Leeds success in Cyprus theatre awards
Leeds lecturer Dr George Rodosthenous has received the Best Direction Award from the Theatrical Organisation of Cyprus.
Dr Rodosthenous, lecturer in Music Theatre and Director of Impact and Innovation at the School of Performance and Cultural Industries (PCI), directed the new musical, Body Faded Blue, during a two-month consultancy residency at the Cyprus National Theatre. The theatrical awards covered over 140 productions that were performed across Cyprus between 2009-2011 and were hosted by the Theatrical Organisation of Cyprus (THOC). The award ceremony, on Monday 16 January 2012 in Nicosia was broadcast live on CYBC and attended by the President of the Cyprus Republic.
The creative team of Body Faded Blue included three University of Leeds alumni. It was written by Stergios Mavrikis (PhD candidate at the Institute of Communication Studies/journalist), composed by Dr Demetris Zavros (PhD in Music Theatre, School of PCI) and choreographed by Lucy Loader (BA(Hons) in Theatre and Performance, School of PCI). The production was designed by Leeds-based theatre designer Barney George and lit by George Lazoglou.
The five-member committee felt that "Rodosthenous approached the musical theatre Body Faded Blue with sensitivity and inventiveness ... [which] highlighted the emotional labyrinth of its protagonist... He unfolded the love triangle and all the characters revolving around it with skill and a robust control of the all of the compositional elements of the production. The musical's strict structure did not prevent it from having moments of freshness, spontaneity and fun. The director created, with humour and drama, a balanced spectacle which moved effortlessly from the serious to the comic and from laughter to reflection."
In 2005, Rodosthenous won the Best Composition Award 2003-2005 for his music for IRON (directed by Varnavas Kyriazis).
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