Megan Wilding has been awarded the 2021 Griffin Award for new Australian playwriting for her play GAME. SET. MATCH.
Michael and Amber meet at his mother’s wake. There’s an instant connection, hot as the end of summer. They argue about the Australian Open. They go on a date. They end up back at her place. Things get hot and heavy… then things get weird.
What starts as an off-kilter rom-com descends into a dark and vitriolic confrontation where Amber is determined to settle the score. Game. Set. Match.
Wilding was awarded the $10,000 prize for GAME. SET. MATCH. in an online announcement due to the temporary closure of the SBW Stables Theatre. 119 entries were assessed anonymously by a panel of artists and whittled down to five shortlisted plays, each of whom took home $1,000.
The shortlisted plays comprised of: the arrogance of it by Olivia Clement, Akaraka by Amarachi Okorom, and birds drink in mirrors by Oleg Pupovac and T?taraimaka-moana (Beautiful Place by the Sea) by Daley Rangi.
Four leading industry professionals including: Andrea James, Maria Mitar, Zindzi Okenyo, and Griffin’s Artistic Director, Declan Greene, then reviewed the shortlist and chose Megan’s play as this year’s winner.
“This was a tough call for the other judges and I. These were five brilliant plays, all of which featured young protagonists wrestling with a broken world they had inherited,” said Greene. “But GAME. SET. MATCH. stood out for the sheer impact of its writing.”
“Megan has written a fearless play, which is by turns funny, shocking, harrowing, and ultimately triumphant. I’m excited to see what happens next for it.”
Megan Wilding, a proud Gamilaroi woman, has established a reputation as a prolifically talented actor, writer and director. Since graduating from WAAPA, Megan has appeared in leading roles in Banging Denmark and Blackie Blackie Brown for Sydney Theatre Company, and The Rover for Belvoir St Theatre.
Wilding wrote, performed, and directed A Little Piece of Ash at KXT, and just assistant directed Grand Horizons for Sydney Theatre Company, She is one of the writers for La Boite’s Julius Caesar adaptation.
The Griffin Award is a national competition which celebrates an outstanding play or performance text that displays an authentic, inventive and contemporary Australian voice. The award has a rich history of recognising new talent and propelling forward the careers of emerging Australian writers.
Previous winners include Lachlan Philpott, Debra Oswald, Brendan Cowell, Mary Rachel Brown and Suzie Miller. Angus Cerini’s The Bleeding Tree took out the Award in 2014 and went on to win the NSW Premier’s Literary Award and the Helpmann Award for Best Play in 2016.
The Griffin Award is generously supported byThe Copyright Agency Cultural Fund. For more information, visit: www.griffintheatre.com.au for details.
Image: Megan Wilding (sourced)