It already has a record 13 Helpmann Awards under its belt, and on Monday night Tim Minchin's Matilda the Musical notched up another eight awards at Victoria's performing arts love-in, the Green Room Awards.

Minchin's widely acclaimed adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's book took home best production, best lighting, set, costume and sound design, best direction (Matthew Warchus), best music direction/supervision (Stephen Amos), and the Betty Pounder Award for Excellence in Choreography (Peter Darling) in the music theatre category.

There was little left for other productions in the category, but British performer Callum Francis took out best male lead for his dazzling portrayal of Lola in Cyndi Lauper's Kinky Boots. Caroline O'Connor meanwhile scored best female lead as Fanny Brice in The Production Company's Funny Girl.

The original Queensland Theatre/Melbourne Theatre Company incarnation of Ladies in Black – the stage adaptation of a Madeleine St John novel with music by Tim Finn – picked up just one award with Naomi Price scoring best supporting female. With a rebooted version currently touring nationally to acclaim, Ladies in Black may do better next year.

Another reboot well worth a look is Zoe Coombs Marr's Trigger Warning, a subversive, feminist comedy starring her alter-ego, "Dave". The show, which was also nominated for a Helpmann Award, picked up an award for best writing in the independent theatre category, and shared the award for best performer with Jane Montgomery Griffiths, outstanding in the role of a woman dying of cancer in the the fortyfivedownstairs/Artisan Collective production of Wit.

Trigger Warning returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for six nights from April 18.

There were a few other standout efforts on the night.

Ash Flanders, from boundary-pushing Melbourne theatre ensemble Sisters Grimm, picked up best cabaret artist and best cabaret writer for the aptly titled show Playing to Win.

Meanwhile, Sisters Grimm itself, comprising Flanders and Declan Greene, did well with its Melbourne Theatre Company co-production Lilith: The Jungle Girl, taking home best independent theatre ensemble, best new writing/adaptation for the Australian stage, and best set and costume design from Marg Horwell (memorably, this saw Flanders emerge from a wooden crate covered in baby-pink goop; later he donned a wedding dress and clogs).

The overall best theatre company production, however, went to MTC's Miss Julie, from the provocative 19th century Swedish play. It also picked up best direction (Kip Williams).

Rose Riley and Rory Kelly took out the best performer awards for their respective roles in Belvoir's The Glass Menagerie and Red Stitch's Trevor.

Animal – a confronting co-production from inFlux and Theatre Works on the topic of family violence – cleaned up in the independent theatre category, with best director (Susie Dee), best ensemble, best lighting design (Andy Turner), and best music composition and sound design (Kelly Ryall).

Winner of best independent production was Ilbijerri Theatre Company's Blood on the Dance Floor, written and conceived by Jacob Boehme who is creative director of the brand new first nations arts festival Yirramboi, coming to the City of Melbourne in May.

The raucous, funny, all-coloured, all-female show Hot Brown Honey, from Darebin Arts Speakeasy and Briefs Factory, took out best cabaret production.

In opera there were few surprises, with Opera Australia winning every award in the category and The Ring Cycle sweeping up all but two with best production, best director (Neil Armfield), best female and male leads (Lise Lindstrom, James Johnson), best supporting male (Graeme Macfarlane) and best conductor (Pietari Inkinen).

There was no best production award in the dance category, but Lilian Steiner and Benjamin Hancock both picked up a best performer award in Lucy Guerin Inc's Dark Chorus, while Sydney Dance Company and Dancenorth shared best ensemble performances for CounterMove and If_Was_.

Chunky Move's Lucid was awarded best concept and realisation, as well as best visual design, while Thomas ES Kelly's [MIS]CONCEIVE won Outstanding Work by an Emerging Artist/Choreographer.

Punctum's COMPLETE SMUT Art Auction – in which groups of performance artists were auctioned off live – won best contemporary and experimental production, along with an award for innovation in participatory performance.

There were three special awards announced too, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, which went to Richard Murphet and the Technical Achievement Award, for Jenny Hector; while Japanese Butoh dancer and creator Yumi Umiumare was given the Geoffrey Milne Memorial Award for her contribution to contemporary and experimental performance.

CABARET

Artiste

Ash Flanders, Playing to Win

Ensemble

Occasional Suburban Witch - Benn Bennett, Sarah Ward and Bec Matthews 

Design

Paul Lim (Lighting), Lisa Fa'alafi (Costumes), Tristan Shelley (Set Design), Libby Harward (Grafiti Art), Hot Brown Honey (Darebin Arts Speakeasy and Briefs Factory)

Writing

Ash Flanders, Playing to Win

Original Songs

Jude Perl, Part of This Complete Breakfast

Musical Direction

Bec Matthews, Yana Alana Covered

Innovative Use of Form

Grumble: Sex Clown Saves the World

Production

Hot Brown Honey (Darebin Arts Speakeasy and Briefs Factory)

Outstanding Contribution to Cabaret

Mark Jones

CONTEMPORARY AND EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE

Performer

David Woods, The Chat (Arts House)

Sound Performance

Crush, Dylan Sheridan and Sam Routledge (Arts House for Festival of Live Art)

Design

Howl, Aphids (Arts House for Festival of Live Art)
Tremor, Ashley Dyer (Arts House)

Curatorial Contribution

The Substation, 2016 Program

Innovation in Contemporary Circus

Sediment, Company 2 (Melba Spiegeltent for Melbourne Fringe Festival) 

Innovation in Participatory Performance

COMPLETE SMUT Art Auction, Punctum (Arts House for Festival of Live Art)

Innovation in Experiential Performance

Imagined Touch, Jodee Mundy Collaborations (Arts House)

Production

COMPLETE SMUT Art Auction, Punctum

DANCE

Female Performer

Lilian Steiner, The Dark Chorus (Lucy Guerin Inc as part of Melbourne Festival)

Male Performer

Benjamin Hancock, The Dark Chorus (Lucy Guerin Inc as part of Melbourne Festival)

Ensemble Performance

CounterMove (Sydney Dance Company)
If_Was_ (Dancenorth)

Visual Design

Ben Cobham for Bluebottle (Set and Lighting Design) and James Sandri and Pete Brundle for PDA (Video System Design), Lucid (Chunky Move)

Music Composition and Sound Design

Duane Morrison, Mermermer (Jo Lloyd and Nicola Gunn for Next Move 9presented by Chunky Move)

Outstanding Work by an Emerging Artist/Choreographer

Thomas ES Kelly, [MIS]CONCEIVE

Concept and Realisation

Lucid (Chunky Move)

INDEPENDENT THEATRE

Performer (2 awarded)

Zoë Coombs Marr, Trigger Warning
Jane Montgomery-Griffiths, Wit (The Artisan Collective in association with fortyfivedownstairs)

Ensemble

Animal (inFlux in association with Theatre Works)

Lighting Design

Andy Turner, Animal (inFlux in association with Theatre Works)

Set and Costume Design

Romanie Harper (AV, Set & Costume), Conviction (Darebin Arts Speakeasy and The Zoey Louise Moonbeam Dawson Shakespeare Company)

Music Composition and Sound Design

Kelly Ryall (Sound Design), Animal (inFlux in association with Theatre Works)

Writing

Zoe Coombs Marr, Trigger Warning

Direction

Susie Dee, Animal (inFlux in association with Theatre Works)

Production

Blood on the Dance Floor (Ilbijerri Theatre Company & Jacob Boehme)

MUSIC THEATRE

Female Lead

Caroline O'Connor, Funny Girl (The Production Company)

Male Lead 

Callum Francis, Kinky Boots (Michael Cassel)

Female in a Supporting Role

Naomi Price, Ladies in Black (Queensland Theatre presented by Melbourne Theatre Company)

Male in a Supporting Role

Jack Chambers, Singin' in the Rain (Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, David Atkins Enterprises, Michael Cassel and Dainty Group)

Lighting Design

Hugh Vanstone, Matilda the Musical (The Royal Shakespeare Company and Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Michael Watt with Chokey Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Glass Half Full Productions, Paula Marie Black, Greenleaf Productions and Michael Lynch)

Set Design

Rob Howell, Matilda the Musical (The Royal Shakespeare Company and Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Michael Watt with Chokey Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Glass Half Full Productions, Paula Marie Black, Greenleaf Productions and Michael Lynch)

Costume Design

Rob Howell, Matilda the Musical (The Royal Shakespeare Company and Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Michael Watt with Chokey Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Glass Half Full Productions, Paula Marie Black, Greenleaf Productions and Michael Lynch)

Sound Design

Simon Baker, Matilda the Musical (The Royal Shakespeare Company and Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Michael Watt with Chokey Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Glass Half Full Productions, Paula Marie Black, Greenleaf Productions and Michael Lynch)

Music Direction/Supervision

Stephen Amos, Matilda the Musical (The Royal Shakespeare Company and Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Michael Watt with Chokey Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Glass Half Full Productions, Paula Marie Black, Greenleaf Productions and Michael Lynch)

Betty Pounder Award for Excellence in Choreography

Peter Darling, Matilda the Musical (The Royal Shakespeare Company and Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Michael Watt with Chokey Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Glass Half Full Productions, Paula Marie Black, Greenleaf Productions and Michael Lynch)

Direction

Matthew Warchus, Matilda the Musical (The Royal Shakespeare Company and Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Michael Watt with Chokey Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Glass Half Full Productions, Paula Marie Black, Greenleaf Productions and Michael Lynch)

Production

Matilda the Musical (The Royal Shakespeare Company and Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Michael Watt with Chokey Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals, Glass Half Full Productions, Paula Marie Black, Greenleaf Productions and Michael Lynch)

OPERA

Female Lead

Lise Lindstrom (Brünnhilde), The Ring Cycle (Opera Australia)

Male Lead

James Johnson (Wotan/The Wanderer), The Ring Cycle (Opera Australia)

Female in a Supporting Role

Eva Kong (Laura), Luisa Miller (Opera Australia)

Male in a Supporting Role

Graeme Macfarlane (Mime), The Ring Cycle (Opera Australia)

Conductor

Pietari Inkinen, The Ring Cycle (Opera Australia)

Design

Robert Kemp (Set) and Matt Scott (Lighting), The Pearl Fishers (Opera Australia)

Direction

Neil Armfield, The Ring Cycle (Opera Australia)

Production

The Ring Cycle (Opera Australia)

THEATRE COMPANIES

Female Performer 

Rose Riley, The Glass Menagerie (Belvoir presented by Malthouse Theatre)

Male Performer 

Rory Kelly, Trevor (Red Stitch Actors' Theatre)

Ensemble 

Lilith: The Jungle Girl (Melbourne Theatre Company and Sisters Grimm)

Lighting Design 

Mark Howett, The Secret River (Sydney Theatre Company presented by Arts Centre Melbourke)

Set and Costume Design 

Marg Horwell (Set & Costume Design), Lilith: The Jungle Girl (Melbourne Theatre Company and Sisters Grimm)

Music Composition & Sound Design 

David Franzke, Picnic at Hanging Rock (Malthouse Theatre)

Digital Media Design and Integration 

Miss Julie (Melbourne Theatre Company)

New Writing/Adaptation for the Australian Stage 

Declan Greene and Ash Flanders, Lilith: The Jungle Girl (Melbourne Theatre Company and Sisters Grimm)

Direction 

Kip Williams, Miss Julie (Melbourne Theatre Company)

Production

Miss Julie (Melbourne Theatre Company)