Daniel Evans has won the 2014-15 Premier’s Drama Award for his play that twists a well-known Greek myth into a modern setting.
The award, which is the only one of its kind in Australia, guarantees that Dan will have his play produced in a professional setting. Working around Australia in theatre, festivals, print and television, he is a jack-of-all-arts. Dan has focused his career on writing, directing and producing, but was also arts editor of this web-site's sister print publication — scenestr — for five years.
His play ‘Oedipus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ is a contemporary re-imagining of the events that led to the implosion of the most talked-about family in Ancient Greek mythology. Set in Brisbane, the play embarks on a story that’s delivered from the perspective of the characters.
‘Oedipus Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ is darkly funny, timely and savage, and asks the audience 'who do we make monsters out of'? 'How do we deal with unspeakable tragedy?' And 'why do we want to point fingers when there’s nobody to blame?'.
Chosen from 121 entries, Premier Campbell Newman congratulated and awarded Dan at the Queensland Theatre Company this week. Mr Newman said the arts helps to build communities, grow tourism and the economy, and create jobs.
“Last year we called for entries from artists for a performance of quality and relevance to Australians today. Evans is an accomplished local writer, director and producer who has worked across Australia in theatre, festivals, print and television and currently teaches Applied Theatre at Griffith University.
“I congratulate him on this highly regarded achievement,” Mr Newman said.
Since the award's inception, the Queensland Theatre Company has developed 21 plays, employed more than 160 actors, writers and directors and generated audiences of more than 17,000 people. Arts Minister Ian Walker said Dan’s work was selected by a judging panel as the winner following a public play reading.
Wesley Enoch, Queensland Theatre Company Artistic Director, said the play was selected for its creativity, muscular style of writing and forward thinking.
“The play speaks to a new audience with a young and vital voice, and invites the next generation of makers and lovers of theatre into the building; it’s exciting, heartbreaking, thrilling and uncomfortable – everything great theatre should be,” Wesley said.
With hopes of the play being established in 2015, Dan is now in the finalising and developing stage. “Within the next 12 months, Dan will go through another development phase and get another chance to workshop [the script] some more,” Wesley says.
A lover of all stages of the creative process, Dan calls himself “one of those weird artists” that does a little bit of everything.
“I get bored really easily. I love the solo process of writing a play, it’s really, really fun — challenging, but fun. As soon as I get fed up with that I go ok, now I want to get into a room with artists and direct something and really have those physical conversations where it’s much more about getting a play up instead of just conceiving it.
“I love the arts and media industries, they’re fun. I think that to be an artist in this day and age you have to be good at moving in and across different mediums and genres to be able to have a lengthy career.”
Though he is a self-confessed control freak, Dan doesn’t think he will direct the play himself. “There is a benefit in a work being given to someone else to realise. I’ll do my own aesthetic and style to it and I think the journey of a playwrite sometimes is to kind of let it go — and people always say beware of the writer-director,” he laughs.
