Adelaide Festival has announced the recipient of the inaugural Beyond Borders Venture Fund. Visions of God Support Group, a new theatre work developed by South Australian playwright Hew Parham and director Chris Drummond, has been awarded $100,000 and a creative development showcase in the 2027 festival program.

The work follows the members of a support group who meet on Tuesday nights, brought together by their belief in having had a vision of God.

Hew Parham and Chris Drummond in a development for Visions of God Support Group. Photo © Jamois

Parham is a playwright, actor, clown and director who has developed his practice with organisations in Canada, New York and London. He has performed at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, the Adelaide and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals and the Sangeunay Arts Festival, among other appearances.

A theatre director and dramaturg Drummond served as Artistic Director of Brink Productions between 2004–2023, and was Associate Director of State Theatre Company South Australia from 2001–2004. For the 2008 Adelaide Festival, he directed the world premiere of Andrew Bovell’s When The Rain Stops Falling.

They previously collaborated in Parham’s Symphonie of a Bicycle, staged by State Theatre Company South Australia and Brink Productions in 2024.

Adelaide Festival’s Beyond Borders aims to connect South Australian creatives with internationally acclaimed artists and stages. Since its establishment in 2024, the program has worked with 75 South Australian-based artists, providing them with opportunities to engage with international productions and their teams.

The Venture Fund is a new matched funding initiative between donors and the South Australian Government, supporting local creatives seeking to develop “ambitious independent works”, for which existing pathways are scarce.

“I’m beyond thrilled and feeling incredibly privileged to receive the Beyond Borders Venture Funding to support the development of Visions of God Support Group. The work explores themes of loneliness, questions of faith and the search for connection through the lens of a support group. The show is interested in the big questions, but also in the small acts of care that get us through the day,” said Parham.

“This funding is a remarkable gift for an independent artist, providing the time and resources to fully explore an ambitious idea and collaborate with exceptional artists to interrogate and elevate a new work in progress.”

More about the Beyond Borders Venture Fund can be found here.