30 August, 2025

Take a bow! Company Theatre wins slew of awards

Dressing up and taking to the stage came naturally to troupers from Company Theatre when their endeavours were recognised at the recent Northern Area Performance Theatre Awards (the Naptas).
Company – based at the Rose Centre in Belmont – was repeatedly in the spotlight on the night, with its sell-out production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time being named Outstanding Play of the Year and being further recognised with three other major awards. Hauraki resident Suzy Sampson, who helmed the production, won the Outstanding Direction award and actor Ben Wickers the Outstanding Performance in a Leading Male Role in a Play category, while the Outstanding Supporting Ensemble award, recognised the performances of local Devonport actors Trudy Thumath, James Carrick, Marissa Willson and Frannie Johnson, along with Trudy Price and Duncan Preston. Curious Incident, based on the novel by Mark Haddon and written for the stage by Simon Stephens, was performed in May last year, winning many plaudits.
Company’s staging of Home Land by Gary Henderson was also a winner, with the Outstanding Props Award collected by Vettinia Ross, Sherry Ede and Sarah Dettwiler.
Pictured above at the event, held at the North Shore Golf Club, are: (back row, from left); Caroline Chapman Smith, Stephen Hood, Wickers and Price. Front row: Ede, Ross, Sampson, Kathy Gent, Willson and Thumath.