NICK PARSONS is a writer and director in film, television theatre and radio. He has a BA (hons) in Philosophy from Sydney University and is a graduate of both the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and the National Institute of Dramatic Art, completing the directing and writing courses concurrently in both institutions. His stage plays include The Pest House, Dead Heart, Hollow Ground and the musical A Nasty Piece of Work. He wrote and directed the feature film Dead Heart (1996), based on his play, as well as ‘The Saviour’ (2006), a half-hour episode of the TV series two Twisted, and Tipping Point (2007) a 16-part mini-doc series for The Weather Channel. He has directed numerous plays and also written episodes of the TV series My Place (2010, 2011), The Straits (2012), and Wolf Creek 2 (2017). In 2024 Nick directed Straight White Male, a double bill of Alex Buzo’s Norm and Ahmed and own his own play Radha and Ryan for La Mama Theatre, Melbourne. Nick has three AWGIE awards, The Australian Film Critics Circle Award, the NSW Premier’s Literary Award and the Australian Human Rights Award. Series he has worked on have won two Logies and a Deadly Award.Nick is Chair and ePublishing Editor at Currency Press.

ALEX BUZO was born in Sydney. He was educated at the Armidale School, the International School in Geneva and the University of New South Wales from which he graduated with a BA in 1965. In 2005 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of New South Wales for his contribution to Australian literature. In 1968, Buzo’s first play Norm and Ahmed was among the first to find a truly Australian voice and gained national attention primarily through a prosecution for obscenity. The exploration of alienation in this play remained a common theme in his work, often delivered with clever and stylish use of the Australian idiom and a tireless commitment to reflecting the true nature of Australian society. In 1972, Buzo was awarded the Australian Literature Society's Gold Medal for his play Macquarie. His plays include Rooted, The Front Room Boys, Coralie Lansdowne Says No, Martello Towers, Makassar Reef, Big River, The Marginal Farm, Shellcove Road and Pacific Union. His work has been produced around the world including the USA, the UK and South East Asia. He was also writer-in-residence at many theatre companies, schools and universities. Following Buzo’s death in 2006, his daughter Emma founded the Alex Buzo Company in 2007.