Fire and abandonment leave drama the winner in Victoria
It's been a period of wins for Victorian playwrights and dramas. HotHouse Theatre's commission The Glory by Melbourne playwright Ross Meuller was recently named Wal Cherry Play of the Year. It is the second time in three years the Albury-Wodonga theatre has won the prize. HotHouse's new artistic manager, Campion Decent, was recently given a Queensland Literary Award for a stage drama script for his play Embers which is set amidst the northeast Victorian bushfires of 2003. The Queensland award came after Embers won an Australian Writers' Guild Award (AWGIE) in August. Hothouse is currently in negotiation with presenters throughout Australia to tour Embers in 2009.
Good news also for Melbourne playwright Angela Betzien who was announced at the AWGIE ceremony as the inaugural winner of the $40,000 Richard Wherrett Prize for Excellence in Playwriting and Theatre for Young Audiences. Betzien, 29, received the award for her powerful work Hoods which was co-commissioned and produced by Regional Arts Victoria and the Sydney Opera House.
Telling the story of three abandoned children in a car in a deserted carpark waiting for their mother to return, Hoods has toured Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland to wide acclaim.
"We are thrilled that Angela's vibrant and original voice has been recognised through this prestigious award," says the director of Regional Arts Victoria, Lindy Allen. "It's critical that we continue to support writers who are working with young Australians to tell their stories."
