Hannie Rayson (born 1957) is an Australian playwright and newspaper columnist. She is recognised as one of Australia's most significant playwrights.

Biography

Rayson was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and the

Victorian College of Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

. She has worked as a freelance journalist and editor in addition to her primary career as playwright and screenwriter. Rayson was the co-founder of the community theatre group, Theatreworks in Melbourne's inner eastern suburb of St Kilda, working there for four years while writing. Rayson has been writer-in-residence at Geelong's Mill Theatre, Playbox Theatre,

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

(which has awarded her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters), and

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

. Rayson's first major success was ''Hotel Sorrento'', which won several prizes including an

AWGIE Award The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previo ...

. The play has become an Australian classic, regularly performed by regional theatre groups, and appearing in university courses and on the high school syllabus. The film of the play, directed by Richard Franklin, won an AFI Award for best screenplay (Peter Fitzpatrick and Franklin). In 2010, the play's London debut won critical acclaim. Her more recent works are ''Falling from Grace'', ''Scenes from a Separation'' (written with

Andrew Bovell Andrew Bovell (born 23 November 1962) is an Australian writer for theatre, film and television. Life Bovell was born on 23 November 1962 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and completed his secondary school education in Perth. He graduated from t ...

), ''Competitive Tenderness'', ''

Life After George ''Life After George'' is a play by Australian playwright Hannie Rayson. The play concerns the current and two former wives of Peter George, a charismatic professor, who dies in a plane crash. It explores progressive Australian intellectual and pol ...

'', ''

Inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...

'', ''The Glass Soldier'', ''The Swimming Club'' and ''Extinction''. Rayson was the joint recipient of the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award in 1996 and has won Victorian and

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

and the

Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work __NOTOC__ The Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work is an award presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA), an employers' organisation which serves as the peak body in the live entertainment and performing arts industries in Australia ...

. She is the only playwright ever to be nominated for the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

, for ''Life After George''. In 2015, Rayson published a funny and candid memoir called ''Hello, Beautiful!'' (Text Publishing). Her TV writing credits include two episodes of ''

SeaChange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howar ...

''.

Selected works

Plays

*''Please Return To Sender'' (1980) *''Mary'' (1981) *''Leave It Till Monday'' (1984) *''Room To Move'' (1985) *''Hotel Sorrento'' (1990) *''Falling From Grace'' (1994) *''Scenes From A Separation'' (1995) co-written with

*''Competitive Tenderness'' (1996) *''

'' (2000) *''

'' (2003) *''Two Brothers'' (2005) *''The Glass Soldier'' (2008) *''The Swimming Club'' (2010) *''Extinction'' (2013)

Books

*''Hello, Beautiful'' (Text Publishing, 2015)

Awards

* Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award (1996) *

Victorian Premier's Literary Award The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Government with the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry. As of 2013, it is reportedly Australia's richest literary p ...

NSW Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

Play Award for ''Hotel Sorrento'' (1991) and ''Falling from Grace'' (1995) *

for ''Inheritance'' (2004) *

Helpmann Award for Best Play The Helpmann Award for Best Play is a theatre award, presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA) at the annual Helpmann Awards since 2001. The award is for a production of a play, which may be a new work or a revival of an existing work. This ...

awarded to productions of ''Life After George'' (2001) and ''Inheritance'' (2004) * Two Australian Writers' Guild Awards.

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayson, Hannie 1957 births Living people 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian screenwriters Helpmann Award winners Victorian College of the Arts alumni Australian women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian women writers Writers from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni