April 9, 2011

ADAM NEW ZEALAND PLAY AWARD 2011 WINNERS  

The Adam New Zealand Play Award recognises and celebrates the best in new writing for the theatre. The annual award, now in its fourth year, is the only one of its kind for new writing and encourages writers to banish all self censoring, all worries about what theatres want, what is affordable and what they think audiences want to see. This freedom has been the impetus for many writers’ best work.

This year the competition had 56 entries that were assessed by five judges. 12 were shortlisted.

The Award winners were announced at Wellington’s C irca Theatre on Saturday 9 April at 2pm, followed by a rehearsed reading of the winning play.

The winning plays and playwrights for 2011 are:

ADAM NZ PLAY AWARD
Arun Subramaniam for Hero
Hero recounts the glory and anguish surrounding a Malaysian politician’s assassination as told through the eyes of himself, his wife and their 13 year-old son.

RUNNERS UP
Courtney Meredith for Rushing Dolls
Georgina Titheridge for Sliderhands

BEST PLAY BY A PASIFIKA PLAYWRIGHT
E ono tama’i pato by Maureen Fepulea’i

BEST PLAY BY A MAORI PLAYWRIGHT
Rona and Rabbit on the Moon by Whiti Hereaka

BEST PLAY BY A WOMAN PLAYWRIGHT
Rushing Dolls by Courtney Meredith
Sliderhands by Georgina Titheridge

THE PLAY PRESS SUBMISSION TO THE SUSAN SMITH BLACKBURN PRIZE
Sliderhands by Georgina Titheridge

PUMPHOUSE PRIZE FOR AN AUCKLAND PLAYWRIGHT
Fool’s Paradise by Margot McRae

SPECIAL MENTION
Problems by Joe Musaphia

ALSO NOMINATED
The Cup by Dan Cleary
The Third Age by Jennifer Compton
Tough’s Haulage by Justin Eade
Self Defence by Denis Edwards
Angelo, Solly, the Nona and the Gallows by Denis Edwards

Thanks to the generosity of the Adam Foundation the winner receives a cash prize of $5000, and the category winners each receiving $1000.

PLAYMARKET is very grateful for the generosity and support of The Adam Foundation, The Pumphouse Theatre, The Play Press, Circa Theatre, Huia Publishers and our major funders: ASB Community Trust and Creative New Zealand.

[See the Forum: What makes a New Zealand play?]   

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