Griffin is the only theatre company in the country entirely dedicated to the development and production of new Australian plays. For the last 40 years, we have been one of the great engine rooms of Australian theatre, passionately working to nurture new Australian artists and ensure that ambitious, bold, courageous, urgent and nationally relevant stories get from a page onto a stage. 

Beyond our annual season of plays, we partner with Trusts and Foundations to maintain and expand our Creative Programs, which provide development pathways for theatremakers, and build the next generation of theatre-goers through audience development initiatives and our highly successful Ambassadors program, which allows high school students invaluable access to new Australian stories.

The generous financial support of Trusts and Foundations is critical to Griffin’s success and we’re enormously grateful to our current partners. If you feel that you could support any of Griffins programs or make a meaningful investment towards one of our community, education or development initiatives, please contact Head of Development Jake Shavikin on (02) 8960 7799 or [email protected].

 

 

Our Current Trusts and Foundations

 

The Copyright Agency Cultural Fund
The Griffin Award is one of Australia’s most prestigious literary awards for playwrights and has kick-started some of our country’s leading, contemporary writers including Suzie Miller, Mark Rogers and Angus Cerini. For over 25 years, the Award has a long history of recognising new talent and cementing the careers of Australian writers and would not be possible without the steadfast support of the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.

Girgensohn Foundation 
The Girgensohn Foundation are the patrons of the Griffin Amplify program—a new audience development initiative that enables Griffin to connect culturally specific work to the communities they represent. For two works in each Main Season, community leaders are engaged to work with Griffin’s producing and marketing team. This collaboration, and the strategies created, are aimed around engagement and activation—creating opportunities to invite and welcome communities into Griffin to connect with work in a meaningful way.

Initially through their support of our Storylab program back in 2012/2013, then as long-time Production Patrons, the Girgensohn Foundation allowed Griffin to bring works to the stage that would have been otherwise impossible, including: Michele Lee’s Rice (2017), Nick Coyle’s Feather in the Web (2018), Kendall Feaver‘s Wherever She Wanders (2020/2021) and Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie (2019). The Foundation also supported a technical upgrade of the SBW Stables Theatre in 2017.

Malcolm Robertson Foundation
Generously funding our Griffin Studio program, the Malcolm Robertson Foundation support Griffin’s flagship programs for emerging artists. Griffin Studio specifically provides career pathways for promising directors, writers and dramaturgs.

Malcolm Robertson Foundation have generously supported the Literary Associate since 2021, a position for an emerging playwright on staff, which acts as a stepping stone between Griffin and the independent playwriting sector.

Neilson Foundation
As our Company Patrons, the Neilson Foundation allows us to dream big, take risks and put new work on stage with confidence. Their support allows us to make work we otherwise wouldn’t have thought possible, including their extraordinary gift which allowed Griffin to become the proud owners of the Stables Theatre.

Robertson Foundation 
The Griffin Ambassadors program provides a pathway for young people to experience the power and joy of Australian theatre, and without the support of the Robertson Foundation, it simply wouldn’t be possible. Since 2004, this program has provided 100 school students in years 10–12 the chance to attend a series of workshops and performances that offers them insights into the inner workings of a theatre company, whether that be playwriting, directing, acting or technical production.

The Robertson Foundation also support Griffin’s Literary Manager, a new role in the Artistic and Programming team, who will be responsible for fostering the culture of dramaturgy within Griffin and connecting deeply with playwrights and theatremakers.

Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation
Griffin would not be where we are today without the vision and generosity of the Seaborn, Broughton & Walford (S,B&W) Foundation, to whom we owe the great privilege of being able to perform in the much-loved SBW Stables Theatre. We are so grateful for their continued support and the financial assistance provided towards our momentous staging of Louis Nowra’s The Lewis Trilogy.