S,B &W Foundation Announces $250,000 in Performing Arts Grants & 2025 Winner Of $20,000 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award
As it approaches its 40th Anniversary year, the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation, a charity established to assist the performing arts in Australia, announced substantial Grants for 2026 and a significant playwright’s award to a packed gathering of theatre practitioners and supporters at the S,B&W Foundation’s annual Christmas celebration, in the Seaborn Library at their Neutral Bay headquarters on Thursday evening, November 20, 2025.
As the S,B&W Foundation’s President Peter Lowry AM was temporarily indisposed, the eagerly-awaited announcements were made by Simon Moore OAM assisted by Peter Poole, both announcers from radio station 2MBSFM 102.5 FINE MUSIC where the S,B&W Foundation is a sponsor of two popular performing arts programs, Stage & Screen and In Conversation.
Attendees appreciated the opportunity to meet and converse with other performing arts practitioners and welcomed the ample recognition of puppetry in the list of Grants recipients. There was also great interest in the wide spread of successful applicants, many coming from interstate, in line with the expressed wishes of S,B&WF founder, the late Dr Rodney Seaborn AO OBE, whose intention was to assist the performing arts throughout Australia. From 88 applications, double last year’s number, the S,B&W Foundation’s Grants Panel chose 17 winners with approximately equal numbers of applications from companies and individuals, and a subsidiary category of President’s Discretionary Grants were added to reflect the founder’s interests.
The successful Grants Applicants were:
Dead Puppet Society (QLD): Echo (development) received the largest grant of $35,000
Polyglot Theatre (VIC): Forest - site specific immersive theatre for children
Simon Abrahams (VIC): Curatorial Secondment (Theatre of the World Festival)
Sandra Fiona Long (VIC): The Engineer in the Snow - vocal-visual theatre work
Louise Howlett (VIC): Secret of the Raft
Felicity Wilcox (NSW): contemporary opera - Emergenc/y
Chloë Sobek (VIC): Dialogues Across Time (profess. development)
Cecilia Martin (QLD): Dance/Theatre - Steam
Bangarra Dance Theatre (NSW) : International Canada tour
Spare Parts Puppet Theatre Inc (WA): Puppetry - Wandabaa Gaay Guwaali
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: (NSW) International (UK) Choral tour
Sydney Youth Orchestra (NSW): International tour
Australian Plays Transform (NSW): Mid-Career Playwrights Development
Kate Millett (VIC): Internship @ Finnish National Opera & Ballet
Fleur Murphy (VIC): Theatre writer- Never Always Ever Was
Andrée Greenwell (NSW): Music Theatre composition - Professional Development
The Last Great Hunt (WA): Theatre - New Owner & Alvin Sputnik tour USA
In addition, to celebrate the forthcoming 40th Anniversary, 11 extra President’s Discretionary Grants were passed by the Foundation Board:
Horizons Theatre Company (Maddy Slabacu): Treasures, a new children’s puppet production
David Spicer Productions: premiere of musical Woman’s Best Friend by Geraldine Turner at Bondi Pavilion Theatre
Ensemble Theatre: Ed Elevate Program - free tickets for disadvantaged students, mentorship of young theatre-makers and In-School Workshops
Griffin Theatre Company: Develop and workshop Into the Light, a new play by Alex Broun and Ian Roberts, last year’s co-winner of the RSPA
Poetry in Action: Rehearsal partner program - training, employment, touring
Bell Shakespeare: Western Sydney (Schools) Access Program
SSO : to expand Ready, Set Listen! (2024) for young children
New Ghosts - Three New Australian Plays
Performing Lines - preserving PL archives and making them accessible
Co B LTD (Belvoir St Theatre): recreating novel Runt, with a theme of resilience, especially for younger audiences (directed by Neil Armfield)
STC: HSC Staged Play Readings to support high school students
Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award
The final announcement of the evening, the winner of the $20,000 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award, was made by Diana Simmonds, Chair of the RSPA Trustees Panel. She revealed that the number of entries had doubled this year and exceeded 50. She thanked Terence Clarke AM, prime reader of the Panel, and announced the 2025 winner: award-winning Brisbane playwright, researcher, theatre producer, teacher and mentor Elaine Acworth for her new play Rowan's Story. Elaine has taught in both specialist workshops and class environments, mentored emerging playwrights and adjudicated eisteddfods. In accepting the award, she explained that the ecology of theatre practice means we support everyone, at every level, who wants to create work. Dedicated to pursuing her commitment to the next generation of practitioners and to the changing nature of her craft, she displayed emotion as she assured the audience of her confidence in the younger generation with whom she had conducted workshops during the evolution of her play, exploring themes of partner violence and gender equity. Past winners of RSPA include Katherine Thomson, Dylan Van Den Berg, Steve Rodgers, Mary Rachel Brown, Campion Decent, Reg Cribb, Finegan Kruckemeyer, Debra Oswald, Katie Pollock, Alana Valentine and Maxine Mellor.
And to conclude the evening
Some delightful entertainment and a nostalgic carol singalong concluded the Foundation's party. The singing was led by Peter Cousens and daughter Daisy (accompanied by Dr Bill Brooks) who commenced with a rousing duet of the Victorian ballad Excelsior.
They had both appeared years ago on stage for Dr Seaborn, in the 1990s (alongside Gwen Plumb), in a Christmas fundraiser at the Independent Theatre during its restoration. In those days, little Daisy was a prize-winning Irish dancer (she recently appeared in a private read through in the STC’s Richard Wherrett Room of a new musical Goblin by Justin Fleming and Thos Hodgson).
This year's S,B&W Foundation party closed with everyone joining Peter and Daisy in singing a verse each of Silent Night and Come All Year Faithful - by heart - the best way to sing. It was a very symbolic conclusion as there was much heartfelt gratitude for the late, very generous Dr Seaborn and his continuing, very generous, supportive Foundation for the performing arts.
Images (from top)
Diana Simmonds Chair of the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award Trustees Panel with 2025 winner of $20,000 RSPA: Brisbane playwright Elaine Acworth and successful S,B &W Foundation Grant recipients ($35,000) Nicholas Paine and Claire Styles from The Dead Puppets Society (QLD).
Simon Moore OAM (Fine Music 2MBSFM presenter) with Nicholas Paine and Claire Styles from the Dead Puppets Society (QLD), which received a substantial grant for the development of Echo (2026) that melds puppetry with a robotic performer
Diana Simmonds, Chair of Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award Trustees Panel with 2025 RSPA winner Brisbane Playwright Elaine Acworth
Peter and Daisy Cousens, accompanied by Dr Bill Brooks.
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