Now in its eighteenth year, Griffin Theatre Company has announced the five finalists shortlisted for the 2015 Griffin Award for Best New Australian Play. The prestigious Griffin Award is a national prize recognising an outstanding play that displays an authentic, inventive and contemporary Australian voice.
The shortlisted plays are: Home Invasion by Christopher Bryant (Melbourne /Sydney); Looking Glass by Louris van de Geer (Melbourne); Ozymandias by Julian Larnach (Sydney); The Almighty Sometimes by Kendall Feaver (Sydney); and The Turquoise Elephant by Stephen Carleton (Brisbane).
“We’re very excited to see in this national award, strong ideas, urgent stories, and excellent craft. Australian storytelling has never been stronger with new talent emerging and established playwrights showing courage and conviction,” says Lee Lewis, Griffin Theatre Company Artistic Director.
“This year’s shortlist has plays that will delight us, shock us, provoke us, teach us and lead us. In the voices of these playwrights you can hear the voice of our best future.”
The shortlisted plays will each receive a 10-minute reading by professional actors at The SBW Stables Theatre on Wednesday 24 June 24, then a winner will be announced by esteemed judging panel: John McCallum Theatre Critic, Academic and creator of Griffin’s Script Club and Hilary Bell playwright, teacher and author.
The winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize, and each shortlisted playwright will receive $1,000 cash, proudly supported by Copyright Agency Limited. This year 148 plays were submitted and read by the 2015 Griffin Studio Artists, facilitated by Griffin Artistic staff, Lee Lewis and Ben Winspear.
The Griffin Award has a long history of identifying new talent and cementing the careers of Australian writers. Many previous winners have had their work brought to life on the Griffin stage as well as the country’s finest main stages. This year there are three Griffin Award-winners on the Stables stage.
Aidan Fennessy won the 2010 Griffin Award for Brutopia – this year, his crime thriller The House on the Lake is on the Griffin Main Stage (now showing); Mary Rachel Brown, won the 2016 Griffin Award for Australian Gothic – this year her play The Dapto Chaser gets a run in the Griffin Independent Season; and finally last year’s Griffin Award-winner Angus Cerini will have his winning play The Bleeding Tree, on Griffin’s Main Stage this July.
For more information, visit: www.griffintheatre.com.au for details.
Image: Angus Cerini, 2014 Griffin Award-winner – photo by Brett Boardman