Harriet Moir won the outstanding performance in a lead role award at the Dunedin Theatre Awards on Monday for her performance in the Birds of a Feather production Every Brilliant Thing.
She was thrilled to win the award especially as it was her first professional gig and she gave it a go at the "ripe old age of 47".
"So it turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks," she said.
She had been a comic for some time but it was her first time attempting a serious character exploring themes of suicide and mental health on stage.
The way the show was written allowed for a lot of audience interaction and room to go off-script — something that worked in her favour, she said.
"It was a really good marriage of straight theatre and dealing with some really full-on themes, but then also these really lovely light-hearted moments where you got to interact with the audience quite deeply."
It was good to explore a serious role having been the "clown" for most of her life on stage.
No two weeks were ever the same in Ms Moir’s life.
She was now preparing for a one-woman play by New Zealand playwright Kathryn Burnett, in theatres mid-year.
She was also starting a podcast and would be going on comedy tours around the country.
Max Beal won the outstanding performance in a lead role male prize at the awards.
He said he was honoured to win among other nominees that were of a high calibre.
"I hadn’t really expected to come away with anything."
He played the role of "the poet" in a show called An Iliad inspired by Homer’s Iliad.
"It’s a timeless tale about the complexities of war and humanity and how we’re doomed to repeat these cycles and these petty grievances, but also of the heroism ... from people like Achilles and Odysseus."
It was a two-man show with Mr Beal and actor Samuel Leaper, put on with the help of set designer and lighting technician Jordan Whichman.
Mr Beal had been acting for about 10 years and was off to London next week with hopes of breaking into the West End.
