This study focuses on trends in contemporary Australian playwrighting, discussing recent investigations into the playwrighting process. The study analyses the current state of this country’s playwrighting industry, with a particular focus on programming trends since 1998. It seeks to explore the implications of this current theatrical climate, in particular the types of work most commonly being favoured for production. It argues that Australian plays are under-represented (compared to non-Australian plays) on ‘mainstream’ stages and that audiences might benefit from more challenging modes of writing than the popular three-act realist play models. The thesis argues that ‘New Lyricism’ might fill this position of offering an innovative Australian playwrighting mode. New Lyricism is characterised by a set of common aesthetics, including a non-linear narrative structure, a poetic use of language and magic realism. Several Australian playwrights who have adopted this mode of writing are identified and their works examined. The author’s play Floodlands is presented as a case study and the author’s creative process is examined in light of the published critical discussions about experimental playwriting work.

The script, Millennium Bridge, is an investigation into the passions and fears that are shaping contemporary Australia today. Charting the political climate of the past decade, at the play's centre a man is building a bridge from Australia to Asia. The central dramatic question being asked is &quotIn an environment where the emphasis on economic prosperity overrides that of human rights and freedom of speech--what will be the consequences for the Australian people?" The accompanying analysis of the ten-year period it took to write Millennium Bridge illuminates the significance of institutional issues on a play and playwright's development. Written from the perspective of a mid-career playwright, the paper argues that the professional and personal circumstances within which a work of art is created (and their effect on the playwright's confidence and financial capacities) are a significant determinant of the productivity of playwrights.

Depuis le début des années 1980, les auteurs de théâtre sont sollicités pour conduire des dispositifs d’apprentissage de l’écriture théâtrale auprès de publics variés. Cette nouvelle prérogative pédagogique de l’auteur ne va pas sans poser un certain nombre de questions qui portent aussi bien sur l’organisation du dispositif pédagogique que sur les contenus de la transmission. À travers une approche historique et sectorielle, et en étayant l’enquête bibliographique de trente entretiens avec des écrivains-enseignants, nous analyserons la constitution cumulative de contenus d’enseignement ainsi que l’évolution des dispositifs pédagogiques sur la période 1984-2015. / Since the 1980s playwrights have been requested to devise learning techniques in the art of dramatic writing for a variety of audiences in France. This new educational opportunity given to a writer interrogates both adopted pedagogic strategies and the contents of the knowledge transferred. Through a historic and sectoral approach, by supporting the bibliographic research with thirty interviews of teacher-writers our analysis will evaluate the cumulative construction of the teaching material and the evolution of the pedagogic measures taken between 1984 and 2015.