Melting Pot Theatre up for Canberra awards for Shakesperean adaptation

The group has been recognised for its performances of an adaptation of the Shakespearean classic Macbeth, which is set in Ukraine at the start of the war.

It has been nominated four times at the Canberra Area theatre Awards, including for Best Production of a Play.

"I was blown away that we've been nominated for four," creative director Ted Ayers said.

"It certainly made everyone in the community very proud."

The creative director has been nominated for the best set and original work.

He said the 2023 play was "politically charged" and showed the "craziness and stupidity of war".

It was an immersive production where audiences were sat in "pods", and the cast made their way through the crowds, so people saw actors from all directions.

It also had a large ensemble and Mr Ayers made all of the costumes.

The play and MPTB's 2022 production Noises Off, set a new precedent for the group and "changed everything", Mr Ayers said.

Both productions required more sets, larger scripts, costumes, and made the group rethink the way they approach putting on plays.

Macbeth being a sold-out play and the audience wanting encores also felt assuring, he said.

Dean Carey is also a contender in the Best Direction of a Play category.

The awards are just the start of the theatre group's jam-packed calendar.

They have a production in March, perform The Haunting - Stories from beyond the grave and at Exeter's regency weekend in May, at this year's Winterfest, and at Wine and Roses in Berrima in November.

The Canberra Area Theatre Awards winners will be announced in Queanbeyan on February 18.

Oxley and Chevalier College were also nominated for several awards.

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