Over the years, Realise Your Dream Award winners have gone on to work for leading global names in theatre, visual arts, design, film and more. It’s a programme offering a rare opportunity and can help shape careers for years to come. Having just touched down in London, 2008 winner, Sydney playwright Tommy Murphy, is looking forward to new challenges in London’s rich theatre community.

We recently spoke to Tommy about what he plans to get up to in the UK.

“There are many approaches to making theatre in the UK that differ from Australia. The theatre companies have more resources in terms of staff, access to readings and development. I’ve never felt Australia was lacking in opportunities for playwrights, but I’m still keen to see what happens with more hands on deck”, Tommy said.

Whilst being immersed in London’s theatre hub, highlights will include time at the Royal Court Theatre, where he’ll have access to a writer’s room and attend their invitational writer’s group. Tommy will also take part in a short secondment at the famous Bush Theatre and work with local producers to stage a reading of his most recent work “Saturn’s Return” at the National Theatre Studio.

“It’s going to be really interesting to have that foreign perspective on a play set in Sydney”, Murphy said. “I’m also working on a new play while I am here. It’s set in Australia and I’m already seeing the strange benefit in writing about a place that you have left”.

As one of Australia’s most promising playwrights, Tommy’s achievements include winning the NSW Premier's Award, a prestigious national writing prize, in two successive years. His recent work "Saturn’s Return" will debut on Sydney Theatre's main stage in July.

“The challenge for any artist is to create something truthful and specific that also manages to be universal. You write in the hope that your response to the world might somehow align with other people’s experiences and emotions. I guess that’s why being abroad is so exciting for a playwright. It’s a chance to test those assumptions on a larger map” he said. 

The Realise Your Dream Award is a chance to meet other practitioners, strengthen your craft and broaden your horizons. Apply before 3 July 2009.

Read more about Tommy’s work here: http://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/2009/saturnsreturn