The exciting Grand Ginal Concert of the 2016 Rob Guest Endowment Award was held last night at the Sydney Lyric Theatre, and saw Linden Furnell take out the prestigious award after being chosen by an expert panel of judges, which included Kelley Abbey, Guy Simpson, Andrew Pole and Michael James Scott. Furnell won with his performances of Part of the Painting and Moving Too Fast, competed against the other 5 semi-finalists. The six finalists were Du Toit Bredenkamp, Hilary Cole, Linden Furnell, Stefanie Jones, Genevieve Kingsford and Matthew Predny. Linden took home $20,000 as the major prize, and the runners up were each awarded $1,500.
Hosted by Lucy Durack and Penny McNamee, the exciting event, now in its 8th year, featured performances by pop sensation Paulini, principal members from Aladdin, the Helpmann Award winning Molly Barwick, Sasha Rose, Georgia Taplin and Bella Thomas who originated the role of Matilda in Australia, past winners Samantha Leigh Dodemaide and Blake Bowden, the 2015 Rob Guest Endowment winner Daniel Assetta, and cast members from Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical.
Other industry awards announced were:
Melbourne’s East End Theatre District Artist Development Award – Genevieve Kingsford ($1500)
Playbill Future Prospect Award – Kieran McGrath ($1500)
Technical Award in Honour of Sue Nattrass – Ash Kurrle ($10,000)
Musician Award – Emma Ford ($10,000)
The Rob Guest Endowment executive committee, Kellie Dickerson, Stephen Found and Bernadette Hayes, were blown away by the calibre of talent on stage at the Gala Concert. Rob Guest Endowment Patron, John Frost AM, says the Rob Guest Endowment Awards are an incredible legacy. “Rob Guest was an inspiration to all, and a great teacher and mentor to those he worked with,” said Frost. www.robguestendowment.com.au (L-R): Linden Furnell, Matthew Predney, Genevieve Kingsford, DuToit Bredenkamp, Hilary Cole, Stefanie Jones. Photo Robert Catto
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