Silvaine Strike's The Miser, about the madness of a father’s greed, paranoia and suspicion, walked off with four Naledis; Best Production of a Play, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for Patricia Boyer; Best Costume Design for Sarah Roberts and Best Director for Sylvaine Strike.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's famous musical, The Phantom of the Opera won three awards: Best Production of a Musical (Pieter Toerien Productions), Best Musical Director/Score/Arrangement for Louis Zurnamer, currently with Phantom in Korea, and Best Performance in a Musical (Male), which went to multi talented Jonathan Roxmouth.

Samantha Peo won best performance in a Musical for her poignant portrayal of Sally Bowles in Kickstart’s production of Cabaret. The Market theatre production of Delirium, written by Ariel Dorfman and directed by Greg Homann, won two Naledis: Best Cutting Edge/Ensemble, and Best Theatre Set Design for Denis Hutchinson. The daring historical epic, Abnormal Loads also won two awards: Best Theatre Lighting Design for Tina Le Roux and Best New SA script.

Best performance by an Actor in a Leading role went to Michael Richard for his riveting performance in Kickstart’s production of Red, and his son, Jeremy won best supporting actor for the same play. Best Newcomer/Breakthrough went to son of theatre icon John Kani, Atandwa Kani for the State Theatre’s production of Rhetorical.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to South Africa's first lady of song, multiple award-winning Sibongile Khumalo, whose many contributions to the theatre includes the title role in Mzilikazi Khumalo’s musical, Princess Magogo ka Dinuzulu, as well as the award winning production of Songs of Migration.

Chairperson of the Naledi’s, Dali Tambo said that Khumalo was an inspiration to all who witnessed her performances; her talents span across acting, opera, jazz , teaching and above all she is a strong activist for the advancement of theatre of all genres in South Africa.

The coveted Executive Director's Award for producers and individuals who have made a significant contribution to the advancement and development of South African Live Theatre through their vision and commitment went to Yvette Hardy, managing director of Assitej SA,the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People.

Executive director, Dawn Lindberg said that Assitej SA raised the standard of Theatre for Children and built new audiences and theatre makers of the future. She also thanked the sponsors over the past 10 years who have supported the Naledi’s, including Wharfedale Pro, Chauvet Lighting, and Distell and in particular, Auto & General Insurance who have chosen to support the Naledi Theatre Awards for 3 years.

The Naledi Theatre Awards ceremony was staged and directed by Dawn Lindberg and the Master of Ceremonies was comedian, Alan Committie. The line-up of presenters included well-known celebrities including 94.7 DJ, Anele Mdoda; arts angel, Carolyn Steyn; jazz diva, Gloria Bosman; Isidingo stars, Kgomotso Christopher and Vusi Kunene; performance poet, Lebo Mashile; star of Oscar winning movie, Tsotsi, Presley Chweneyagae; Young Artist winner, Prince Lamla; and Gugu and Welcome Msomi.

Guests enjoyed a line-up of entertainment from some of the best performers in the country: Cabaret, performed by award winning artist Samantha Peo and accompanied by Evan Roberts. Jonathan Roxmouth also a winner, teamed up with Ian von Memerty for Music of the Night from Phantom, and History of the Broadway Musical: A Handful of Keys. Tamara Dey of Flash Republic sang a song specially written for the occasion and to mark her first public performance after major surgery to remove nodules from her vocal chords.

The Leonard Cohen classic, Hallelujah, was sung a’capella by Naami Gottlieb Liebermann. Sharon Spiegel-Wagner and Sivan Raphaely, “from the Mouths of Babes” to highlight the tributes to those who passed away during 2012. Modern Major General from the Pirates of Penzance had the audience chuckling as David Dennis, Michael Richard, Jonathan Taylor, Clinton Hawks, Keaton Ditchfield and Kevin Kraak took to the stage. Michael de Pinna sang Feeling Good, which was arranged by Johan Laas.

To open the show, dancers from the National School of the Arts Festival of Fame performed Pictures of Africa. Choreographed by Lauren Jones to music by Dead can Dance, it featured N Bekwa, C Du Preez, L Ferreira, K Mokhosi, K Nche, L Phale, C Schafer, E Stevens, J Stroud, and Y Thomas as birds; K Devar, L Mzimaze, I Poggenpoel, C Rau, C Roebeck, and R van den Aardweg as buck; K Gwangwa, T Mdluli, S Ngoma, M Renecase, and S Stewart as zebra; and S Blaauw, L Botha, T Tshephe, and T Turner as rhino.

Judges for 2012 were: Renos Spanoudes, Welcome Msomi, Helen Heldenmuth, Lance Maron, Lali Dangalese, Mandla Motau, Peter Feldman, Rudi Sadler, Carolyn Steyn, Dorianne Alexander and Ferosa Marais.

The full list of winners:

Life time achievement award: Sibongile Khumalo; Executive Director's Award: Yvette Hardy, MD of Assitej SA; Best Theatre Set Design: Denis Hutchinson, Delirium; Best Costume Design: Sarah Roberts, The Miser; Best Theatre Lighting Design: Tina Le Roux, Abnormal Loads; Best Theatre Sound Design/Sound Effects: Braam du Toit, Trilogy: Lot/Betésda/Babbel; Best Production of Children Theatre: Goggas! - National Children Theatre; Best Performance by Newcomer/Breakthrough (Male/Female): Atandwa Kani, Rhetorical; Best Community Theatre: Sello Le Dipogiso, Black Child Productions directed by Thembeni Joni; Best Original Choreography (Musical or Play): Loukmaan Adams and Jodi Abrahams, The Kat and the Kings; Best Musical Director/Score/Arrangement: Louis Zurnamer (MD), Phantom of the Opera; Best Ensemble Production/Cutting Edge: Delirium written by Ariel Dorfman, produced by The Market Theatre and directed by Greg Homann; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role/Cameo: Patricia Boyer, The Miser; Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role/Cameo: Jeremy Richard, Red; Best Director of a Play or Musical: Sylvaine Strike, The Miser; Best Performance in a Musical (Female): Samantha Peo, Cabaret; Best Performance in a Musical (Male): Jonathan Roxmouth, The Phantom of the Opera; Best Production of Play: The Miser, produced by Fortune Cookie Theatre Company and the Market Theatre, and directed by Sylvaine Strike; Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role (Play): Khutjo Green, The Line; Best Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role (Play): Michael Richard, Red; Best New South African Script: Abnormal Loads, produced by the Market Theatre in association with Standard Bank and Think Theatre, written by Neil Coppen, and directed by Neil Coppen and Janna Ramos-Violante; and Best Production of Musical: The Phantom of the Opera, produced by Pieter Toerien and The Really Useful Group Limited, and directed by Harold Prince.