Joanna Murray-Smith
Encyclopedia
Joanna Murray-Smith is a Melbourne
based playwright
, screenwriter, novel
ist, librettist
and newspaper columnist.
; her father was the literary editor and academic Stephen Murray-Smith (1922–1988). She attended Toorak College and graduated with a BA
(Hons) from the
University of Melbourne
. On a Rotary International
Scholarship
in 1995, Murray-Smith attended the writing program at Columbia University
, New York. In 2003, she took a sabbatical in Italy. She is married to husband Raymond Gill and has two sons Sam and Charlie and a daughter Lucy.
and at the Royal National Theatre
in London.
Honour was created in 1995 when Murray-Smith was studying in the writing program at Columbia University in New York. There, the play's first public appearance was in a reading with Meryl Streep
, Sam Waterston
and Kyra Sedgwick
.
Honour was performed at the Belasco Theatre
on Broadway in 1998 with Jane Alexander
, Robert Foxworth
, Laura Linney
, Enid Graham; it earned Alexander and Graham Tony Award
nominations, Enid Graham winning a Tony. It was performed at London's Royal National Theatre with Eileen Atkins
and in the West End
at Wyndham's Theatre
in 2006 with Diana Rigg
, Martin Jarvis and Natascha McElhone
Ridge's Lovers was performed in New York under the direction of Brian Leahy Doyle. Scenes from a Marriage was performed in January 2008 at the Belgrade Theatre
, Coventry
, directed by Trevor Nunn
, with Iain Glen
and Imogen Stubbs
.
The Female of the Species
, based on events in the life of Germaine Greer
, opened in the West End
at the Vaudeville Theatre
in July 2008, directed by Roger Michell and starring Eileen Atkins
. A Broadway production, originally planned for 2008 with Annette Bening
was postponed. In February and March 2010, the play was staged at the Geffen Playhouse
in Los Angeles with David Arquette
and Annette Bening. Charles Isherwood
of The New York Times
wrote about this production: "The Female of the Species is not just antifeminist. In its depiction of women as variously pompous, deluded, self-obsessed, hypocritical, sexually obsequious or just plain crazy, it comes closer to being antifemale."
, her work and that of other Australian writers, e.g. David Williamson
's, is insufficiently supported.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
based playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, screenwriter, novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist, librettist
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
and newspaper columnist.
Biography
Joanna Murray-Smith was born in Mount Eliza, VictoriaMount Eliza, Victoria
Mount Eliza is an outer suburb south-east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is in the Local Government Area of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula...
; her father was the literary editor and academic Stephen Murray-Smith (1922–1988). She attended Toorak College and graduated with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(Hons) from the
University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. On a Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
Scholarship
Rotary Scholarships
Rotary International offers a number of scholarships worldwide for periods of 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years.- Ambassadorial Mission :The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarship is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries...
in 1995, Murray-Smith attended the writing program at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, New York. In 2003, she took a sabbatical in Italy. She is married to husband Raymond Gill and has two sons Sam and Charlie and a daughter Lucy.
Notable productions
Many of Murray-Smith's plays have been performed around the world. Honour has been produced in more than three dozen countries, including productions on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and at the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in London.
Honour was created in 1995 when Murray-Smith was studying in the writing program at Columbia University in New York. There, the play's first public appearance was in a reading with Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, Sam Waterston
Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...
and Kyra Sedgwick
Kyra Sedgwick
Kyra Minturn Sedgwick is an American actress.Sedgwick is best known for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama The Closer. Sedgwick's role in the series won her a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and an Emmy Award in 2010...
.
Honour was performed at the Belasco Theatre
Belasco Theatre
The Belasco Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 111 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan.-History:Designed by architect George Keister for impresario David Belasco, the interior featured Tiffany lighting and ceiling panels, rich woodwork and expansive murals by American artist...
on Broadway in 1998 with Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
, Robert Foxworth
Robert Foxworth
Robert Heath Foxworth is an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life and career:Foxworth was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Erna Beth , a writer, and John Howard Foxworth, a roofing contractor...
, Laura Linney
Laura Linney
Laura Leggett Linney is an American actress of film, television, and theatre. Linney has won three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has been nominated for three times for an Academy Award and once for a BAFTA Award...
, Enid Graham; it earned Alexander and Graham Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations, Enid Graham winning a Tony. It was performed at London's Royal National Theatre with Eileen Atkins
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
and in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
in 2006 with Diana Rigg
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
, Martin Jarvis and Natascha McElhone
Natascha McElhone
Natascha McElhone is an English actress of stage, screen and television, best known for her roles in Ronin, The Truman Show and Solaris. McElhone also plays a leading role in the Showtime series Californication....
Ridge's Lovers was performed in New York under the direction of Brian Leahy Doyle. Scenes from a Marriage was performed in January 2008 at the Belgrade Theatre
Belgrade Theatre
The Belgrade Theatre is a live performance venue seating 858 and situated in Coventry, England. It was the first civic theatre to be built after the Second World War in Britain and as such was more than a place of entertainment...
, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, directed by Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
, with Iain Glen
Iain Glen
Iain Glen is a Scottish film and stage actor.Iain Glen was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and trained at RADA where he won the Bancroft Gold Medal. He was married to Susannah Harker from 1993 to 2004; they have one son, Finlay...
and Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs
Imogen Stubbs, Lady Nunn is an English actress and playwright.-Early life:Imogen Stubbs was born in Northumberland, lived briefly in Portsmouth, where her father was a naval officer, and then moved with her parents to London, where they lived on an elderly river barge on the Thames...
.
The Female of the Species
The Female of the Species (play)
The Female of the Species is a comic play by Joanna Murray-Smith first performed in 2006. The play is a satire about celebrity feminists, with a plot loosely inspired by a real-life incident in 2000, when author Germaine Greer was held at gunpoint in her own home by a disturbed student.The play...
, based on events in the life of Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
, opened in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at the Vaudeville Theatre
Vaudeville Theatre
The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on The Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous...
in July 2008, directed by Roger Michell and starring Eileen Atkins
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
. A Broadway production, originally planned for 2008 with Annette Bening
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films...
was postponed. In February and March 2010, the play was staged at the Geffen Playhouse
Geffen Playhouse
The Geffen Playhouse is a not for profit performing arts theater in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Originally named the Westwood Playhouse, UCLA purchased the property in 1993. UCLA's then chancellor, Charles E. Young, appointed Gil Cates Producing Director...
in Los Angeles with David Arquette
David Arquette
David Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
and Annette Bening. Charles Isherwood
Charles Isherwood
-External Links:* at The New York Times* at Variety...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote about this production: "The Female of the Species is not just antifeminist. In its depiction of women as variously pompous, deluded, self-obsessed, hypocritical, sexually obsequious or just plain crazy, it comes closer to being antifemale."
Works
The plays and novels of Joanna Murray-Smith have been translated and performed widely around the world. According to the Australia Council, "Joanna Murray-Smith and Daniel Keene account for half of all foreign productions of Australian plays". However, Murray-Smith feels that within Australia, and especially at the Sydney Theatre CompanySydney Theatre Company
The Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....
, her work and that of other Australian writers, e.g. David Williamson
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO is one of Australia's best-known playwrights. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.-Biography:...
's, is insufficiently supported.
Plays
- Angry Young Penguins (1987) (see also: Ern MalleyErn MalleyErnest Lalor "Ern" Malley was a fictitious poet and the central figure in Australia's most celebrated literary hoax. The poet, and his entire body of work, were created in one day in 1944 by writers James McAuley and Harold Stewart as a hoax on Max Harris, Angry Penguins, the modernist magazine he...
) - Atlanta (1990)
- Love Child (1993)
- Ridge's Lovers
- Flame (1994)
- HonourHonour (play)Honour is a 1995 play by the Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith.It tells the familiar tale of a middle aged man, George, who leaves his wife, Honour, and their 24-year-old daughter, Sophie, for a relationship with a much younger woman by the name of Claudia.It was first performed in...
(1995) - Redemption (1997)
- Rapture (2002)
- Bombshells (2004) (written for Caroline O'Connor)
- The Female of the SpeciesThe Female of the Species (play)The Female of the Species is a comic play by Joanna Murray-Smith first performed in 2006. The play is a satire about celebrity feminists, with a plot loosely inspired by a real-life incident in 2000, when author Germaine Greer was held at gunpoint in her own home by a disturbed student.The play...
(2006) - Nightfall (2007)
- Ninety (August 2008 at the Melbourne Theatre CompanyMelbourne Theatre CompanyThe Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
) - Scenes from a Marriage (January 2008) (based on the 1973 Bergmann filmScenes from a MarriageScenes from a Marriage is a 1973 Swedish TV series written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The story explores the disintegration of a marriage between Marianne, a lawyer, and Johan, a professor over a long period, using a restricted cast, a naturalist, hyper-realistic cinematic...
) - Rockabye (August 2009, Melbourne Theatre CompanyMelbourne Theatre CompanyThe Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
) - Songs for Nobodies (November 2010, Melbourne Theatre CompanyMelbourne Theatre CompanyThe Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
) (written for Bernadette Robinson) - The Gift (June 2011)
Novels
- Truce (1994) ISBN 978-0-14-015252-4
- Judgement Rock (2002) ISBN 978-0-14-025429-7
- Sunnyside (2005) ISBN 978-0-14-300536-0
Other
- The poems of Ern Malley (ed) ISBN 978-0-04-150088-2 (1988)
- GeorgiaGeorgia (1988 film)Georgia is a 1988 Australian thriller film directed by Ben Lewin starring Judy Davis and John Bach.Judy Davis plays the two roles of a mother, Georgia, and her daughter Nina...
, (film, 1988) - Cassidy (1989, for ABC TelevisionABC TelevisionABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
) (after the novel by Morris WestMorris WestMorris Langlo West AO was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels The Devil's Advocate , The Shoes of the Fisherman , and The Clowns of God . His books were published in 27 languages and sold more than 60 million copies worldwide...
) - Mimi Goes to the Analyst in Six Pack (1992, for SBS TVSBS TVSBS One is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally...
) - Greed in The Seven Deadly Sins (1993, for ABC Television)
- Lyrics to a song cycle about Harold HoltHarold HoltHarold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
, music by Paul GrabowskyPaul Grabowsky-Biography:Grabowsky was born on 27 September 1958 in Lae, Papua New Guinea; his father Alistair had lived in Papua New Guinea with his wife Charlotte since the 1930s working on oil rigs, building roads, flying planes and playing the drums... - JanusJanus (TV series)Janus is an Australian drama television series screened on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1994 and 1995. Two series were produced, with a total of 26 episodes....
: episodes Fit to Plead, An Unnatural Act, A Prima Facie Case (1995, for ABC Television) - LibrettoLibrettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
to the operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Love in the Age of Therapy (2002) by Paul Grabowsky for Opera AustraliaOpera AustraliaOpera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
.
Awards
- Australian Film InstituteAustralian Film InstituteThe Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
AwardAustralian Film Institute AwardsThe Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
nomination in 1989 for the screenplay to Georgia (shared with Ben Lewin, Bob Weis). - Braille Book of the Year for Judgement Rock
- Victorian Premier's Literary AwardVictorian Premier's Literary AwardThe Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Governmentwith the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry....
: Southbank Pacific Prize for Drama for Honour in 1996 - Victorian Premier's Literary Award: Louis Esson Prize for Drama for Rapture in 2003
- Winner 2004 Fringe First Award, Edinburgh Festival Fringe for Bombshells
- International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardInternational IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardThe International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is an international literary award for a work of fiction, jointly sponsored by the city of Dublin, Ireland and the company IMPAC. At €100,000 it is one of the richest literary prizes in the world...
nomination in 2004 for Judgement Rock - Winner 2005 London Theatregoers Choice Award for Bombshells
- Final list of twelve of the Miles Franklin AwardMiles Franklin AwardThe Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
in 2006 for Sunnyside
External links
- Plays by Joanna Murray-Smith (incomplete)
- Short video interview with Joanna Murray-Smith talking about her plays and writing methods
- Teacher's Notes on Joanna Murray-Smith
- In an interview with Dr. Tess BradyTess BradyTess Brady is a writer and interviewer/presenter. She is currently the Artistic Director for Clunes Back to Booktown.-Biography:Brady was born in Adelaide, South Australia. She studied at the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, Exeter University, and Deakin University...
, Joanna Murray-Smith shares some of her tips on how to write a play - The Female of the Species at the Black Swan Theatre Company, plus overview of Murray-Smith's work.