Dark Stories A Winner

Debra Oswald has managed to secure 15,000 big ones and a whole lot of prestige after her play Stories in the Dark won the 2008 NSW Premier's Play Award this week.

Published by that god-send publishing house Currency Press, the play was up against a tough field this year and had to beat a field which included the absolutely stunning Parramatta Girls by Alana Valentine, The Story of the Miracles at Cookie's Table by Wesley Enoch and Tender by Nikki Bloom.

I haven't seen or read Stories in the Dark, so I will have to rely on the blurb sent out by Currency Press;

Stories in the Dark explores the power of storytelling, mingling the magic and earthy wisdom of folk tales with the hard-edged story of violence, conflict and the struggle to survive: In a war-torn city, 12-year-old Tomas and 16-year-old Anna seek refuge in a derelict house. To distract them both from the horrors lurking outside, Anna tells Tomas folk stories she remembers from her childhood. And so begins a journey into the shifting, shimmering world of ogres, princes, singing bones, foolish lads and wolf-mothers.

The play, which was written for an Australian Theatre for Young People production, was presented at Riverside Theatres in May last year. It is presently the only outing for the play, but after this week's recognition that will hopefully change.

So too Parramatta Girls by Alana Valentine. I am told that some Melbourne theatres are wary of staging it because it has 'Parramatta' in the title. All that Sydney blah blah Melbourne rivalry bollocks.
Let me assure all of you that it will be worth every cent if you present this very important and theatrically stunning story.

And maybe Stories in the Dark as well.