Griffin Theatre Company has announced that Australian playwright, screenwriter and journalist Melanie Tait has been awarded the 2026 Suzie Miller Award.
Based in Sydney, Tait’s plays include The Vegemite Tales (Riverside Studios and Leicester Square Theatre), The Appleton Ladies’ Potato Race (Ensemble Theatre and National Tour), The Queen’s Nanny (Ensemble Theatre and National Tour), and How to Plot a Hit in Two Days (Ensemble Theatre) and she has written extensively for the ABC, Guardian Australia and News Corp.
Tait will receive a $30,000 commission and a two-year residency at Griffin Theatre Company, alongside mentorship from Suzie Miller, to write a piece about medical ethics in the world of brain cancer science. As part of her residency, Melanie will mentor early-career playwrights through Griffin Studio, judge for the Griffin Award, and sit on the programming committee for Griffin’s annual season.
One of Australia’s leading playwrights, Suzie Miller’s history with Griffin encompasses her works Caress/Ache, Sunset Strip, Jailbaby, and the Oliver Award-winning Prima Facie. With more than 100 productions on stages across the world, including London’s West End and Broadway, Miller’s international accolades including four Tony Award nominations and the 2023 Whatsonstage Award for Best New Play.
Established in 2024 by Miller and Griffin Theatre Company, the Suzie Miller Award is supported by Suzie herself and is open to mid-career writers from across Australia with at least five years of professional theatre credits, and a track record of work that speaks to the present day, asking hard-hitting questions of Australia’s audiences.
Following a considerable number of high-calibre entries, Griffin Theatre Company is also excited to announce that award-winning playwright and screenwriter Vanessa Bates has also been awarded a one-off $17,700 commission by Miller, which she will use to develop a new play examining the life and political impact of Junie Morosi.
“I am beyond thrilled with the announcement of playwright Melanie Tait as the winner of this year’s Suzie Miller Award. As the award selects for a mid to established career playwright the field is always highly competitive and Melanie’s play shows her taking exciting risks, ambitiously exploring contemporary themes and looking to forge a big career where she can work at her highest level,” said Suzie Miller.
“Being connected to the Griffin Theatre throughout the process I know will offer her world-class dramaturgy and development support. I look forward to working with her and supporting her work going forward.”
“As an extra thrill, this year’s Suzie Miller Award also offers an additional commission to Vanessa Bates, one of Australia’s most exciting Asian-Australian playwrights who is working on a project that examines a poignant area of Australian history through a modern and multicultural lens.”
“All my thanks to the Griffin Theatre for creating the supportive and writerly environment required for these two playwrights in realising their works,” said Miller.
“I’m absolutely thrilled to be the winner of the 2026 Suzie Miller Award. The way Suzie is able to tell urgent stories through her work and bring them to audiences across Australia and around the world has energised me as an artist for a number of years,” said Melanie Tait.
“I’m incredibly grateful that she’s chosen to generously support this award so that a mid-career playwright can create a new play at Griffin Theatre Company under her mentorship. Griffin Theatre has forever been the shining light of new writing in Australia and to be invited into the company via this award, and becoming part of the company’s story is a huge honour.”
“I’m looking forward to challenging myself as an artist and hopefully creating a bloody good play that’s worthy of the company and this award and will excite and impact our treasured audiences,” said Tait.
“Mid-career playwrights are some of the most under recognised artists in our theatre industry. To create an initiative like the Suzie Miller Award, which values the talent, ingenuity, and craft of these writers – is another demonstration of Suzie’s fierce commitment to risky, world-class Australian storytelling. I’m incredibly proud that Griffin gets to present this prize alongside Suzie,” said Griffin Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Declan Greene.
The 2024 inaugural Suzie Miller Award-winner, Sydney-based playwright and screenwriter Mary Rachel Brown produced an incisive piece about intimate partner violence entitled The Swap, which is currently in development with Griffin.
For more information about Griffin Theatre Company and the Suzie Miller Award, visit: www.griffintheatre.com.au for details.
Image: Melanie Tait – photo by Sally Flegg