26/01/2010
Press information strictly embargoed until 3pm Tuesday 26 January 2010.
Winners of the final South Bank Show Awards
Melvyn Bragg awarded outstanding achievement award.
Melvyn Bragg hosted the final South Bank Show Awards today, in a celebration across the full spectrum of the arts, in front of a star studded audience at The Dorchester, London.
From the first fanfare from the trumpeters of the Blues and Royals, The South Bank Show Awards burst open with a searing performance from Julian Lloyd Webber and his band, playing the iconic South Bank Show theme: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Variations: Paganini Caprice in A minor No. 24. The audience were also treated to the world exclusive premiere, of the title song from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long anticipated new show Love Never Dies, sung by its star Sierra Boggess, and accompanied by Andrew and Louise Hunt on two grand pianos.
Melvyn Bragg took the highest award of the day, when he was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award In Association With The Dorchester, which was presented by Sir David Attenborough; along with taped testimonials screened to the audience from: HRH Prince Charles the Prince of Wales, Clive James, Beryl Bainbridge, PD James and Victoria Wood.
Rachel Weisz was delighted to be up on the stage twice during the ceremony: first to present the Film category award to Academy-award winning writer/director Andrea Arnold for her second film, Fish Tank; and then to accept the Theatre award from fellow actor Dominic West, for the striking revival of the Donmar’s A Streetcar Named Desire, in which she starred as Blanche.
Sean Bean accepted the TV Drama award from Rob Brydon, for Channel 4’s ambitious and dark trilogy, Red Riding, in which he starred. This is the third year running that Channel 4 have won this coveted award (The Devil’s Whore - 2009, The Mark Of Cain – 2008).
Other victories across the arts were also awarded in the categories of: Comedy, Pop, Literature, Classical Music, Visual Arts, Opera, Dance, the Arts Council England’s Diversity Award and The Times Breakthrough Award.
With a special South Bank Show cocktail created by The Dorchester’s legendary Bar Manager Giuliano Morandin, and a South Bank Show embossed notebook and card holder for all, this was a South Bank Show Awards ceremony to remember.
The South Bank Show Awards will be broadcast on ITV1 on Sunday 31 January 2010 at 10.15pm.
THE SOUTH BANK SHOW COCKTAIL
created by The Dorchester’s legendary Bar Manager Giuliano Morandin
25ml Monkey Shoulder
25ml Fig Liqueur
25ml Lemon juice
Dash Gomme/agave syrup.
Top with ginger beer.
Build in a highball glass with ice.
Garnish long stick of cucumber
FULL WINNERS LIST
Comedy
Presented by Billy Connolly
Winner: The Thick Of It – BBC2 - Armando Iannucci’s dark political comedy set in the corridors of the British government.
Home Time – BBC2
The Inbetweeners – E4
Dance
Presented by Royal Ballet principle Tamara Rojo
Winner: E=mc² – David Bintley – Birmingham Royal Ballet - David Bintley’s new ballet for the Birmingham Royal Ballet, named after Einstein’s theory of relativity, with force fields of dancers.
Diversity – Dance Troupe
Limen – Wayne McGregor – Royal Opera House
TV Drama
Presented by Rob Brydon
Winner: Red Riding – C4 - Adapted from David Peace’s cult noir novels, an ambitious, dark and thrilling trilogy of interlinking films set in Yorkshire in the 1970s and 80s.
Being Human – BBC3
Collision – ITV1
Pop
Presented by Jarvis Cocker
Winner: Florence + the Machine - Lungs (not in attendance – acceptance speech through VT) - Her soaring, epic vocals, quirky melodies and self-contained musical world, found in her debut and platinum selling album Lungs.
Frankmusik – Complete Me
The xx - xx
Visual Arts
Presented by Grayson Perry
Winner: Anish Kapoor – RA - Anish Kapoor‘s joyful mid career retrospective exhibition, including his shooting cannon, which by the end of the exhibition had fired over 20 tons of molten wax.
Richard Long – Tate Britain
Roger Hiorns – Seizure
Film
Presented by Rachel Weisz
Winner: Fish Tank - Academy-award winning writer/director Andrea Arnold’s second film, Fish Tank – set in Essex, is the story of Mia, a volatile 15 year old.
An Education
The Damned United
Literature
Presented by PD James
Winner: The Quickening Maze – Adam Foulds – A sympathetic and poetic exploration of John Clare’s madness.
Forest Gate – Peter Akinti
The Little Stranger – Sarah Waters
Opera
Presented by Rolando Villazon
Winner: Peter Grimes – ENO - David Alden’s coruscating production of Peter Grimes.
Into the Little Hill / Down by the Greenwood Side – Linbury Studio – ROH2 / The Opera Group / London Sinfonietta
The Fairy Queen – Glyndebourne
Theatre
Presented by Dominic West
Winner: A Streetcar Named Desire – Donmar Warehouse - The Donmar’s revival starring Rachel Weisz.
Jerusalem – Jez Butterworth – Royal Court Theatre
The Habit of Art – Alan Bennett – National Theatre
Arts Council England’s Diversity Award
Presented by Jo Whiley
Winner: Julie McNamara – Playwright and performing artist.
Jenny Sealey – Graeae Theatre Company
Clean Break – Theatre, Education, new Writing
Classical Music
Presented by trumpeter Alison Balsom
Winner: Nielsen; Inextinguishable – A cycle of concerts performed by The Hallé Orchestra and The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - Two leading British orchestras, The Hallé Orchestra and The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, join forces for a cycle of symphonies by arguably Denmark’s greatest composer, Carl Nielsen.
City of Dreams: Vienna 1900-1935 – Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen
Easter Reflections – The Sixteen
The Times Breakthrough Award
Presented by Sir Ian McKellen
Winner: David Blandy – for Visual Art
Alina Ibragimova – for Classical Music
Emma Fryer – for Comedy
Melissa Hamilton – for Dance
Carey Mulligan – for Film
Peter Akinti – for Literature
Daniel Kramer – for Opera
The xx – for Pop
Lucy Prebble – for Theatre
Suranne Jones – for TV Drama
Outstanding Achievement Award in association with The Dorchester
Presented by Sir David Attenborough
Winner: Melvyn Bragg
