Nakkiah Lui. Image: Prudence Upton
Sydney Theatre Company (STC) has announced writer Nakkiah Lui as the 2018 STC Patrick White Playwrights Fellow.
Lui is a Gamillaroi/Torres Strait Islander woman, a young leader in the Australian Aboriginal community, and a multi award-winning writer and actor in TV shows such as ABC’s Black Comedy and Kiki & Kitty.
Well known to the STC audience, she has had three of her plays: Black is the New White, Blackie Blackie Brown and How to Rule the World staged in the last three years. Black is the New White was first presented in 2017 with a sell-out season at the Wharf, and returned for an encore season at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in 2018. This was followed up by her critically acclaimed play Blackie Blackie Brown in 2018 which also had a season at Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne.
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, the tenure provides opportunities for the playwright to share their skills with other playwrights and artists including the STC Emerging Writer’s Group.