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The Glugs Theatrical Awards, also referred to as the Glugs Theatre Awards and sometimes capitalised as GLUGS, were annual awards given by a group of theatre-lovers in Sydney, Australia, The Glugs.

Background

The Glugs were established in 1969, created by a group of people including theatre critics, journalists, actors, and regular patrons of theatrical performances. The group, which included theatre critic Norman Kessell, publicisit Bill Fenn, press officer for J. C. Williamson's John Love, and ABC producer Allan Kendall, had been meeting for lunch semi-regularly since 1966. The group was named "The Glugs" by British-Canadian actor Barry Morse, after they had presented him with a copy of The Glugs of Gosh, a collection of poems by Australian poet C. J. Dennis, as a gift.^[1] They were at first a private group, with their lunch meetings spread by word-of-mouth.^[2]

People

In 2015, Lee Young, aged 86, was "Chief Glug", while Beverley Davies, aged 78, was the group's co-ordinator. At that time membership was around 80 members.^[2]

In 2016, Bill Winspear was Chief Glug.^[3]

Peter Binning was appointed Chief Glug in 2021, but died in November of that year.^[4]

Awards

The Glugs presented their first award in 1973, the Glugs Theatrical Award for Contribution to Theatre, which was presented to David Williamson. Various other categories and named or special awards were added and dropped from the 1980s onwards. Some of these included:^[5]^[6]

Norman Kessell Memorial Award for Contribution to Theatre (1987–1993)
Norman Kessell Memorial Award for Outstanding Performance – Actress (1994–?)
Norman Kessell Memorial Award for Outstanding Performance – Actor (1994–?)
Hayes Gordon Memorial Award for Important Contribution to Theatre (1999–?; after Hayes Gordon)
Chief Glug's Award for Excellence Behind the Scenes (1992–?)
Colleen Clifford Memorial Award Outstanding Performance in a Musical or Special Comedy Satire (1997–?; after Colleen Clifford (1898–1996))
Taffy Davies Memorial Award For Best New Australian Play (1999–?)
Outstanding Production Critic's Choice (1996–2004); renamed Glugs' Choice (2005–); then Robert Davies Memorial Award (2011–?)
Jeffry Joynton-Smith Memorial Award Young Performer "On the Way" (1991–2005; after Jeffry Joynton-Smith , GM/CEO of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust 1969–1984[7][8])
Jeffry Joynton-Smith Memorial Award for Best Supporting Actors (2007–?)
SBW Foundation – Life Achievement Award, later Rodney Seaborn Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award (1991–2019; awarded to Rodney Seaborn in 1997)^[9] (funded by the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation^[10]

The awards are chosen by The Glugs membership,^[2] and are widely covered by theatrical press.^[3]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]

The last awards reported were the 2019 awards, awarded in 2020. Nancye Hayes was given the SBW Foundation Life Achievement Award.^[12]

References

^ "History". Glugs. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Low, Lenny Ann (23 January 2015). "The Glugs: Sydney's oldest theatre appreciation group". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b "The Glugs Theatre Awards Announced". Australian Arts Review. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Vale Peter Binning". Actors Benevolent Fund. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Awards". Glugs. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Annual Awards – Glugs". Glugs. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust (1984). Annual Report 1984 (PDF) (Report).
^ "Jeffry Joynton-Smith interviewed by Amy McGrath [sound recording]". Trove. 6 July 1980. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Awards". Glugs. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
^ "Donations and Bequests". Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ Wright, Maryann (2 February 2015). "2015 Glugs Theatrical Award winners announced". AussieTheatre.com. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b "2020 Glug Award Winners". Stage Whispers. 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "2016 Glugs Theatre Awards". Stage Whispers. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "45th Annual Glugs Awards". Michael Cassel Group. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
^ "Glugs recognise excellence in theatre". That Show Blog. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2023.