Peace Award at the Fringe

2020

Kafka’s Ape – performed by Tony Miyambo, adapted and directed by Phala Ookeditse Phala and presented by Yililiza Pty Ltd. This was a powerful yet sensitive solo performance about a primate’s struggle to overcome the confines of captivity. The play takes a metaphorical view of South African society, highlighting the complexities of identity in post-apartheid South Africa and in the human race in general. Red Peter, the ape, embarks on a journey ignited by finding a way out of a cage he was confined to after his capture; a journey in which he contests identity based on outward appearance. Through the journey of Red Peter the play provides a narrative that helps to question the understanding of otherness.

2019

This year the award was given to two different productions, both very strong pieces.

Alison Paradoxx for Floral Peroxide – a dynamic live display of performance poetry, film, electronic soundscapes, movement, and visual art, Alison Paradoxx explores the paradoxes of disability, and the societal desire to ‘fix’ the broken self. She utilises her background in performance to articulate injury and trauma through theatrical multimedia displays.

and

Grounded starring Martha Lott, presented by Holden Street Theatres, When a fighter pilot’s life in the sky is forced to the ground, her world and her identity are irrevocably changed as she is forced to confront the morality of modern warfare in an urgent and appalling reality. Martha Lott was directed by Poppy Rowley in George Brant’s riveting, incredibly evocative and blisteringly sharp multi award-winning play.

2018

Not Today’s Yesterday presented by UK award-winning Bharatanatyam artist Seeta Patel and Australian choreographer Lina Limosani in association with Holden Street Theatre. This work blends techniques from Bharatanatyam, contemporary dance & theatre to create a poetic narrative that has the beauty & disquiet of a Grimm’s fairy-tale.

2017

We Live By The Sea – by Patch of Blue
Playful visual storytelling with a live electronic score about autism, friendship and a very big wave.

and

in[nate]ture
A dance performance which is the innate connection that all humans have with the natural world they live in, whether or not they choose to acknowledge it. The earth, our home is beautiful, grand and diverse – but human construction and destruction have pushed it to the edge. Can humanity come together to save and protect the very core of our existence?

2016

Labels – by Joe Sellman-Leava. Labels continued it’s award winning run by adding the Peace Award to it’s collection at the 2016 Adelaide Fringe Festival. This performance engaged its audience to think about how we treat our fellow human beings. Originally inspired by a racism and equality workshop, led by Oscar-winning writer, actor and activist Emma Thompson, at Exeter University, 2009, the rise of far right parties both in Britain and across Europe compelled Joe to re-develop Labels for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015.

2015

Blood At The Root
This play by Dominique Morisseau and performed by Penn State University School of Theatre is inspired by the Jena Six – six black teenagers convicted in the beating of a white student at Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana. The six black students were charged with attempted murder for a schoolyard fight after nooses were hung from a large tree in the centre of the school courtyard. The play deals with the ongoing issues of racism in the US as well as dealing with the other kinds of social difference.

2014

Two winners were selected this year for their outstanding work – representing what the Fringe is all about – great local and international acts in Adelaide, Australia:

Local theatre company True North Youth Arts Ensemble, with their performance A Sense of Home.

and

The international theatre company Por Piedad Teatro, for the performance entitled A Special Day.

2013

No Award was given.

2012

seven kilometres north-east – Devised and performed by Kym Vercoe and presented by the innovative political theatre company Version one point zero.

2011

Trapped – No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability (NSA). Two strangers are thrown together in a cell. One has an accent. The other has a hearing impediment. Why are they being detained? In this oppressive, trapped space, with no way out, the two strangers find a way to bond.