Andrew Bovell

Andrew Bovell is a celebrated writer for both stage and screen. Andrew’s plays have won numerous awards in Australia, including the Victorian Green Room, State Premier’s Awards, and the peer-judged AWGIE awards. Equally successful are his films, which include "Lantana," which won over ten major awards in Australia in 2001 and was critically acclaimed internationally. It won Best Screenplay at the 2003 London Critics’ Circle Film Awards. Additionally, his feature film "Head On," which was co-written with Ana Kokkinos and Mira Robertson, premiered at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival to plaudits. Andrew also co-wrote the original screenplay of "Strictly Ballroom" with Baz Lurhmann and Craig Pearce. His play HOLY DAY premiered in 2001 at the State Theatre of SA and won an AWGIE award for Best Stage Writing (2002) and the Victorian Premiers Literary Award for Best Play. It was also nominated for the 2002 Green Room Award for Best Play and the 2002 NSW and Queensland Premiers’ Literary Awards and was produced by Sydney Theatre Company for their 2003 season. WHO'S AFRAID OF THE WORKING CLASS, which he co-wrote with Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Reeves, Patricia Cornelius, and Irine Vela, was produced by Melbourne Worker’s Theatre in 1998 and toured Australia in 1999 with Performing Lines. The play was awarded the major AWGIE Award in 1999 as well as the award for the best stage play. It also won the Jill Blewitt Award, the Victorian Green Room Award, and the QLD Premier’s Award for Drama. The same team of writers collaborated again to write FEVER for the Melbourne Worker’s Theatre. In 1998 his AWGIE award-winning play SPEAKING IN TONGUES was produced in Sydney and Melbourne and then toured to the remaining state capital cities in Australia. In 2000, the play received its U.K. premiere at Derby Playhouse before transferring to Hampstead Theatre in London where it was widely praised by critics and audiences alike. This success was mirrored in 2001 at the Roundabout Theatre in New York when they presented the U.S. premiere. In 2002 SPEAKING IN TONGUES premiered in France at the Comedie des Champs Elysees and also played in Romania. Some of Andrew’s other works for the stage include SHADES OF BLUE (La Mama, 1996), SCENES FROM A SEPARATION (MTC, 1995), LIKE WHISKEY ON THE BREATH OF A DRUNK YOU LOVE (1992), and DISTANT LIGHTS FROM DARK PLACES (1994). The radio adaptation of this play won the Gold Medal for Drama at the New York Radio and Television Festival and the AWGIE Award for Best Radio Adaptation. His work for television includes "The Fisherman's Wake" ("Naked" – ABC 1996), nominated for a 1996 AFI award and co-winner with "Blue Murder" of an ATOM Award for Best Television Drama, "Lust" ("Seven Deadly Sins" – ABC 1993), "Piccolo Mondo" ("Six Pack" – SBS 1992) nominated for both AFI and AWGIE awards, and one episode of the telemovie series "Dogwoman" ("Simpson Le Mesurier" – Network 9, 2000).