Why Theatre needs The Offies

Why Theatre needs The Offies

15 March, 2011
by: Naima Khan

Hosted by Simon Callow at Wilton's Music Hall, The Off West End Theatre Awards went down a storm, but why?

With The Offies, the Whatsonstage.com Awards and Olivier Awards now behind us, a question for the theatre world to consider is, what exactly do these accolades contribute to theatre?

The Off West End Theatre Awards (The Offies) are the newest of the lot, having held their inaugural awards ceremony at the end of February this year. From the minds of Sofie Mason, founder and manager of OffWestEnd.com and international arts consultant Diana Jervis-Read FRSA. The Offies are intended to raise the profile of the quality shows and theatre practitioners entertaining and provoking audiences on London's fringe scene.

Talking to some of the assessors who nominate shows to be considered for the shortlists, everybody agrees there's an urgent need for recognition of the theatre practitioners in London's independent theatres as well as those that don't often grab the attention of the mainstream media. “The Offies cast a benevolent eye,” says actress Joanna Eliot. “It means someone is going to see these plays to highlight the talent both backstage and onstage, and indeed raise the profile of the venue itself.”

Playwright Declan Feenan sees two main purposes to the awards process: “It has a local purpose throughout the year to champion the notable fringe events. But it has a secondary purpose, to be there at the start of the careers of up-and-coming artists. If you think about Edinburgh it had a fringe scene for years but it was only after the Fringe First Award came along that suddenly the Edinburgh Fringe is the place to be. The Offies may not copy that model but the fact that we're rewarding the work of the fringe is important. I can see this in twenty years still having a huge buzz about it.”

Both Eliot and Feenan's points relate to a discussion about theatre, a sharing of ideas and a refinement of what we call excellence. “Every theatre show deserves a response,” says Declan, “whether that's an audience or a write-up somewhere or a nomination. That's important to people, to theatre makers. The public will be more radical than the critics. The audience that goes to fringe events continually are a pretty peculiar section of society. If you only go to fringe events and not the West End shows, you're a particular type of weirdo, which is a great thing.”

Theatre critic and Offies panel member Paul Vale also sees a huge, thriving community that make up London's off-West End scene. He talks affectionately about its relevance: “The fringe is the beating heart of London's theatrical community. It's completely essential. If you think about the amount of people who have worked in the fringe this year and how many fringe venues there are, there are probably more people working and certainly more people acting in the fringe, than the West End.”

Daily Telegraph writer and Vale's fellow panel member Daisy Bowie-Sell shares her thoughts on the accessibility of the fringe, and sheds some light on why the London fringe doesn't get as much attention as it deserves. Speaking specifically about London she says, “there's always a lot of media attention on the big West End shows but the fringe scene is so much more accessible to everybody because the tickets are much cheaper and it's really important to let people know.”

The difficulty in getting attention from national press can come down to location. “National papers go much further afield,” she says, “so it's very important that if you're spreading the word about something, it's got to be something [the readership] can reach – not just a theatre that's got a capacity of 60 seats in north London. There are a lot of other critics who are writing for websites or their own blogs who go to see the fringe”.

Of the national critics, she cites Lyn Gardner and The Telegraph's own Dominic Cavendish as champions of off-West End theatre. “They make a real effort to go to as many off-West End shows as possible. I think as long as we've got a few people like that who are willing to push, then we're heading in the right direction.”

In a sense, that's what The Off West End Awards do, they push for recognition and they push for discussion. The Offies contribute something new, they highlight the deserving, if not the instantly recognisable, and provide that crucial first accolade for theatre practitioners as they develop their careers.

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Naima Khan