The Emerging Writers’ Festival acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we live, learn and work, and pays respect to their Elders past and present, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

 

EWF celebrates the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture.

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Free, Live Event & Performance

First Stage

First Stage is back! In collaboration with Melbourne Theatre Company, five emerging writers will develop five new performance works over a series of intensive workshops with director Isabella Vadiveloo, and dramaturg Morgan Rose. Join us as actors perform dramatic readings of the emerging playwrights’ new works.

Presented in partnership with Melbourne Theatre Company.

MTC’s partnership with Emerging Writers’ Festival to present First Stage is generously enabled by The Vizard Foundation and venue partner the University of Melbourne.


Please note: As a result of the recent lockdown, and out of concern for the health and welfare of our audiences and participants, we are postponing the First Stage event from Thursday 24 June to Friday 9 July at 7.30pm in the Lawler at Southbank Theatre.

Your Tickets

If you have already booked tickets to this event and can attend the new date for First Stage, you do not need to do anything – your tickets are still valid for the new date and time. Just pop a note in your calendar!

If you can no longer attend, please send us a brief email via info@emergingwritersfestival.org.au to let us know that you wish to cancel your tickets.

We’re so pleased to bring the dramatic readings of these amazing new works to the stage, while supporting the writers’ process with the benefits of a live audience. We can’t wait to see you at the theatre.

 Download the First Stage programme here

Friday 9 July, 7.30-8.50pm AEST

Free, bookings essential

The Lawler, Southbank Theatre
140 Southbank Blvd, Southbank VIC 3006

Featuring...

Roshelle Fong

Roshelle Fong is a Hong Kong Australian multidisciplinary artist who wrote, directed and produced the Melbourne Fringe award-winning immersive show nomnomnom (2018) which she adapted in East Iceland, Shanghai and Sydney as part of Kings Cross Hotel’s Vivid programming.

Veronica Heritage-Gorrie

Veronica Heritage-Gorrie (is a proud Gunai/Kurnai woman, the author of ‘Black and Blue’, published by Scribe Publications. She is passionate in non-fiction memoir and is excited to extend this to film writing and writing Children’s books.

Jeremy Nguyen

Jeremy Nguyen is a Vietnamese-Australian writer from Melbourne, Australia.

Amarachi Okorom

Amarachi Okorom is a Nigerian born Igbo actor, spoken word poet and emerging playwright. She grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2013 she moved to Melbourne, where she studied and graduated with a Bachelor of Technology.