28 Nov 2021

Nathan Joe - this is clearly his year!

From Standing Room Only, 12:45 pm on 28 November 2021
Nathan Joe

Nathan Joe Photo: supplied

It's been a tough secret to keep but we are delighted to announce the winner of this year's Bruce Mason Playwriting Award.

The $10,000 prize goes to Chinese-Kiwi, Christchurch-based playwright  Nathan Joe. The award hopes to encourage the winner to keep writing for the theatre and that's exactly what Nathan intends to do.

It's a busy year for Nathan.   He's also won a 2022 Grimshaw Sargeson Literary Fellowship, based at the Sargeson Centre in Auckland where he'll work on his new play called  Personal Essays. 

Before then, Auckland Theatre Company is staging his provocative work Scenes From A Yellow Peril about racism and privilege in Aotearoa,  as part of next year's programme. 

In addition, Nathan Joe's the 2020 National Poetry Slam Champion, but he won't be able to defend that title because it clashes with next year's Auckland Pride Festival that he's also involved with!   Where does he find the time?

Nathan talks to Lynn Freeman about how much of a morale boost winning the Playwriting Award has been for him.