Durban hosts soapie awards

TELEVISION soap opera newbie, Isibaya, swept the boards at the inaugural Royalty Soapie Awards (RSAs) at a glittering ceremony at the Durban International Convention Centre on Saturday 8 March.

Isibaya scooped 10 of the 18 categories, leaving the rest of the spoils to be shared amongst industry heavyweights and top audience rated shows.

Isibaya, produced by The Bomb Shelter, and broadcast on Mzansi Magic, channel 161 on DStv scooped all the major awards on the night including Outstanding Soapie, Outstanding Lead Actor (Siyabonga Twala) and Outstanding Lead Actress (Thembi Nyandeni).

Isibaya also dominated the technical categories including Outstanding Directing, Outstanding Art Direction, Outstanding Make-Up, Outstanding Casting Director, Outstanding Lighting and Outstanding Editing.

SABC2’s 7de Laan scooped three statuettes for Outstanding Supporting Actor (Hennie Jacobs), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Annelize van der Ryst) and Outstanding Newcomer (Simoné Nortmann) with Isidingo and The Wild nabbing two RSAs and Binneland the only other winner on the night with one Royalty Soapie Award for Marisa Drummond in the Outstanding Female Villain category.

Shaleen Surtie-Richards was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for her 30 year contribution to the industry and her memorable roles on soapies such as Egoli, Generations and 7de Laan.

The Royalty Soapie Awards were judged by a panel of seasoned television practitioners, media, critics and leading personalities in the entertainment industry. The results were audited by international audit firm KPMG. Television viewers also had a chance to express their choice. The Favourite Soapie Award went to Binneland for achieving the most public votes.

“After a substantial campaign to bring this project to fruition we are delighted to bestow these honours on soapie practitioners. We congratulate all the winners and the participants. We believe that through these awards the overall winner will be the industry as a whole, the South African public and indeed audiences all over the world,” said Royalty Soapie Awards project director Sindile Xulu.

Soapie lovers will get a chance to see all the action on SABC1, Mzansi Fo Sho at a date to be announced.