The Bruce Mason Playwriting Award is an annual award that recognises the work of an outstanding emerging New Zealand playwright. The winner is decided by the votes of a panel of leading New Zealand artistic directors and script advisors. The award is named after New Zealand's playwright

Bruce Mason Bruce Edward George Mason (28 September 1921 – 31 December 1982) was a significant playwright in New Zealand who wrote 34 plays and influenced the cultural landscape of the country through his contribution to theatre. In 1980, he was appoi ...

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1921–1982). Mason's best known plays are ''

The End of the Golden Weather ''The End of the Golden Weather'' is a play by Bruce Mason about a boy's loss of innocence in Depression-era New Zealand. It was written for solo performance by the author but can be performed by an ensemble and was made into an award-winning ...

'' and the ''Pohutukawa Tree.'' The award was established by Independent Newspapers in 1983, the year after Mason's death, with assistance from

Playmarket Playmarket is a not-for-profit organisation providing script advisory services, representation for playwrights in New Zealand and access to New Zealand plays. Playmarket was founded in 1973 to encourage the professional production of New Zealand p ...

, for an amount of $2,000. It is currently a $10,000 award managed by Playmarket and has been funded over the years by the FAME Trust (Fund for Acting and Musical Endeavours), Downstage Theatre Society, Bruce Mason Trust and Rachel and David Underwood.

Bruce Mason Playwriting Award recipients

* 1983

Fiona Farrell Fiona Farrell (born 1947) is a New Zealand poet, fiction and non-fiction writer and playwright. Early years and education Fiona Farrell was born and raised in Oamaru, in the South Island of New Zealand. She attended Waitaki Girls' High Sc ...

* 1984

Simon O'Connor Simon David O'Connor (born 25 February 1976) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of the National Party. He has represented the Tāmaki electorate since 2011. He is a member of ...

* 1985 Stephanie Johnson * 1986 Rosie Scott * 1987

Sarah Delahunty Sarah Delahunty (born 1952) is a New Zealand writer and director who was born in Wellington. An award-winning playwright, Delahunty has written over 30 plays, often focussing on works for youth. In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, Delahunty ...

* 1988 Stuart Hoar * 1989 James Beaumont * 1990

John Broughton (dentist) John Renata Broughton (born 1947) is a New Zealand academic. He is Māori, of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Kahungunu descent, and since 2012 has been a full professor at the University of Otago. Early life and family Broughton was born in Hastings i ...

* 1991 David Geary * 1992

Hone Kouka Hone Vivian Kouka is a New Zealand playwright. He has written 13 plays, which have been staged in New Zealand and worldwide including Canada, South Africa, New Caledonia and Britain. Kouka's plays have won multiple awards at the Chapman Tripp T ...

* 1993

Vivienne Plumb Vivienne Christiana Gracia Plumb (born 4 April 1955) is New Zealand poet, playwright, fiction writer, and editor. Biography Plumb is of both New Zealand and Australian heritage. Born in Sydney, Australia, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree i ...

* 1994

Duncan Sarkies Duncan Sarkies is a New Zealand screenwriter, playwright, novelist, stand-up comic and short story writer. Sarkies grew up in the South Island city of Dunedin and is the brother of Robert Sarkies a New Zealand film director who is also a scrip ...

* 1995

Briar Grace-Smith Briar Grace-Smith is a screenwriter, director, actor, and short story writer from New Zealand. She has worked as an actor and writer with the Maori theatre cooperative Te Ohu Whakaari and Maori theatre company He Ara Hou. Early plays ''Don't Ca ...

* 1996 John Vakidis * 1997 Jo Randerson * 1998

Oscar Kightley Oscar Vai To'elau Kightley (born 14 September 1969) is a Samoan-born New Zealand actor, television presenter, writer, journalist, director, and comedian. He acted in and co-wrote the successful 2006 film ''Sione's Wedding''. Biography Kightley ...

* 1999

Toa Fraser Toa Fraser (born 1975) is a New Zealand born playwright and film director, of Fijian heritage. His first feature film, '' No. 2'', starring Ruby Dee won the Audience Award (World Dramatic) at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. His second, ''Dean ...

* 2000 Stuart McKenzie * 2001 Victor Rodger * 2002

Mitch Tawhi Thomas Mitch Tawhi Thomas (Ngāti Maniapoto) is a New Zealand playwright, actor and drama teacher. Education Thomas affiliates to Ngāti Maniapoto. Thomas graduated from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School in 1997 with a Diploma in Acting. Career Tawh ...

* 2003–5 No award made * 2006 Albert Belz * 2007

Michael Galvin Michael Galvin (born 27 March 1967) is a New Zealand actor, singer and playwright, well known for his role as Chris Warner on the soap opera Shortland Street, a character he has played almost since the show's debut in 1992 until 1996 and agai ...

* 2008 Paul Rothwell * 2009

Pip Hall Philippa Hall (born 1971) is a New Zealand stage, screen and radio script writer and actor. Biography Background Pip Hall is the daughter of writer Roger Hall and grew up mostly in Dunedin, New Zealand. She graduated in theatre studies an ...

* 2010

Eli Kent Eli Kent (born 1988) is a New Zealand playwright and actor. Kent holds a Masters in Scriptwriting from Victoria University of Wellington's International Institute of Modern Letters. Awards *2015 – Auckland Theatre Company Patrons Fellowship * ...

* 2011

Arthur Meek (playwright) Arthur Meek, born in 1981, is a New Zealand playwright and actor. He is a graduate of Theatre Studies at Otago University and of Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School. He graduated from Toi Whakaari with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting ) in 2006. ...

* 2012

Whiti Hereaka Whiti Hereaka (born 1978) is a New Zealand playwright, novelist and screenwriter and a barrister and solicitor. She has held a number of writing residencies and appeared at literary festivals in New Zealand and overseas, and several of her books ...

* 2013

Jamie McCaskill Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...

* 2014 Ralph McCubbin Howell * 2015 Jess Sayer * 2016 Sam Brooks * 2017 Mīria George * 2018 Ahi Karunaharan * 2019 Nancy Brunning * 2020 Emily Duncan * 2021 Nathan Joe

References

{{reflist New Zealand literary awards Awards established in 1983