On Monday night the Sydney theatre community gathered at the Old 505 Theatre to celebrate the Silver Gull Play Award, now in its fourth year.
From an exciting shortlist, the judges awarded the $3000 prize to Lions and Tigers and Bears by Phillip James Rouse.
“Lions and Tigers and Bears is about how we tell stories to one another. How stories have cultural value, legal value and financial value. Who enables stories, who destroys them, and what is the story behind the story,” says playwright, Phillip James Rouse.
The event included the announcement of the award and excerpts from the shortlisted plays, directed by Helen Tonkin and performed by actors Matthew Abotomey, Alison Benstead, Sonya Kerr, Madeleine Withington, and David Woodland.
For the first time, this year the shortlisted writers received a $500 award.
The shortlisted plays were:
Disinhibition by Christopher Bryant
Alabaster Burning by John AD Fraser
People Inside Me by Katie Pollock
Superheroes by Mark Rogers
Lions and Tigers and Bears by Phillip James Rouse
“Phillip’s play is an intelligent and insightful piece, zeroing in on some of the key issues in our current cultural discourse. It’s a beautiful example of the fresh exciting writing entered for the award this year. It’s a privilege to be part of such a vibrant theatre scene,” says Paul Gilchrist,convener of the award and artistic director of subtlenuance.
For more information about the award and the submitted plays check out subtlenuance.wordpress.com
