Sydney Theatre Company has announced that Anchuli Felicia King is the 2019 STC Patrick White Playwrights Fellow. It was also announced that this year’s Patrick White Playwrights Award recipient is Keziah Warner for her play LuNa.
STC Artistic director Kip Williams said: “In this time of uncertainty, it is so important to look to the future of our art form and support the next generation of theatre makers. In this spirit I’m thrilled to announce that Anchuli Felicia King has been named our Patrick White Fellow. Felicia is one the most exciting young playwrights in the world right now and we are delighted she will be joining the STC artistic cohort”.
Anchuli Felicia King is a playwright and multidisciplinary artist of Thai-Australian descent. As a playwright, Felicia is interested in linguistic hybrids, digital cultures and issues of globalization. Her plays have been produced by the Royal Court Theatre (London), Studio Theatre (Washington D.C.), American Shakespeare Center (Staunton), Melbourne Theatre Company (Melbourne), Sydney Theatre Company, National Theatre of Parramatta and Belvoir Theatre (Sydney).
As a multidisciplinary artist, Felicia has worked with a wide range of companies and institutions, including Punchdrunk, PlayCo, 3LD Arts & Technology Center, Roundabout Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, 59E59, Ars Nova, the Obie Awards, The Builders Association, Ensemble Studio Theater, NYTW, American Shakespeare Company and Red Bull Theater. She is a member of Ensemble Studio Theater's Youngblood Group and Roundabout Theater's Space Jam Program.
Formerly based in New York, Felicia continues to work internationally and is based between London, New York and her hometown of Melbourne, Australia.
The Award winner
133 scripts were submitted anonymously for the 2019 Patrick White Playwrights Award, a prize of $7500 for an original, unproduced play, with Keziah Warner’s play LuNa most impressing the judges.
LuNa follows twins, Cali and Nira, as they attempt to understand and come to terms with their unique origin story. The play visits the sisters at different moments in their lives and contemplates the issues associated with the genetic modification of humans. This restrained two-hander uses a simple structure and detailed character study to pose complex ethical questions about the psychological impact of tampering with biological destiny. It's thrilling to watch the twins' lives condensed into a one act play; to watch their perspectives and voices mature over the sweep of time.
Keziah Warner is a playwright and dramaturg. She is an alumna of Melbourne Theatre Company’s Women in Theatre Program, Malthouse Theatre’s Besen Family Artist’s Program, Red Stitch’s INK Program, Playwriting Australia’s Post-Production Program and Soho Theatre’s Writer’s Lab, UK. She has been long-listed for Soho Theatre’s Young Writer’s Award and previously short-listed for the Patrick White Playwrights Award. Recent credits include: Control (Red Stitch, 2019), Help Yourself (MTC’s Cybec Electric, 2019) and Her Father’s Daughter (Hotel Now, 2018).