John Romeril

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

John Henry Romeril

AM
(born 1945) is an Australian playwright and teacher. He has written around 60 plays for theatre, film, radio, and television, and is known for his 1975 play The Floating World.

Early life and education

John Henry Romeril was born in 1945 and grew up in

Moorabbin until 1966. He attended Bentleigh West State School, Brighton Tech., and Brighton High Schools, and then undertook a BA at Monash University, graduating in 1970 with majors in English Literature and Politics.[1]

Career

Over the course of his career, Romeril wrote plays for theatre, film, radio, and television, including stage,

puppet theatre, pantomimes, and street theatre.[2]

In 1968 he became involved with La Mama Theatre, which had been established in that year by Betty Burstall. In 1969 a group involved with the theatre founded the Australian Performing Group (APG) in 1970 established the Pram Factory. The APG went on to perform many of Romeril's plays, which were performed at the Pram Factory. Romeril also worked collaboratively with other APG writers, including Jack Hibberd and Tim Robertson.[1]

His first plays, I Don't Know Who To Feel Sorry For (1969) and Chicago, Chicago (1970) were written while he was still a student.[3]

In 1972, Romeril co-wrote a one-act play for four actors called Bastardy, based on the life of the main actor in the first production of the play,

documentary film of the same title observing seven years of Charles' life, made by Amiel Courtin-Wilson, was released in 2008.[9][4]

The Floating World (1975) is his most admired play,[1] described by one critic as "a pioneering drama in the context of the predominantly Anglo-Celtic orientation of the APG's theatrical output".[10]

His later work is placed firmly in the context of Australia being part of the

Asia Pacific region, including Japan.[10]

He co-wrote the film script for One Night the Moon with Rachel Perkins, released in 2001.[1]

Themes and style

Romeril is known for collaborating when creating his works, in a way that allows many others to contribute to the work.[1]

His plays have examined many influences on Australian society, such as war,

national politics.[1]

His style has been described as

audience participation, as is seen in the improvisational work Kelly Dance, where members of the audience members are invited to dance on the stage with the actors.[1]

Awards and recognition

Romeril has been a

writer in residence with Jigsaw Theatre Company in Canberra, and Troupe Theatre in Adelaide.[1]

Other awards and honours include:

Some of his works have also been awarded, including Tokyo Henry (

NSW Premier's Literary Awards, 2002).[1]

Selected works

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "John Romeril". AustLit. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  2. UNSW
    . Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  3. ^ John Romeril Archived 2007-08-30 at the Wayback Machine (OzArts Online) Accessed: 26 February 2007.
  4. ^ a b Browning, Daniel (14 September 2022). "'I called him Uncle': Remembering iconic theatre great Uncle Jack Charles". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  5. ^
    UNSW
    . Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Bastardy". AusStage. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Bastardy". AustLit. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  8. ^ "NAIDOC Male Elder Of The Year: Uncle Jack Charles" (Audio, recorded 2019, around 3 minutes in.). ABC (Interview). Interviewed by Behrendt, Larissa. 24 July 2022.
  9. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  10. ^
    ISBN 9789401200530
    . Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  11. Kunapipi
    , 18(2), 1996.
  12. ^ "Australian National Playwrights' Centre Award". AustLit. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Playwright awarded UNSW Literary Fellowship". University of New South Wales. 2 May 2006. Archived from the original on 30 March 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2007.
  14. ^ "AWGIE Special Awards 1973-2018" (PDF). Australian Writers' Guild. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). Governor-General of Australia. Retrieved 24 August 2020.

Further reading

  • John Romeril edited by Gareth Griffiths (
    Rodopi
    , 1993)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Romeril&oldid=1191348810"