You voted in your thousands '“ and here are The Guide Awards shortlists

Today we can reveal the shortlists for each of the 13 categories you’ve been voting for.

The top six in each category, from music, to theatre, art and film will now go forward to our Guide Awards Night, a glittering gala ceremony at The New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth on Monday, January 29, where we will be naming the winners.

We will also be presenting a Special Achievement Award for someone we feel has played a great role in contributing to the cultural life of the region.

We are proud to be working with estate agents Fry and Kent as our main sponsor.

And on top of that there will be entertainment from some top performers in between the awards.

Tickets for the night are free and available to everyone, not just those connected to the nominees.

Editor of The News Mark Waldron says: ‘From the moment we opened the voting at the start of December, they’ve been coming in thick and fast.

‘It’s always gratifying to see the messages on social media where the nominees tell how much it means to them even to make the longlists.

‘There might be a few surprises there among the shortlists, of names you might have expected to see in some categories who are absent, but the public has spoken.

‘Now we would like to invite you to join us for a night that is sure to be packed with tears and cheers as we name the winners.’

To get hold of tickets, e-mail us with how many you would like, your name, address and a contact number to [email protected] or call (023) 9262 2136.

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THE SHORTLIST

A. BEST COMEDY sponsored by Portsmouth Cultural Trust

1 Sunjai Arif – Won Bath Comedy Festival New Act 2017.

2 Mike Cox – Busy gigging across the UK.

3 Nathan Eagle – Winning fans with his surreal storytelling.

4 Michael Frankland – Hosts a regular open mic night at the Dolphin in Old Portsmouth.

5 Suzi Ruffell – You can take the girl out of Portsmouth, etc...

6 Joe Wells – Took his second show, I Hope I Die Before I Start Voting Conservative to Edinburgh.

B. BEST DJ sponsored by Mutiny Festival

1 Banksy - A versatile scene veteran covering multiple genres.

2 Liz Cornick - Sets at Isle of Wight and Mutiny Festivals were highlights.

3 Hannibal - Using up to five decks, his mixing astounds.

4 Latecomer - A prolific tech-house duo.

5 Soul Divide-  The house duo and Love Amplified staples are scene favourites.

6 Zork - Making a name for himself outside of The Murky Squad.

C. BEST BAND sponsored by The Wedgewood Rooms

1 Arcade Hearts - Won a popular vote to play at Indigo at the O2 in a busy year for the indie dance band.

2 Bemis - Hard-working folk-rockers released their well-received sixth album, A World of Difference.

3 Coax - Won a nationwide competition that saw them played to millions on the Big Top 40 radio show.

4 The Collision - Off to a fast start, the pop-rock act have already sold out The Wedge in their first year.

5 Emptifish - Supported punk legends The Damned on tour and released their first new material in 30 years.

6 Percival Elliott - A highlight of both Icebreaker and Victorious festivals.

D. BEST SOLO ACT sponsored by BH Live

1 Tom Bertram - Made it into the singles charts with the aptly named Mr Lucky

2 Ben Brookes - Recorded his debut album in the US, which is now attracting rave reviews.

3 Devin-Jade - Just 17, but got a great response to her debut EP, Adolescence.

4 Fugitive Orchestra - Lots of gigging and a new EP getting political with a ‘disco protest song’.

5 Lily Garland - Picked up a brace of nominations in the 2017 UK Country Radio Awards.

6 Jerry Williams - Made her live TV debut as she continued to build her national profile.

E. BEST EVENT sponsored by Victorious Festival

1 Cheese Festival - A new event that drew a full house for fans of fromage.

2 Goodwood Festival of Speed - ‘Peaks of performance’ was the theme, and it duly delivered.

3 Icebreaker - The unsigned regional music showcase goes from strength-to-strength.

4 Isle of Wight Festival - Rod Stewart and Arcade Fire with David Guetta and Run DMC headlined the island’s biggie.

5 Mutiny Festival - Drew in big names from the worlds of electronic music and hip-hop.

6 Wickham Festival - Broadening beyond its folk roots to embrace popular appeal.

F. BEST PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTION sponsored by The New Theatre Royal

1 Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night Time - Mayflower - An imaginative adaptation of Mark Haddon’s best-seller.

2 Fiddler on the Roof – CFT - Omid Djalili led the cast in this much-lauded summer blockbuster.

3 King Lear - Chichester Festival Theatre - Sir Ian McKellen returned to the role with a powerhouse performance.

4 Our House - The Kings Theatre - The Madness musical was abetted by some fine performances.

5 The Red Shoes - Mayflower - Superstar choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne’s new labour of love.

6 The Woman in Black - New Theatre Royal - Two-handed take on the supernatural horror.

G. BEST AMATEUR PRODUCTION sponsored by The Groundlings Theatre

1 Death of a Salesman – Bench - The Spring - The troupe tackle Arthur Miller’s modern American classic.

2 Equus - Bench - The Spring - A demanding play, stand-out performances abound in Peter Shaffer’s controversial 1973 piece.

3 Farm Boy - CCADS - The Station Theatre - The sequel to Michael Morpurgo’s runaway success, War Horse.

4 The Hound of the Baskervilles – Torchlight Mysteries - New Theatre Royal - A creative three-handed retelling of the Sherlock Holmes classic.

5 The Loose Canon – Southsea Shakespeare Actors - The Station Theatre - An inventive take on all 39 of Shakespeare’s plays in one sitting.

6 Yes Minister - Interalia - Ferneham Hall - A timely revival, adapted from episodes of the all-time-great sitcom.

H. BEST AMATEUR MUSICAL sponsored by The Kings Theatre

1 Carrie: The Musical – CCADS - The Station Theatre - Who would have thought that Stephen King’s tale of a telekinetic girl pushed too far could be a great musical?

2 Made in Dagenham – SDMS - The Kings Theatre - Unlikely subject matter - factory strikes - makes for a top feelgood musical.

3 Our House - FMS - Ferneham Hall - Refusing to be overshadowed by a national touring version of the Madness-based musical juggernaut.

4 Pirates of Penzance - UPDMS - New Theatre Royal - The Gilbert and Sullivan proved to be evergreen in these young hands.

5 Sister Act - SDMS - Ferneham Hall - A spirited production of the film-turned-musical smash hit.

6 The Wizard of Oz –  Portsmouth Players - The Kings - They followed that yellow brick road and followed it well.

I. BEST AMATEUR ACTOR

1 Vincent Adams - Twelfth Night - Bench.

2 Mike Gondelle - Brimstone and Treacle - HumDrum.

3 Alan Jenkins – Made in Dagenham - SDMS.

4 Tony Johnson – The Wizard of Oz – Portsmouth Players.

5 Mark Wakeman – Death of a Salesman - Bench.

6 Sean Ridley – Farm Boy – CCADS.

J. BEST AMATEUR ACTRESS

1 Alice Corrigan - Twelfth Night - Bench.

2 Leigh Cunningham – Equus - Bench.

3 Coral Hutchesson - Carrie: The Musical - CCADS.

4 Leila Millson – Touched – HumDrum.

5 Helen Stoddart – Made in Dagenham - SDMS.

6 Emma Van Kooperen – Brimstone and Treacle - HumDrum.

K. BEST CLASSICAL

1 Karen Kingsley - For her work with young musicians across Portsmouth and her solo performances with numerous local choirs and orchestras. 

2 Ben Lathbury - For his well-received piano recital at Stansted House.

3 The Renaissance Choir’s partnership with the Palestrina Foundation in Italy - For their concerts in Palestrina cathedral and St. Peter’s, Rome.

4 Solent Symphony Orchestra - In their 25th anniversary year of providing Portsmouth with first class performances. 

5 Portsmouth Choral Union - For their recent performance, and subsequent world premiere recording, of Samuel Wesley’s Confitebor Tibi, Domine.

6 The Music Department of the University of Portsmouth - For the Portsmouth Messiah, a project led by Dr George Burrows.

L. BEST FILM with Portsmouth Film Society

1  Black Dog - Director: Mark Oakley - There’s a black dog scratching at the door, what are you going to do about it?

2 Last Night - Director: Riyadh Haque & John McGinty - A young woman flees London after an innocent night out turns into something more sinister.

3 To Whoever Finds My Body - Director: Chris Jump - A teenage boy contemplating suicide discovers the unconscious body a young girl on the rooftop he intends jumping off. 

4 Unwanted Hubbies - Director: Carol & Edward Lyon – As the name suggests, the film looks at how to get rid of unwanted husbands.

M. BEST VISUAL ARTIST Sponsored by Aspex Gallery

1 Farkfk – Southsea’s Farkfk’s most recent addition to South Parade Pier has brightened up our already beautiful seaside, not to mention his numerous creations across the city.

2 Spencer Hunt (aka Petting Zoo Prints) – A prolific printer, Spencer has a studio at Hotwalls and recently had an ambitious solo show of new work Never ever, ever After First Editions at Jack House Gallery in November 2017. 

3 Madjid Dhana & Natalia Michalska – A Zimbabwean artist/poet and Polish photographer, now both resident in Portsmouth were commissioned by the Journeys Festival International for the Look Up commission, featuring portraits of local refugees and asylum seekers shown large scale around the city in October 2017.

4 M-one – M-one’s stencilled street art was showcased in a solo show at Southsea’s Playdead Studio - on top of a collaboration with fellow street artists for the Jurassix Pack Launch with Staggeringly Good Beer. He was also commissioned by Artreach to paint a container for the Journeys Festival International in Manchester in 2017, following the success of the container he painted for Portsmouth in 2016.

5 Svetlana Ochkovskaya – Svetlana is an associate of Sticks Gallery, Gosport and was selected for inclusion in the regional Platform Award exhibition shown at Aspex.  She is currently studying for an MFA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College and is the Platform Alumni artist in residency at Aspex.

6 Sadie Tierney – It’s been a big year for Sadie, moving into the Hotwalls Studios, shows with Southsea’s Bureau of Change and Coastguard Studios, she was included in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and had a major solo show with the Rabley Gallery, Marlborough, Wiltshire.