Sydney Theatre Announces '09 PATRICK WHITE PLAYWRIGHTS' AWARD SHORTLIST

Sydney Theatre Company has released the judges' shortlist of four plays in the running for the prestigious 2009 Patrick White Playwrights' Award. The Award is an annual initiative of Sydney Theatre Company and The Sydney Morning Herald established in 2000 in honour of Patrick White's contribution to Australian theatre and to foster the development of Australian playwrights.

The $20,000 award is one of Australia's richest playwrights' prizes for anunproduced play and the winning playwright is given the opportunity to work with an STC director and actors during a workshop culminating in a rehearsed reading of their play during the Sydney Writers' Festival.

To date, 16 writers have shared in the Award from over 1700 entries. Previous winners include Nicki Bloom for Bloodwood, Angus Cerini for Wretch, TimoThy Daly for The Man in the Attic, Patricia Cornelius for Do Not Go Gentle..., Wesley Enoch for The Story of the Miracle at Cookie's Table and Stephen Carleton for Constance Drinkwater and the Final Days of Somerset.

The 2009 Award received 135 entries from around Australia.

The shortlist of four plays being considered by the judges is: Damned - Reg Cribb Faces Look Ugly - Tom Holloway A Beautiful Gesture - Ross Mueller More & More - Ian Wilding The shortlisted playwrights include: Reg Cribb - joint winner of the Patrick White Playwrights' Award in 2002 and author of The Haunting of Daniel Gartrell which was staged at Perth Theatre Company last year; Tasmanian playwright Tom Holloway - whose play Love Me Tender is currently playing at Belvoir Street Theatre; Ross Mueller - winner of the 2007 Wal Cherry Award and author of The Ghost Writer and Concussion and Ian Wilding - author of October and joint winnerof 2002 Patrick White Playwrights' Award.

The judges are Louise Fox (playwright), Clare Morgan (Arts Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald), Katherine Thomson (playwright) and Andrew Upton (Co Artistic Director, Sydney Theatre Company).

The winner will be announced at Wharf 2 on Saturday 22 May at 8pm by STC Co Artistic Director Andrew Upton, followed by a rehearsed reading of the play by STC artists