Australian Theatre Festival NYC

2025 New Play Award WINNER

‘The Flood’ by Dylan Van Den Berg

As winner, Dylan Van Den Berg receives $15,000 USD, developmental support and the opportunity to attend the 2025 Australian Theatre Festival NYC.

When 15-year-old Kirra follows her gut onto Country she’s only heard about, she’s determined to save her sister from the mysterious illness affecting many in the dusty, dry town of Promise. Unwillingly paired with the disillusioned Jesse, the two traverse sink-holes, robot birds and violent townsfolk before stumbling on a secret that could change everything.

Dylan Van Den Berg is a Palawa playwright originally from the northeast of Tasmania. His plays have been presented by the Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company, and The Street Theatre. For his work, Dylan has received three Australian Writers’ Guild Awards (AWGIES), including the David Williamson Prize, and he was a finalist for the UK’s Bruntwood International Playwriting Award. He is currently completing a PhD in Aboriginal Gothic theatre at the University of Canberra.

Australian Theatre Festival NYC

2025 New Play Award RUNNER-UP

‘How These Things Go’ by Thea Jade

As runner-up, Thea Jade received $5000 USD.

Some lies we tell children to protect them. Some are because we can’t face the truth ourselves. And some are simply to keep the Magic alive.

How These Things Go delves into the silent corners of the justice system, where in a remote witness room a young witness and her Court Bailiff wait to be live-streamed into the courtroom. Over a year, marked by the volatile seasons of Australia’s capital, the girl demands answers from her Bailiff that others refuse to give her, and their unlikely friendship is tested.

Thea Jade is an emerging writer hailing from Ngunnawal Land / Canberra. She is currently studying for a Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing at NIDA, where she is the recipient of the Prime Video Scholarship. 

Her work has been shortlisted for The Griffin Award, Rodney Seabourn Award, and the Emerging Playwright Commission. 

A proud disabled artist, In 2025, her play manic pixie meltdown, had a sold-out season through Shopfront’s ArtsLab Residency, where she facilitated an all-neurodivergent cast and creative team.