Golden Benana Winner – Three Men In A Boat (Pea Green Theatre Group/Toronto Fringe)
At first, the all banana casting of Three Men in a Boat felt like pandering. But after a while I didn’t mind because, as it turns out, being pandered to is pretty great.
Silver Benana – Crazy For You (Stratford Festival)
Bronze Benana – Kurios (Cirque de Soleil)
Three Men in a Boat was a great reminder that a nearly-empty stage, strong performers, and a lot of creativity can feel bigger and more lively than even the most expensive shows. You hear that Stratford Festival and Cirque de Soleil?? Enjoy your stupid silver and bronze…
In accepting the award, the company’s co-artistic director Mark Brownell said “thank you so much for choosing our show”, while director Sue Miner added “Wow, this is lovely. During these freaking cold days a Golden Benana is the perfect thing.” You can catch Three Men In A Boat touring to the Ottawa Fringe, Globus Theatre, YES Theatre in Sudbury and the Winnipeg Fringe this summer (2015).
The rest of the top 10:
4. NSFW (Studio 180)
5. Great Battles in History (Mark Shyzer / Toronto Fringe)
6. Mistakes Were Made (Brave New Productions)
7. Wicked (Mirvish)
8. Potosi (Good Old Neon / Toronto Fringe)
9. Les Miserables (Mirvish)
10. Roller Derby Saved My Soul (Broken Turtle Productions / Toronto Fringe)
The Golden Benanas 