Matthew Ryan is an Australian playwright, theatre director and screenwriter.

Early life

Ryan's family had a hobby farm at

Shepparton Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

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 he spent some of his childhood living there. The farm was not far from Glenrowan where the Ned Kelly shootout occurred and his 2012 his play ''Kelly'' looks at the myth and the legend of Ned Kelly. He attended Somerset College on the Gold Coast and says, "I loved Drama in high school. For me it was a real escape from teenage life. I had a wonderful drama teacher at Somerset College ... who cared so much about the Arts." He continued to act in theatre on the Gold Coast after leaving school.

Writing

Talking about the beginnings of his writing career Ryan said,

After I moved to Brisbane I was looking for the sort of plays I wanted to be in. Then I realised the things I wanted to be in hadn’t been written. It started at the University of Queensland with a crazy student production I co-wrote and co-directed. I loved it so much I started writing my new play straight after the first one. It took me another seven years to get a work on the professional main stage (at La Boite) but I was committed to achieving it.

Career

Matthew Ryan has written and co-written a number of plays which have been performed by professional theatre companies including

La Boite Theatre Company La Boite Theatre is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company. Playing a vital role in the cultural landscape, La Boite Theat ...

Queensland Theatre Company Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...

(QTC), Hothouse Theatre and

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

. He has been nominated and won awards for his plays and several are available in print including ''Brisbane,'' '' Boy Girl Wall'', ''Kelly'', ''Summer Wonderland'', ''The Harbinger'' and ''The Dance of Jeremiah''. His book ''Plays from the Top of the Stairs, Vol, 1'' was written for use in the classroom where students can work in groups. Its target age is 8 to 15 years and it was developed through work with the Backbone Youth Arts. He is a co-founder with Jonathon Oxlade, Lucas Stibbard and Neridah Waters of independent theatre-making group The Escapists. His play '' Boy Girl Wall'' toured from August 2011 to September 2012 through

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

and

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. ''The Harbinger'' toured from August to October 2014 through Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales Western Australia, Northern Territory, and ACT. ''Kelly'' toured Australia nationally from March to July 2015.

Awards

2000 George Landen Dann Award Winner (''The Dance of Jeremiah'') 2005

Matilda Awards The Matilda Awards are awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, theatre, and performance in southeast Queensland. History Established in 1987 by Alison Cotes and Sue Gough, the awards are an annual event held in February or March. ...

nominated for the Book Nook Award for Best Playwright (''The Dance of Jeremiah'') 2007

nominated for Best New Australian Work (''Summer Wonderland'') 2008

Winner for Best New Australian Work (''Attack of the Attacking Attackers'') 2010

Winner for The Escapists for Best Independent Production (''Boy Girl Wall)'' 2010

nominated for Best New Australian Work (''Boy Girl Wall'' ) 201
Screen Queensland
joint winner The Writers’ Room 2012

nominated for Best New Australian Work (''Kelly'') 2015

Winner The Lord Mayor's Award for Best New Australian Work (''Brisbane'') 2015

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...

shortlisted Best Regional Touring Production (''Kelly'') 201
ScreenCraft
Drama Screenplay Contest (Los Angeles) Semi-finalist (''Goodbye My Enemy'') 201
ScreenCraft
Action & Thriller Screenplay Contest (Los Angeles) Grand Prize Winner (''Get It Together'')

Works

Other Theatrical Work

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Matthew Australian dramatists and playwrights Living people Year of birth missing (living people)