Sydney Theatre Company has announced that Anchuli Felicia King is the 2019 STC Patrick White Playwrights Fellow. It was also announced that this year’s Patrick White Playwrights Award recipient is Keziah Warner for her play LuNa.
STC Artistic director Kip Williams said: “In this time of uncertainty, it is so important to look to the future of our art form and support the next generation of theatre makers. In this spirit I’m thrilled to announce that Anchuli Felicia King has been named our Patrick White Fellow. Felicia is one the most exciting young playwrights in the world right now and we are delighted she will be joining the STC artistic cohort”.
The Fellow
Now in its eighth year, the $25,000 Fellowship is awarded annually to an established playwright in recognition of their excellent body of work and achievements. As well as including a commission from STC, which each Fellow develops during their year-long engagement, the tenure provides opportunities for the playwright to share their skills with other playwrights and artists including the STC Emerging Writer’s Group. Previous STC Patrick White Fellows are Nakkiah Lui, Sue Smith, Andrew Bovell, Tommy Murphy, Kate Mulvany, Angela Betzien, Hilary Bell, Patricia Cornelius and Raimondo Cortese.
Anchuli Felicia King is a playwright and multidisciplinary artist of Thai-Australian descent. As a playwright, Felicia is interested in linguistic hybrids, digital cultures and issues of globalization. Her plays have been produced by the Royal Court Theatre (London), Studio Theatre (Washington D.C.), American Shakespeare Center (Staunton), Melbourne Theatre Company (Melbourne), Sydney Theatre Company, National Theatre of Parramatta and Belvoir Theatre (Sydney).
As a multidisciplinary artist, Felicia has worked with a wide range of companies and institutions, including Punchdrunk, PlayCo, 3LD Arts & Technology Center, Roundabout Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, 59E59, Ars Nova, the Obie Awards, The Builders Association, Ensemble Studio Theater, NYTW, American Shakespeare Company and Red Bull Theater. She is a member of Ensemble Studio Theater’s Youngblood Group and Roundabout Theater’s Space Jam Program.
Formerly based in New York, Felicia continues to work internationally and is based between London, New York and her hometown of Melbourne, Australia.
Felicia said “Particularly in this time of immense tumult and uncertainty in our industry, this fellowship is all the more precious to me and is a real creative lifeline. I am so immensely grateful to STC, to Patrick White, to the extraordinary cohort of artists I get to join who have occupied this fellowship before me, particularly Nakkiah Lui who is a huge inspiration to me (this year’s outgoing fellow).”
