Stephen Sewell (writer)
Stephen Sewell | |
|---|---|
 Sewell in Sydney, 2023 | |
| Born | 1953 (age 70–71) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Agent(s) | David Smith, Smith & MacDonald |
Stephen John Sewell (born 1953) is an Australian playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his play and later (1998) screenplay of The Boys.
Early life and education
[edit]Stephen John Sewell was born in 1953 into a working class, Catholic family in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia.[1][2] He studied science at the University of Sydney, before deciding to become a playwright.[3]
Career
[edit]His short play Kangaroo was presented at a Sydney fringe theatre in 1975. His first full-length play, The Father We Loved on a Beach by the Sea was performed at La Boite Theatre in Brisbane under the artistic directorship of Rick Billinghurst in 1977.[4]
His first major success was Traitors at the Australian Performing Group's Pram Factory in 1979,[5] followed quickly by Welcome the Bright World, directed by Neil Armfield at the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney in 1981. In 1983 Armfield directed a production of The Blind Giant is Dancing by the State Theatre Company of South Australia. Also in 1983, BBC Radio produced a version of Traitors with David Nettheim.[6]
Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America, A Play in 30 Scenes was directed by Aubrey Mellor at the Malthouse Theatre in 2003.[7] Three Furies - Scenes from the Life of Francis Bacon was directed by Jim Sharman for the 2005 Sydney Festival.[8]
In 1998 the film version of his play The Boys, directed by Rowan Woods, was released.[9]
Sewell's work looks at the nature of power in society, and shows his commitment to radical social change, promoting egalitarianism and social justice. He has been influenced and inspired by many thinkers, including Democritus, Marx, Lacan, Hegel, and Zizek. His plays show passion, rage, and intellectual rigour, but also humour and hope.[10] He has said of his work, "No artist, no creator, ever sets forth without hope, even if the thing they create appears to be carved out of pitch black despair".[11]
Sewell was head of writing at the National Institute of Dramatic Art between 2012 and 2021.[12]
He has won many awards, including winning of the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award three times.[13] In 2004 Sewell won the Louis Esson Prize for Drama at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards for Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America: A Drama in 30 Scenes.[14]
He is currently a researcher at the Australian National University.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ "Stephen Sewell". AustLit. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Adelaide Festival - Speakers and Readers in Writers' Week" (PDF). Adelaide Festival. 1982.
- ^ Austlit. "Stephen Sewell". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Austlit. "The Father We Loved on a Beach by the Sea". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Jo, Roberts (29 April 2004). "Politics - always timely". The Age. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Austlit. "Traitors | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Austlit. "Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America : A Drama in 30 Scenes". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Austlit. "Three Furies". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Biron, Dean (12 October 2023). "The aesthetics of conservatism". Overland literary journal. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "The Hot Seat: Stephen Sewell, interview by Valerie Lawson" (PDF). Sydney Morning Herald, Arts Review. 23 September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ "Theatre at the End of History. A Weekend with Stephen Sewell, 6–8 October 2006" (PDF). Australian Writers' Guild. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ "Enhancing creativity through seven stages of transformation in a graduate level writing course—A mixed method study". Books and Arts. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2023 – via ABC Radio National.
- ^ "Play Award". NSW Premier's Literary Awards. 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012.
- ^ "The Louis Esson Prize for Drama: Winner 2004". State Library of Victoria. 2004. Archived from the original on 22 June 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "Dr Stephen Sewell". Australian National University. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
