2018 Helpmann Awards nominations BEST NEW AUSTRALIAN WORK • Brett Dean and Matthew Jocelyn, Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival and Adelaide Festival in association with the State Opera of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra • Colin Lane & Frank Woodley, Lano & Woodley - Fly, Token Events • Nakkiah Lui, Black is the New White, Sydney Theatre Company • Nicholas Paine, David Morton, Tim Sharp and Sam Cromack, Laser Beak Man, Brisbane Festival, La Boite Theatre Company and Dead Puppet Society in association with PowerArts • PJ Hogan, Kate Miller-Heidke & Keir Nuttall, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures • Stephen Page, Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre BEST PLAY • Black is the New White, Sydney Theatre Company • Laser Beak Man, Brisbane Festival, La Boite Theatre Company and Dead Puppet Society Brisbane Festival, La Boite Theatre Company and Dead Puppet Society in association with PowerArts • The Children, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company • The Irresistible, Side Pony Productions & The Last Great Hunt • The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man, Malthouse Theatre • The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Sydney Theatre Company BEST OPERA • Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Malthouse Theatre and Victorian Opera Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival • Cunning Little Vixen, Victorian Opera • H amlet, Glyndebourne Festival, Adelaide Festival, State Opera Of South Australia and The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra • The Nose, Opera Australia BEST MUSICAL • Beautiful: the Carole King Musical, Michael Cassel In Association With Paul Blake & Sony/Atv Music Publishing & Mike Bosner • Dream Lover, John Frost And Gilbert Theatrical • Mamma mia! the musical, Michael Coppel, Louise Withers & Linda Bewick • Muriel’s Wedding the Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures BEST DANCE PRODUCTION • Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre • In timate space, Restless Dance Theatre, Restless Dance Theatre in association with Bleach* Festival and Festival 2018 • Mozart A irborne, Expressions Dance Company, Opera Queensland and QPAC • One Flat Thing, Reproduced, Strut dance BEST BALLET • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Australian Ballet • The Great Gatsby, West Australian Ballet • The Winter’s Tale, The Royal Ballet & QPAC • Woolf Works, the Royal Ballet & QPAC BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY • Kip Williams, Cloud Nine, Sydney Theatre Company • Kip Williams, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Sydney Theatre Company • Matthew Lutton, The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man, Malthouse Theatre • Sarah Goodes, The Children, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company BEST DIRECTION OF AN OPERA • Barrie Kosky, The Nose, Opera Australia • Matthew Lutton, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival • Neil Armfield, Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival and Adelaide Festival in association with the State Opera of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra • Stuart Maunder, Cunning Little Vixen, Victorian Opera BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL • Dean Bryant, Assassins, Hayes Theatre Co • Marc Bruni, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Michael Cassel in association with Paul Blake & Sony/ATV Music Publishing & Mike Bosner • Simon Phillips, Dream Lover, John Frost and Gilbert Theatrical • Simon Phillips, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL • Esther Hannaford, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Michael Cassel in association with Paul Blake & Sony/ATV Music Publishing & Mike Bosner • Maggie McKenna, Muriel’s Wedding The Musical, Sydney Theatre Company and Global Creatures • Marina Prior, Dream Lover, John Frost and Gilbert Theatrical • Natalie O’Donnell, Mamma Mia! The Musical, Michael Coppel, Louise Withers & Linda Bewick BEST MALE ACTOR IN A MUSICAL • David Campbell, Assassins, Hayes Theatre Co • David Campbell, Dream Lover, John Frost and Gilbert Theatrical • David Harris, Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The Musical, Michael Cassel Group and Nullarbor Productions in association with MGM on Stage • Euan Doidge, Priscilla Queen of the Desert - The Musical, Michael Cassel Group and Nullarbor Productions in association with MGM on Stage • Ian Stenlake, Mamma Mia! The Musical, Michael Coppel, Louise Withers & Linda Bewick BEST FEMALE ACTOR IN A PLAY • Helen Morse, Memorial, Brink Productions and Adelaide Festival in association with Adelaide Festival Centre, Brisbane Festival and Melbourne Festival through the Major Festival’s Initiative, the 1418 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, UK, and the Barbican • Miranda Daughtry, A Doll’s House, State Theatre Company South Australia • Pamela Rabe, The Children, Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company • Sarah Peirse, The Children. Melbourne Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company BEST MALE ACTOR IN A PLAY • Daniel Monks, The Real and Imagined History of the Elephant Man, Malthouse Theatre • Hugo Weaving, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Sydney Theatre Company • John Bell, The Father, Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company • Toby Schmitz, Thyestes, A Belvoir production, originally created by The Hayloft Project BEST COMEDY PERFORMER • Anne Edmonds, Helen Bidou - Enter the Spinnaker Lounge, Token Events • Celia Pacquola, All Talk, Token Events • Colin Lane & Frank Woodley, Lano & Woodley - Fly, Token Events • Julia Morris, Lift and Separate Golden Jubilee, Live Nation • Rhys Nicholson, Seminal, Century • Urzila Carlson, Studies Have Shown, Live Nation • Zoe Coombs Marr, Bossy Bottom, Token Events BEST CABARET PERFORMER • Briefs Ensemble, Briefs: Close Encounters, Briefs Factory • Queenie van de Zandt, BLUE: The Songs of Joni Mitchell, Neil Gooding Productions & Queenie van de Zandt • Reuben Kaye, Journey to the Centre of Attention, Adelaide Festival Centre’s Adelaide Cabaret Festival • Taylor Mac, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, Melbourne International Arts Festival BEST FEMALE DANCER IN A BALLET, DANCE OR PHYSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION • Ako Kondo, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Australian Ballet • Elise May, Behind Closed Doors, Expressions Dance Company and QPAC • Melissa Boniface, The Great Gatsby, West Australian Ballet • Vivienne Wong, Infra, The Australian Ballet BEST MALE DANCER IN A BALLET, DANCE OR PHYSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION • Beau Dean Riley Smith, Bennelong, Bangarra Dance Theatre • Joshua Thomson, Tide, Bleach* Festival, The Farm and City of Gold Coast • Kevin Jackson, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Australian Ballet • Nelson Earl, Ocho, Sydney Dance Company BEST VISUAL OR PHYSICAL THEATRE PRODUCTION • Carrion, Justin Shoulder • Lim bo Unhinged, Strut & Fret Production House • Tide, BLEACH* Festival & The Farm • White Spirit, Zaman Production & Galerie Itinerrance In Collaboration with the Musée Du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac and Perth Festival BEST FEMALE PERFORMER IN AN OPERA • Dimity Shepherd, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival • Helen Sherman, Coronation of Poppea, Pinchgut Opera • Nicole Car, La Traviata, Opera Australia • Taryn Fiebig, Triple Bill, Pinchgut Opera BEST MALE PERFORMER IN AN OPERA • Allan Clayton, Hamlet, Glyndebourne Festival and Adelaide Festival in association with the State Opera of South Australia and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra • Barry Ryan, Cunning Little Vixen, Victorian Opera • Ferruccio Furlanetto, Don Quichotte, Opera Australia • Kanen Breen, Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets, Victorian Opera and Malthouse Theatre in association with Melbourne Festival BEST INDIVIDUAL CLASSICAL MUSIC PERFORMANCE • Emanuel Ax, A Mozart Celebration: Emanuel Ax with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra • Jonas Kaufmann, Parsifal, Opera Australia • Kwangchul Youn, Parsifal, Opera Australia • Pieter Wispelwey, Pieter Wispelwey plays the Bach Cello Suites, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra BEST INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY CONCERT • Cécile Mclorin Salvant and Adelaide Festival, Cécile McLorin Salvant • Ed Sheeran & Frontier Touring, ÷ World Tour 2018 • Paul McCartney, Frontier Touring, MPL & Marshall Arts, Paul McCartney – One On One World Tour 2017 • Underworld and Sydney Opera House presents, Underworld BEST CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL • Chugg Entertainment and Robb Potts Entertainment Edge, CMC Rocks QLD 2018 • Lunatic Entertainment & Laneway presents St. Jeromes Laneway Festival 2018 • Museum of Old and New Art (mona), MONA FOMA • Womadelaide Foundation, WOMADelaide 2018 BEST AUSTRALIAN CONTEMPORARY CONCERT • Armand van Helden, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Frontier Touring and Arts Centre Melbourne, Symphonica with Armand van Helden • Gang of Youths and Live Nation, Gang of Youths, Australia 2017 • Gotye presented by Sydney Festival & MONA FOMA, Gotye Presents a Tribute to Jean-Jacques Perrey • Midnight Oil & Frontier Touring, The Great Circle World Tour 2017 BEST SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT • Beethoven and Bruckner: Simone Young conducts, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra • Bluebeard’s Castle: with Bach and Brahms, The Sydney Symphony Orchestra • Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with Rachel Podger, Musica Viva Australia • Wagner and Beyond: Inspiring Wagner, West Australian Symphony Orchestra BEST CHAMBER AND/OR INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE CONCERT • Human requiem, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Adelaide Festival • Jordi Savall with Hesperion XXI & Tembembe Ensamble