2026 Performing Arts WA Awards winners announced
The 2026 Performing Arts WA Awards announced its winners for professional live performance in 2025 at Heath Ledger Theatre on Monday, April 20.
The annual Performing Arts WA Awards Ceremony night celebrates dance, musicals, opera and cabaret across the state, including both mainstage and independent performances.
The opera Dead Man Walking by Freeze Frame Opera was crowned as the night’s biggest winner, taking home five awards, including Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Lighting Design and Best Production.
Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA’s co-production with Belvoir St Theatre, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts, and independent theatre show Shadow of Doubt by The Blue Room Theatre and Fine Comb Theatre were also popular productions, picking up four awards each.
Black Swan State Theatre Company of WA was also one of the most awarded companies, receiving five awards, with The Blue Room Theatre maintaining its longstanding reputation as a hub for theatre with ten award wins.
The biggest nominees for the night included the musical Urinetown by Western Sky Projects with fourteen nominations and Co3 Contemporary Dance and The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s dance work IN THE SHADOW OF TIME with eight nominations.
Veteran stage manager Jenny Poh achieved the Lifetime Achievement Award for her work within the performance industry.
James Berlyn also won the inaugural Ripple Effect Award, with Berlyn announcing in his speech that the prize money would fund a new artist residency opportunity at his West Berlyn Studios. The new Ripple Effect Award honours the legacy of the late Georgia Malone, who had more than twenty years of experience in the arts industry.
The awards additionally featured live performances from MATRIARX and Pam Boland, with the night hosted by performers Luke Joseph Ryan and Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd.
The Performing Arts WA Awards are hosted each year by Artist Relief Fund WA, a charity that supports arts workers experiencing hardship.
Check out the full list of winners below:
Special Awards
Outstanding Newcomer
WINNER Lachlan Higgins, Dead Man Walking
Outstanding New Work or Adaptation
WINNER Tomas Clifford Got Stood Up
Outstanding New Work or Adaptation
WINNER Manifest, Perth Moves
Outstanding Newcomer
WINNER Otto Pye, Manifest, Perth Moves
Outstanding New Work or Adaptation
WINNER Shadow of Doubt
Outstanding Newcomer
WINNER Alexandria Henderson, Arthur Haynes and the Smoking Gun
Outstanding Lifetime Achievement
WINNER Jenny Poh
The Ripple Effect Award
WINNER James Berlyn
Dance
Outstanding Choreography
WINNER IN THE SHADOW OF TIME
Outstanding Ensemble
WINNER Manifest, Perth Moves
Best Independent Production
WINNER two thread
Outstanding Duet
WINNER Karlia Cook & Danni Cook, two thread
Outstanding Performer
WINNER Luther Wilson, The Scramble
Outstanding Achievement by an Interstate Artist
WINNER Jon Buswell, Butterfly Effect
Best Mainstage Production
WINNER Cinderella
Outstanding Performer
WINNER Pamela Barnes, Cinderella
Musicals, Opera & Cabaret
Best Production
WINNER Dead Man Walking
Outstanding Direction, Movement Direction or Choreography
WINNER Adam Mitchell, Dead Man Walking
Outstanding Ensemble
WINNER “O,D,E”
Outstanding Performer in a Leading Role
WINNER Charis Postmus, “O,D,E”
Outstanding Musical Direction or Conducting
WINNER Christopher van Tuinen, The Pirates of Penzance
Outstanding Performer in a Supporting Role
WINNER Penny Shaw, The Pirates of Penzance
Outstanding Achievement by an Interstate Artist
WINNER Penny Shaw, The Pirates of Penzance
Outstanding Performer in a Leading Role
WINNER Nick Maclaine, Urinetown the Musical
Outstanding Performer in a Supporting Role
WINNER Sharon Kiely, Urinetown the Musical
Theatre
Outstanding Performer in a Leading Role
WINNER Tamara Creasey, Reasons to Stay Inside
Outstanding Ensemble
WINNER Never Have I Ever
Best Mainstage Production
WINNER August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
Outstanding Performer in a Supporting Role
WINNER Amy Matthews, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
Outstanding Performer in a Supporting Role
WINNER Will O’Mahony, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
Outstanding Achievement by an Interstate Artist
WINNER Pamela Rabe, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts
Best Independent Production
WINNER Shadow of Doubt
Outstanding Direction
WINNER Rachel McMurray, Shadow of Doubt
Outstanding Performer in a Leading Role
WINNER Lainey O’Sullivan, Shadow of Doubt
Overall Awards
Outstanding Composition
WINNER Gina Williams-Ghouse & Guy Ghouse, Aliwah Bardinar!
Outstanding Arranging
WINNER Tommaso Pollio, Dead Man Walking
Outstanding Lighting Design
WINNER Jerry Reinhardt, Dead Man Walking
Outstanding Costume Design
WINNER Nicole Marrington, LEGENDS (of the Golden Arches)
Outstanding Stage Design
WINNER Cherish Marrington, LEGENDS (of the Golden Arches)
Outstanding Contemporary or Experimental Performance
WINNER “O,D,E”
Outstanding Sound Design
WINNER Rebecca Riggs-Bennett, The 7 Stages of Grieving
The Performing Arts WA Award winners were announced at Heath Ledger Theatre on Monday, April 20, 2026. For more info head to performingartswaawards.com
