WINNER – Lip Sync, Kanikanki, Twerk Off! by Te Huamanuka Luiten-Apirana

HIGHLY COMMENDED – Henchmen by Amy Wright and She Thinks Evil by Courtney Bassett

“Auckland Live has awarded $1,500 to the winner of Playwrights b425 for the last four years and is delighted to do so again in 2021. The writers shortlisted for this award are the theatremakers of the future. They will be telling our stories and presenting works in venues right across Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world, so it is important to us at Auckland Live that they are acknowledged and supported early in their careers. We want to congratulate everyone who put forward work this year.”

Congratulations to our other finalists: Melanie Allison, Harrison Kennedy, Indigo Paul, Emma Rattenbury, Hannah Rice, Alex Tunui and Ella Yiannett.