Queer Playwriting Award

Each year Gasworks partners with Midsumma Festival for our Queer Playwriting Award, providing the opportunity for leading playwrights from Naarm to present excerpts of works in progress. Come and see the next generation of queer stories!

The winning finalist will receive support to produce a full-length theatre show for Gasworks’ 2027 Midsumma program. 

2026 Finalists: 

Lyall Brooks
SELF/LESS
SELF/LESS is a modular theatrical work composed of four speculative narrative strands each interrogating a scenario where reproductive ethics, identity, and bio-emotional decision-making intersect. 

Sammaneh Pourshafighi
Post Pre-teen Drama Queens
Post Pre-teen Drama Queens is an experimental love letter to grief, friendship, and the lost art of writing letters. 

Gabrielle Fallen:
Amy is Not Scared
When Amy was a child in Canberra, a man lived in the bus reserve near her house. His hands and feet were covered with dirt, and he got stronger with every story told about him. Now, Amy is a prodigious dance student, guided by her friend and real-life trans sex worker Liana. One day, the man in the bush reaches out to lay claim to Amy’s stories. 

Hiroki Kobayashi
OUT!
OUT! Is a work of monologue that explores the complexities of queer representation, identity and coming of age through the lens of men’s professional tennis. 

Anthony Nocera
My Hair is Thinning
My Hair is Thinning is about loss. Of hair. Of lovers. Of other things. In 2022, Anthony’s fiancé Jamie passed away following complications related to treatment of Leukemia. Despite being twice Anthony’s age and having undergone chemotherapy, Jamie had a better head of hair than Anthony. 

Actors:
Marty Alix
Nicole Nabout
Peter Paltos
Brigid Gallacher
Bailey Acklin Beecham

QPAS will be Auslan interpreted.

Please note, tickets for this event are General Admission and seats are not assigned. If you require Auslan interpretation, please email frontdesk@gasworks.org.au so we can ensure a seat is reserved for you in sight of the interpreter.

Companion Card Holder tickets are available. To book, please contact the Gasworks Front Desk on (03) 8606 4200 during office hours: Monday to Friday, 10:00 am – 4:30 pm.