According to an article published by The Australian, a new playwright award has been launched down under, inspired by the Ancient Greece tradition of open theater competitions and the restoration of a historic Greek replica in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens: the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates.

The authentic Choragic Monument of Lysicrates that is located near the Acropolis of Athens was erected by the choregos Lysicrates, a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theater of Dionysus, to commemorate the award of first prize to one of the performances he had sponsored.

This important monument in Athens was the place where the audiences would gather for a festival of performing arts and democratically select a winner.

The Lysicrates Prize was conceived by John and Patricia Azarias, who gathered a group of philanthropists to fund the award and the restoration of the impressive replica in Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden.

Three finalists have been selected to compete in a contemporary version of the Dionysia festival – the first of its kind in Australia.

The winner of this new award will be decided on January 30, when the first act of each play will be performed in the Royal Botanic Gardens, near the restored monument.

The three finalists are Lally Katz, Justin Fleming and Steve Rodgers.