The Amethyst Award 2025

T h e    A M E T H Y S T    A W A R D

is a biennial playwriting award offered by

M e l b o u r n e   W r i t e r s’   T h e a t r e

for a new, unproduced, full-length play of outstanding quality, integrity and originality

The winning play will be performed in a theatrical season to be fully produced by MWT.

2025 SELECTION REPORT

WINNER
Lyceum Highway    by K V Adams

 

HIGHLY COMMENDED
Motherlode    by Jeannie Haughton

 

COMMENDED
Connect Seven    by Emily Farrell
Transfusion    by Steven Najera

 

 

SELECTION REPORT

All the plays submitted showed an impressive level of craft and demonstrated that the
writers had shaped their chosen dramatic situations and invested considerable dedication
into teasing out and realising the worlds of their plays. Fast-paced dialogue revealing
character incrementally was a clear strength of many of the writers.

Successful scripts stood out for their:

– especially strong sense of place connected to the purpose of the work
– original, intriguing dramatic premise, with potential to hold audience attention throughout
– strong feel for rhythms of speech with dialogue matching the world of the play.
– characters whose predicaments compelled us to care about their choices
– immediacy – plunging us into the imaginative situation without needing explanation
– contrasting unexpected perspectives that felt equally true, contingent rather than didactic

We were impressed by the momentum and pace of the winning script – Lyceum Highway –
which operates on multiple levels, familiar from one angle yet exuding uncanny energy from
others. The actual situation and the metaphysical significance of the concerns this play
expresses resonate powerfully while also capturing the accessible energy of a heist drama.
It manages to nimbly steer clear of sentimentality despite delving into unexpected
existential questions. Many questions but no one answer. Most of all, we wanted to see
this script staged.

Thank you to all playwrights who submitted scripts for this year’s Award.

 

Cathy Hunt
2025 Assessor