The Louis Esson Prize for Drama: Shortlist 2006

Hugh Colman (Convenor), Bruce Myles, Thuy On and Ailsa Piper

There were 44 entries this year. A general observation about the bulk of entries was the need for good editing and dramaturgy, a recommendation in particular for companies that commission work. Slovenly grammar, syntax and spelling are unacceptable in the scripts of plays that have reached performance.

There were some well-made plays, crafted by experienced writers, but lacking in psychological or emotional complexity. Much of the subject matter chosen felt esoteric, and many of the writers seemed unable to grapple with the nature of theatre, writing from an imaginative position more attuned to film or television. More than half of the entries were thought to be very disappointing.

However, the panel responded strongly to and would like to commend Tee O’Neill’s unsettling play, Stalking Matilda (one of the 2003 recipients of the R.E. Ross Award for new plays), which is, amongst other things, a tense and dynamic thriller about the nightmare of surveillance.

Shortlist

	Checklist for an Armed Robber Vanessa Bates (Vitalstatistix National Women’s Theatre) Checklist is an inventive and theatrical juxtaposition of a bookshop robbery with the Chechnyan ‘Terrorists’' capture of a Russian Theatre. It plays with various realities, and maintains an exciting tension for the reader, and by extension the potential audience.
	Ruby’s Last Dollar Reg Cribb (Pork Chop Productions) Reg Cribb gives us a collection of vivid and original characters in this tale of an old Tivoli dancer, now a Pokies addict; the voices are colourful and authentic, and the story both intriguing and sentimental. It suggests a highly theatrical presentation.
	Three Furies: Scenes from the Life of Francis Bacon Stephen Sewell (Adelaide Festival) Three Furies is ambitious and confronting in its take on the  artist, his work, and the torturous relationship with his lover. It deals with the pain that creativity can bring with it, and is enriched by the particular poetry possible in the theatre.