Sydney Theatre Company has announced the shortlist of five plays in the running for the 2017 Patrick White Playwrights’ Award.
The winner of this prestigious award will be announced with a rehearsed reading of the winning play at the Richard Wherrett Studio – Roslyn Packer Theatre on Monday 21 May 2018. The winner of the Patrick White Playwrights’ Fellowship will also be announced at this event.
The Award and the Fellowship are initiatives of Sydney Theatre Company and exist to foster the development of Australian playwrights while honouring Patrick White’s contribution to Australian theatre.
From 126 entries, this year’s judging panel: Michele Lee (playwright), Polly Rowe (Sydney Theatre Company Literary Manager), Imara Savage (Sydney Theatre Company Resident Director) and Howard Sumner (playwright and director), chose the following shortlist of five plays: Mirror’s Edge – Kim Ho; Break, or Catch Fire – Shannon Murdoch; Mchanga – Mararo Wangai; No One Can Hear You – Keziah Warner; and A Little Piece of Ash – Megan Wilding.
The Patrick White Playwrights’ Award is for an original, unproduced play. Scripts are submitted anonymously, with the aim of acknowledging a playwright whose play is ambitious, demonstrates skilful application of craft and reveals great potential for a stage production. The winning playwright will receive $7,500 and the opportunity to work with a director and actors during a workshop culminating in a rehearsed reading of their play.
Now in its eighth year, the Patrick White Playwrights’ Fellowship is a position for an established Australian playwright whose work has been produced professionally in Australia within the last four years. The winning playwright receives a total prize package of $25,000 which includes a year-long Fellowship in recognition of their body of work, and a commission from Sydney Theatre Company to write a new play.
The recipients of the Patrick White Playwrights’ Award and Fellowship will be announced at the Richard Wherrett Studio – Roslyn Packer Theatre on Monday 21 May 2018. Tickets are free – bookings essential. For more information, visit: www.sydneytheatre.com.au for details.
Image: Patrick White – photo by Brendan Hennessy (courtesy of the National Library of Australia)