Description

Patricia Cornelius is one of Australia's most awarded and celebrated playwrights. She is known for her confronting plays that often deal with people living on the margins of society, struggling with poverty and prejudice. The Sydney Festival 2017 showcased three of Patricia's plays, as well as a discussion with Festival Director Wesley Enoch. This collection contains criticism on Cornelius' plays SHIT, Who's Afraid of the Working Class?, Do Not Go Gentle ..., The Berry Man and LOVE, in pieces written by Julian Meyrick, Hilary Glow, Tom Holloway, Susie Dee and Cornelius herself. Read Cornelius through her eyes, and through the eyes of her peers in theatremaking. This is the first title in the Critical Studies Collection by Currency Press. Each title in the collection showcases an Australian playwright or a theatrical theme, through written criticism and audiovisual material. The sources range from recent publications through to rare books that are currently out of print. Complete with source listings and recommended further reading, this series is the ideal guide for students and teachers of theatre from the HSC to tertiary study.

Biography

Patricia Cornelius

PATRICIA CORNELIUS is a founding member of Melbourne Workers Theatre. Patricia has a fierce commitment to class and her work often examines the lives of the marginalized. She’s a playwright, novelist and film writer. Cornelius is the recipient of the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize, the Mona Brand Award and the 2019 Green Room award for Life Achievement. Her prizes for stage work include the 2011 Victorian and NSW Premiers’ Literary Awards, the Patrick White Playwright’s Award, the Richard Wherrett Prize, the Wal Cherry Award and numerous AWGIES for stage, community theatre, theatre for young people. She was awarded the Australian Writers Foundation Playwriting Award in 2015 as well as the Patrick White Fellowship (2012), and a Fellowship from the Australia Council’s Theatre Board. Patricia has won the AWGIE Major Award three times. She has written over 35 plays including: TRUTH, My Sister Jill, Bad Boy, Runt, Anthem, In the Club, Shit, Big Heart, Savages, Do not go gentle…, Slut, Love and The Call. Patricia wrote the adaption of SHIT for film and co-wrote the feature film adaptation Blessed, Patricia’s novel, My Sister Jill (Random House) was published in 2002.