The Martin-Lysicrates Prize is a partnership between the Riverside Theatre, the National Theatre of Parramatta, the Parramatta City Council, the Griffin Theatre Company and The Lysicrates Foundation.

The inaugural Martin-Lysicrates Prize was held in 2017. And the audience loved it.

Established playwrights were invited to submit the first act of a new play for children. A shortlist of three first acts was chosen by a selection panel, and these were performed in the Riverside Theatre before an audience of kids (and some parents).

But voting rights were only for the kids.

Children were given a voting token before entering. They were asked to choose which of these three first acts they wanted to see developed into a full play. To vote, they threw their tokens into one of three urns outside.

The winner was Katie Pollack for her play Summerland. She was awarded a prize of $15,000 and two return tickets to Athens. The event was a roaring success! And we hope to see a full production of a completed Summerland in the not too distant future.

And now it’s on again for the second year.

Established playwrights were asked to submit the first 15 minutes of a new play for children aged 11-14. The top three plays will get a week’s rehearsal with a professional team. On Thursday September 6 the plays will be performed at Riverside Theatres in Parramatta, and the kids will vote for the winner of the Martin-Lysicrates Prize.