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Political undercurrents surface at 2015 Helpmann Awards

Brisbane Baroque and Les Misérables were the big winners at the Australian entertainment industry’s night of nights.

28 Jul 2015 12:00

Richard Watts

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Performing Arts

The creative team behind The Rabbits, winner of the Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work. Image: Jim Lee Photo.

Presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA) at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre, the 2015 Helpmann Awards was the most politically-charged ceremony in recent memory.

A range of speakers, including NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant, made subtle but pointed statements referencing the recent raid on the Australia Council budget by Federal Minister for the Arts Senator George Brandis QC and the establishment of the National Program for Excellence.

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Richard Watts

Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts