The winner of the Martin-Lysicrates Play Competition was selected by young students from schools across Sydney during a special event at Riverside Theatres in Parramatta on Tuesday, November 8.
The Martin-Lysicrates Play Competition is proudly supported by The Lysicrates Foundation, which has been co-founded by John Azarias and Dr Patricia Azarias.
The event kick-started on the day with a musical performance by Russell Dawson from Koomurri (Didgeridoo) and the Bell Bird Bush Band.
Event emcee, Lily Hayman, then introduced Mr Azarias and the Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Councillor Donna Davis, to the stage for small speeches.
From there, students enjoyed a performance by three finalist first acts written by accomplished playwrights. They were: Gamers For Life – The Return to Golden Castle by Brendan Hogan; Mars Bars and Beyond by Madelaine Nunn; and Click To Undo by Donna Hughes.
After these performances, students were asked to mark their favourite play on their voting token and then cast their vote into one of three urns.
As the votes were being counted, Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley performed The Ballad of Lysicrates.
Mrs Hurley then announced Donna Hughes’ Click To Undo as the winner of the 2022 Martin-Lysicrates Prize. The announcement was met with loud applause from students.
Dr Azarias concluded the event with a vote of thanks to everyone in attendance.