in this production.

Here are some reviews from the Guardian and The Telegraph.

In a star-studded ceremony attended by festival delegates at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, host Russell Kane was joined by an array of celebs including actress and comedian, Miranda Hart, comedian Al Murray, TOWIE’s Mark Wright and Sam Faiers, magician, Dynamo and The Killing’’s Sofie Grabol.

ITV was named as Terrestrial Channel of the Year for the first time in the history of the awards, taking the crown from last year’s winner, Channel 4. BBC Three took the Digital Channel of the Year award for the second year in a row, which makes me very proud as I currently work for Three online.

Terrestrial Programme went to BBC One’’s Sherlock, marking an unrivalled winning streak of four years for the channel’’s programming in the category. For the second year running, The Inbetweeners scooped Digital Programme of the Year.

This year, three new categories were added to the awards; Indie of the Year went to TalkbackTHAMES, the production company behind hit shows including The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and The Apprentice; the Million Pound Drop play-along game, created by Endemol Games, scooped the Cross Platform Innovation Award; and Producer or Director Debut went to filmmaker, Rob Leech for My Brother the Islamist, which aired on BBC Three earlier this year.

E4’s BAFTA-winning show, Misfits, took The Network & Fast Track Programme Choice Award for the second year running.

Now in its 10th consecutive year, the Arqiva Channel of the Year Awards is in recognition of the increasingly competitive and often challenging market that today’s TV companies operate in, and to celebrate the creative, innovative and commercial solutions that both channels and production companies present.

For details of previous winners go to the MGEITF Arqiva Channel of the Year Awards page.

Congratulations to all the winners and of course the nominees!