Griffin Theatre Company is an Australian theatre specialising in new works, based in Sydney. Founded in 1979, it is the resident theatre company at the SBW Stables Theatre in Kings Cross. the artistic director is Declan Green.

Artistic directors

*Declan Greene (2020–present) *

Lee Lewis Lee Lewis is an Australian theatre director. Early life and education Lewis trained as an actor at Columbia University in New York. Returning to Australia, she completed a Masters of Directing at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) ...

(August 2012–2020) * Sam Strong (2010–2012) * Nick Marchand (2006–2010) *

David Berthold David Berthold is one of Australia's most prominent theatre directors and cultural leaders. He has directed for most of Australia's major theatre companies, as well as in London and Berlin, and has led several key arts organisations. He was Artis ...

(2003–2006) *Ros Horin (1992–2003) *Ian Watson *Peter Kingston (inaugural artistic director)

History

Founded in 1979 its original founders were Peter Carmody,

Penny Cook Penelope Cook (13 July 1957 – 26 December 2018) was an Australian actress, stage director, TV presenter and writer. She played roles in the soap opera ''A Country Practice'', as Vicki Dean Bowen from 1981 to 1985, '' E Street'' as lead anchor-c ...

, Eadie Kurzer, Jenny Laing-Peach, and Rosemarie Lenzo. The organisation held their first meetings in Laing-Peach's cottage in Griffin Street,

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surround ...

. Their first project was to present the Irish play ''

The Ginger Man ''The Ginger Man'' is a novel, first published in Paris in 1955, by J. P. Donleavy. The story is set in Dublin, Ireland, in post-war 1947. Upon its publication, it was banned both in Ireland and the United States of America by reason of obsce ...

'' by J.P. Donleavy at the Kirk Gallery in Cleveland Street, Surry Hills on 6 April 1979. The first Artistic Director was Peter Kingston who served until the appointment of Ian B Watson in 1988. For the 1984 season the company was awarded The Sydney Critic's Circle Award for "the most significant contribution to theatre that year." In 1986 The SBW Foundation Purchased the Stables Theatre and offered the company a lifetime rent-free lease. The theatre focuses on "all-Australia" talent and works. Cate Blanchett and

Jacqueline McKenzie Jacqueline Susan McKenzie (born 24 October 1967) is an Australian film and stage actress. Early life Born in Sydney, New South Wales, McKenzie attended Wenona School in North Sydney until 1983 then moved to Pymble Ladies' College, where she ...

began their professional careers at Griffin. The films ''

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in numerous areas, especially in ...

'', '' The Boys'', and '' The Heartbreak Kid'' (which later spun off into the television series ''

Heartbreak High ''Heartbreak High'' is an Australian television program created by Michael Jenkins and Ben Gannon that ran from 1994 to 1996 on Network Ten and 1997 to 1999 on the ABC, for seven series. It was also partially funded from 1996 by BBC2, with ...

'') were based on plays produced by Griffin. '' Away'', Australia's most produced contemporary play, also started at the company.

Programs

The Batch Festival

In 2018 Griffin launched an annual experimental theatre festival, the Batch Festival. It is a three-week festival featuring multiple shows each day, curated to highlight emerging artists. It was paused in 2021 owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 Januar ...

Griffin Independent and Griffin Special Extras

Running since 2004 (then called Griffin Stablemates), in parallel to Griffin's own mainstage season of new Australian plays, Griffin Independent is an annual season of 5–6 new plays presented by independent theatre companies. In 2018, Griffin Independent was updated to Special Extras.

Awards

Griffin Award

Bestowed annually since 1998, the Griffin Award is offered to the most outstanding new work as read and judged by a panel appointed by Griffin. The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize. One stipulation on entry is that all works submitted have not been performed or produced prior. * 1998 – Catherine Zimdahl for ''Clark in Sarajevo'' * 1999 – Neil Cole for ''Alive at Williamstown Pier'' * 2000 – Ian Wilding for ''Below'' * 2001 – Verity Laughton for ''Burning'' * 2002 – Noelle Janacsewska for ''Songket'' and Patrick Van der Werf for ''Presence'' * 2003 –

Brendan Cowell Brendan Cowell is an Australian actor, playwright, and director. Early life and education Cowell was born in Sydney and grew up in the beachside suburb of Cronulla. He credits his mother and high school drama teacher with encouraging him to ...

for ''Rabbit'' * 2004 –

Debra Oswald Debra Oswald (born 1959) is an Australian writer for film, television, stage, radio and children's fiction. In 2008 her ''Stories in the Dark'' won Best Play in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. She created and was head writer of the Channel 10 ...

for ''Mr Bailey's Minder'' * 2005 – Ian Wilding for ''The Carnivores'' * 2006 – Mary Rachel Brown for ''Australian Gothic'' * 2007 – Damien Millar for ''

Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures ''Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures'', by Heidi Postlewait, Kenneth Cain and Andrew Thomson, is a 2004 memoir of three young people who join the United Nations (UN) during the 1990s. It recounts the authors' experiences during the Unit ...

'' * 2008 – Rick Viede for ''Whore'' * 2009 –

Lachlan Philpott Lachlan Philpott (born 20 March 1972) is an Australian theatre writer, director, and teacher. He graduated from the University of New South Wales (BA Hons Theatre and Film), the Victorian College of the Arts (Post-Grad Dip, Directing Theatre), and ...

for ''

Silent Disco A silent disco or silent rave is an event where people dance to music listened to on wireless headphones. Rather than using a speaker system, music is broadcast via a radio transmitter with the signal being picked up by wireless headphone receiv ...

'' * 2010 – Aidan Fennessy for ''Brutopia'' * 2011 – Rick Viede for ''A Hoax'' * 2012 – Vivienne Walshe for ''This is Where We Live'' * 2013 – Donna Abela for ''Jump for Jordan'' * 2014 – Angus Cerini for ''The Bleeding Tree'' * 2015 – Stephen Carleton for ''The Turquoise Elephant'' * 2016 –

Melissa Reeves Melissa Reeves (née Brennan; born March 14, 1967) is an American actress, best known for playing Jennifer Horton on the NBC series ''Days of Our Lives'' on-and-off for a total of 26 years (1985–1995, 2000–2006, 2010–2020). Personal lif ...

for ''The Zen of Table Tennis'' * 2017 – David Finnigan for ''Kill Climate Deniers'' * 2018 –

Suzie Miller Suzie Miller is an Australian/British playwright, librettist and screenwriter. In April 2022, Miller made her West End debut with ''Prima Facie'' starring Jodie Comer. Overview Miller is a contemporary international playwright, librettist a ...

for ''On the Face of It (Prima Facie)'' * 2019 – Mark Rogers for ''Superheroes'' * 2020 - Dylan Van Den Berg for ''way back when''

Griffin Studio

Griffin Studio is a year-long residency for directors, writers and dramaturgs with the company, established in 2011. It is awarded annually to one or more applicants.

Lysicrates Prize

Founded in 2015, the Lysicrates Prize is awarded annually to a play and is described as a "philanthropic initiative presented by The Lysicrates Foundation and produced by Griffin Theatre Company". The inaugural prize was won by Steve Rodgers for his play ''Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam''.

Incubator Fellowship

In 2020 the company partnered with

Create NSW Create NSW is a government agency of the Government of New South Wales, that falls within the Enterprise, Investment and Trade cluster. The agency was created on 1 April 2017 from an amalgamation of Arts NSW (ANSW) and Screen NSW. Create NSW is ...

to form the Incubator – NSW Theatre (Emerging) Fellowship program (aka Incubator Fellowship). Shortlisted fellows complete a three-month incubator program for emerging playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, designers and composers to work with the company. One of the fellows is then chosen to receive $30,000 to "pursue a self-directed program of professional development in Australia or overseas". ;Winners * 2020: Ang Collins * 2021: Happy Feraren * 2022: Eve Beck

Recent seasons

Recent Griffin Theatre Company mainstage seasons are listed below.Griffin Theatre archives
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2020 season

* ''Family Values'' by David Williamson. 17 January – 7 March 2020

2019 season

* ''Dead Cat Bounce'' by Mary Rachel Brown. 22 February – 6 April 2019 * ''Prima Facie'' by Suzie Miller. 17 May – 22 June 2019 * ''City of Gold'' by Meyne Wyatt. 26 July – 31 August 2019 * ''Splinter'' by Hilary Bell. 6 September – 12 October 2019 * ''First Love Is The Revolution'' by Rita Kalnejais. 6 September – 12 October 2019

2018 season

* ''Kill Climate Deniers'' by David Finnigan. 23 February – 7 April 2018 * ''Good Cook. Friendly. Clean.'' by Brooke Robinson. 4 May – 16 June 2018 * ''The Almighty Sometimes'' by Kendall Feaver. 27 July – 8 September 2018 * ''The Feather in the Web'' by Nick Coyle. 5 October – 17 November 2018

2017 season

* ''A Strategic Plan'' by Ross Mueller. 27 January – 11 March 2017 * ''The Homosexuals or 'Faggots by Declan Greene. 17 March – 29 April 2017 * ''Rice'' by Michele Lee. 21 July – 26 August 2017 * ''Diving For Pearls'' by Katherine Thomson. 8 September – 28 October 2017

2016 season

* ''Ladies Day'' by Alana Valentine. 5 February – 26 March 2016 * ''Replay'' by Phillip Kavanagh. 2 April – 7 May 2016 * ''The Literati'' by Justin Fleming. 27 May – 16 July 2016 * ''Gloria'' by Benedict Andrews. 26 August – 8 October 2016 * ''The Turquoise Elephant'' by Stephen Carleton. 14 October – 16 November 2016

2015 season

* ''Masquerade'' by Kate Mulvany. 7–17 January 2015 * ''Caress/Ache'' by Suzie Miller. 27 February – 11 April 2015 * ''The House on the Lake'' by Aidan Fennessy. 15 May – 20 June 2015 * ''

The Bleeding Tree ''The Bleeding Tree'' is a play by Australian writer Angus Cerini. ''The Bleeding Tree'' received the Griffin Award in 2014. The following year the Griffin Theatre Company in Sydney premiered the play, directed by Lee Lewis and featuring Paula Aru ...

'' by Angus Cerini. 31 July – 5 September 2015 * ''A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il'' by Kit Brookman. 9 October – 21 November 2015

2014 season

* ''

Emerald City The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Fictional description Located in the center of the L ...

'' by David Williamson. 17 October – 6 December 2014 * ''The Witches'' by Roald Dahl, adapted from the stage play by David Wood. 24 September – 5 October 2014 * ''Ugly Mugs'' by Peta Brady. 18 July – 24 August 2014 * ''Eight Gigabytes of Hardcore Pornography'' by Declan Greene. 2 May – 14 June 2014 * ''Jump for Jordan'' by Donna Abela 14 February – 29 March 2014 * ''The Serpent's Table'' by Darren Yap and Lee Lewis. 24–27 January 2014

2013 season

* ''Dreams in White'' - by Duncan Graham. 8 February – March 2013 * ''The Bull, the Moon and the Coronet of Stars'' – by Van Badham. 2 May – June 2013 * ''Beached'' – by Melissa Bubnic. 17 July 31 August 2013 * ''The Floating World'' – by John Romeril. 4 October – 16 November 2013

2012 season

* ''The Boys – ''by Gordon Graham. 6 January – 3 March 2012 * ''The Story of Mary MacLane by Herself'' – by

Bojana Novakovic Bojana Novakovic (, sr-Latn, Bojana Novaković) is a Serbian-Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Det. Lizzie Needham on the drama television series '' Instinct'' (2017–2018). Novakovic's film roles include '' Drag Me to He ...

, music by Tim Rogers, after the writings of Mary MacLane. 4 April – 12 May 2012 * '' Angela's Kitchen – ''by Paul Capsis and Julian Meyrick. 15 May – 9 June 2012 * ''A Hoax – ''by Rick Viede. 20 July – 1 September 2012 * '' Between Two Waves ''- by Ian Meadows. 5 October – 17 November 2012

2011 season

* ''Speaking in Tongues – ''by Andrew Bovell. 4 February – 19 March 2011 * ''

– ''by Lachlan Philpott. 22 April – 4 June 2011 * '' And No More Shall We Part – ''by Tom Holloway. 29 July – 3 September 2011 * ''This Year's Ashes – ''by Jane Bodie. 7 October – 19 November 2011 * ''Museum of Broken Relationships ''- by the Griffin Audience, in collaboration with Ian Meadows, Kate Mulvany, Shannon Murphy, Paige Rattray

2010 season

* ''Graces'' – by Angus Cerini, Elise Hearst and

. 14 September – 7 December 2010 * ''Love Me Tender'' – by Tom Holloway. 18 March – 11 April 2010 * ''Like A Fishbone'' by Anthony Weigh. 16 July – 7 August 2010 * ''Quack'' by Ian Wilding. 27 August – 2 October 2010 * '' Angela's Kitchen'' by Paul Capsis and Julian Meyrick / Associate Writer Hilary Bell. 5 November – 18 December 2010

2009 season

* ''The Fates'' – by Kamarra Bell-Wykes, Jonathan Ari Lander and Catherine Ryan. 19 May – November 2009 * ''Holiday'' – by Ranters Theatre. 4–28 February 2009 * ''Concussion'' by Ross Mueller. 13 March – 4 April 2009 * ''The Call'' – by Patricia Cornelius. 1 May – 6 June 2009 * ''Savage River'' – by Steve Rodgers. 12 June – 8 July 2009 * ''Strange Attractor''- by

Sue Smith Sue Smith may refer to: * Sue Smith (politician) (born 1951), member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council * Sue Smith (footballer) (born 1979), English footballer * Sue Smith (trainer) (born 1948), British horse trainer * Sue Smith (writer), Austra ...

. 23 October – 21 November 2009

2008 season

* ''Seasons'' – by Nicki Bloom, Jonathan Gavin,

and Rick Viede. 19 January – 8 February 2008 * ''China'' – by William Yang. 19 January – 8 February 2008 * ''The Kid'' – by

Michael Gow Michael Gow is an Australian playwright and director most famed for his 1986 work '' Away''. Early life As a student at Sydney University, Gow acted and directed with the Dramatic Society from 1973-1976. After graduation, Gow went on to act pr ...

. 22 March – 26 April 2008 * ''Don't Say The Words'' – by Tom Holloway. 4–26 July 2008 * ''The Modern International Dead'' – by Damien Millar. 12 September – 11 October 2008 * ''Tender'' – by Nicki Bloom. 21 November – 20 December 2008 * ''Impractical Jokes'' – by

Charlie Pickering Charlie Pickering (born 29 August 1977) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, author and producer. Pickering currently hosts ''The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'', a weekly news satire television show on the ABC, as wel ...

. 23 January – 2 February 2008

2007 season

* '' Holding the Man'' – Adapted by Tommy Murphy. from the book by Timothy Conigrave 8 February – 3 March 2007 * ''The Nightwatchman'' – by Daniel Keene. 9 March – 18 April 2007 * ''October'' – by Ian Wilding. 20 April – 26 May 2007 * ''The Story of the Miracles at Cookie's Table'' – by Wesley Enoch. 10 August – 22 September 2007 * ''King Tide'' – by Katherine Thomson. 18 October – 24 November 2007 * ''The Seven Needs'' – by 7-ON. (Donna Abela, Vanessa Bates, Hilary Bell, Noëlle Janaczewska, Verity Laughton,

Ned Manning Ned Manning is an Australian playwright, actor and teacher. His film credits include the lead role in '' Dead End Drive-In'' (1986), and television credits include '' The Shiralee'' and ''Prisoner'', and ''Brides of Christ''. His plays include ' ...

and Catherine Zimdahl) 27 March – 13 November 2007 * '' The Emperor of Sydney'' – by Louis Nowra. 16 August – 23 September 2007

Commissioned and premiered works

Playwrights whose work has premiered at Griffin include: * Glenda Adams – ''The Monkey Trap'' (1998) * Richard Barrett – ''The Heartbreak Kid'' (1987) * Hilary Bell – ''Wolf Lullaby'' (1996), ''The Falls'' (2000) *

Andrew Bovell Andrew Bovell (born 23 November 1962) is an Australian writer for theatre, film and television. Life Bovell was born on 23 November 1962 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and completed his secondary school education in Perth. He graduated from t ...

– ''After Dinner'' (1989), ''Whisky on the Breath of a Drunk You Love'' (1992), ''

Speaking in Tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

'' (1996), ''Ship of Fools'' (1999) *

– ''Rabbit'' (2003) *

Timothy Daly Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek name ( Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries. People Given name * Timothy (given name) ...

– ''Kafka Dances'' (1993), ''The Moonwalkers'' (1995), ''Private Visions of Gottfried Kellner'' (1999) * Wesley Enoch – ''The Story of the Miracles at Cookie's Table'' (2007) * Gordon Graham – ''The Boys'' (1991) *

– '' Away'' (1986), ''Europe'' (1987), ''Live Acts on Stage'' (1996) *

Noel Hodda Noel Hodda (born 1954) is an Australian actor, writer, dramaturge, director and teacher. Acting career Hodda was a founding member of the Riverina Theatre Company, located in Wagga Wagga and Project TYER, a Theatre In Education Co., for whom ...

– ''The Secret House'' (1987), ''Half Safe'' (1990), * Ingle Knight – ''White Nancy'' (1982) *

– ''Us or Them'' (1984), ''Belonging'' (2007) * Tommy Murphy – '' Strangers in Between'' (2005), '' Holding the Man'' (Adapted from the book by Timothy Conigrave, 2006) *

Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...

– ''Death of Joe Orton'', ''The Boyce Trilogy'': The Woman with Dog's Eyes (2004), '' The Marvellous Boy'' (2005), '' The Emperor of Sydney'' (2006) *

– ''Mr Bailey's Minder'' (2004), ''

The Peach Season ''The Peach Season'' is a play by the Australian playwright Debra Oswald. It premiered at Sydney's Griffin Theatre Company in March 2006. The play was short-listed for the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. ''The Peach Season'' evokes t ...

'' (2006) * Stephen Sewell – ''The Father We Loved on a Beach by the Sea'' (1981), ''In Stillness My Sister Speaks to Me'' (1990), ''The Secret Death of Salvador Dali'' (2004), ''Three Furies Scenes from the life of Francis Bacon'' (2005) * Katherine Thomson – ''Wonderlands'' (2003), "King Tide" (2007) * Ian Wilding – ''Below'' (2000), ''Torrez'' (2004), "October" (2007) * Catherine Zimdahl – ''Clark in Sarajevo'' (1998)

References

External links

Griffin Theatre websiteSBW Foundation