Lysicrates playwright prize about to gain a fresh audience

Democracy - as invented by the ancient Greeks - at work. Three first acts by three playwrights.

Each audience member is given a coin and are asked to cats it into one of three urns representing each play.

Former Greek diplomat John Azarias and his wife Patricia, a former United Nations civil servant, are behind the Lysicrates Foundation.

Seeing the dilapidated state of Sydney's Royal Botanic Garden's Choragic Lysicrates Monument they set about raising money for its restoration.

Ms Azarias says it was an opportunity to revive a theatrical tradition born more than 2000 years ago.

"And so I thought if we are going to restore the monument itself what's wrong with restoring the theatre competition that the original monument was based on. And doing it the same way the Greeks did it. With contemporary playwrights with contemporary themes and with the audience voting for the winner."

Finalists say the audience feedback is priceless.

Playwright Jennifer Compton says it's an inclusive process.

"I'll be listening to when they laugh, where they appear to be confused. Because the audience is part of the process - you can 't have the theatre without the audience, the live audience there."

Nick Coyle says he's there to entertain the audience - not the critics.

"Plays are for the audience so it felt like a fun way to cut out the middle man and put it in front of the lions."

The prize is named after Lysicrates, a patron of the arts whose production in 334 BC won Athens' most prestigious drama competition.

A monument honouring the occasion was erected near the Acropolis, a sandstone version was commissioned here in Australia in 1868.

Preserving the Lysicrates Monument in Sydney's Botanic Gardens was the Foundation's first act.  

In its second, it is breathing new life into one of the great ancient art competitions.

The winner of the Lysicrates Prize receives a  full commission of $12,500 dollars to finish the play and a return trip to where it all began, Athens.

For its third act, the Foundation is introducing the Lysicrates Martin Prize in honour of James Martin, who commissioned the Sydney monument.

Mr Azarias says the playwright competition will cater for children aged eight to 12 and will be staged in Sydney's west as a way of bringing theatre to those not necessarily exposed to it.

"They will be voting and they will be deciding - these are plays being specifically written  for children by adults and they will decide... so it is empowering children, teaching them about democracy, teaching them about the beauty of live theatre."

The winner of the 2017 Lysicrates prize is Melissa Bunic with her play about death.

Sydney's Griffin Theatre will now endeavour to produce her work, 'Ghosting the Party.'

Lee Lewis is the Artistic Director of the company.

"This play, 'Ghosting the Party' speaks to our great fear of death and the presence of it in our everyday lives that we just don't take out into public. The way we talk about it at home is not how we talk about it outside the safety of our house. What she did was put our greatest fear on stage and she did it in a comic way. When John first came up with that idea that the audience to decide, I was petrified and then I thought why would I be petrified, it's all about the audience. The audience knows what they want to see and they tell us. Now our job is to find out a way to put this play on the stage."

For the Azarias  - their philosophy is simple, good art for everyone.