The award, given for his impressive portrayal of The Poet in challenging one-man show (with music) An Iliad, capped off an epic year for Beal in 2025.
An Iliad, performed with musician Samuel Leaper during Dunedin Fringe Festival, was Beal’s first show for the year.
He followed it up by singing the lead role of Russian grand master Anatoly Sergievsky in Musical Theatre Dunedin’s production of Chess, and then the even more demanding role of Judas in Taieri Musical Society’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
"It certainly was a busy year, there were a lot of different elements to learn for those three shows," Beal said.
Renowned for his musical theatre work in Dunedin and around New Zealand over the past eight years, Beal had seen the Michael Hurst/Shayne P Carter version of An Iliad when it was performed at the Fortune Theatre in 2019.
"It stuck with me, so when I decided to try my hand at some [non musical] theatre, it had to be An Iliad," he said.
"Of course, I had Sam on stage with me creating music, and also there is a musical element to The Poet’s words, which I love."
Working on the musicals Chess and Jesus Christ Superstar were a labour of love for Beal, who has long been a fixture of musical theatre in the south.
Audiences across the country have also experienced his talents in the lead role of Frankie Valli in Musical Theatre Dunedin’s production of Jersey Boys, which toured New Zealand.
"I have been very lucky to have had so many wonderful opportunities to perform in musical theatre shows, dating back to Into the Woods in 2017," he said.
Going on, he performed in Spamalot, Les Miserables, That Bloody Women, Blood Brothers, and Chicago, among others.
Like many arts practitioners in Dunedin, Beal has mostly pursued his performance career "for the love of it" on top of working - for the past four years he has worked in an administration role at ACC.
"I have been fortunate to have had the support of my managers over that time, which I’m grateful for."
It has been a great run, but now the time has come for Beal and partner Ben Johnson, himself an accomplished local performer, musician and director, to head for the bright lights and busy performance scene of London.
As Beal has family in Nottingham, the pair plan to stay there while they look for accommodation and work in London to support themselves while they pursue their performance dreams.
"It’s unchartered territory for us, but we are hopeful of finding our feet over there - we are going with open minds and will try our hand at anything, from pantomime to musical theatre.
"There is lots happening in the arts in the United Kingdom and Europe, so it will be really interesting to see how it all goes.
"It will be a real adventure, and the great thing is that we are in it together."
