Nicholas Paul Enright AM (22 December 1950 – 30 March 2003) was an Australian dramatist, playwright and theatre director.

Early life

Enright was born on 22 December 1950 to a prosperous professional Catholic family in

East Maitland East Maitland is a suburb in the City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. It is on the New England Highway and it has two railway stations, Victoria Street (opened in 1857 with the Newcastle- Maitland line) and East Maitland (opened initi ...

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 ...

. He was drama captain of

St Ignatius' College, Riverview Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, conducted in the Jesuit tradition, located in Riverview, a small suburb located on the Lane Cove River on the ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1964, where, like

Gerard Windsor Gerard Charles Windsor (born 29 December 1944) is an Australian author and literary critic. He was dux of St Ignatius' College, Riverview in both 1961 and 1962, and a student of Melvyn Morrow. Windsor trained as a Jesuit from ages 18 to 24 bef ...

and

Justin Fleming Justin Fleming (born 3 January 1953) is an Australian playwright and author. He has written for theatre, music theatre, opera, television and cinema and his works have been produced and published in Australia, the US, Canada, the UK, Belgium, P ...

, he was taught by

Melvyn Morrow Melvyn Morrow (born 1942, in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian playwright. He co-wrote the jukebox musicals ''Shout! The Legend of the Wild One'' and ''Dusty - The Original Pop Diva'' with John-Michael Howson and David Mitchell. Earlier ...

. At that school, he won the 1sts Debating Premiership in both 1966 and 1967. During 1971 and 1972 Enright was a member of Sydney's

Genesian Theatre The Genesian Theatre is an amateur theatre company based in Sydney, Australia, named in honour of Saint Genesius, patron saint of actors. Formed in 1944 by members of the Sydney Catholic Youth Organisation, it has since evolved into a community ...

, performing in ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' (Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having bee ...

'' and ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the direct ...

'', and directing ''

London Assurance ''London Assurance'' (originally titled ''Out of Town'') is a five-act comedy by Dion Boucicault. It was the second play that he wrote but his first to be produced. Its first production was by Charles Matthews and Madame Vestris's company and ...

''. Enright earned a BA from

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

in 1972.

Career

He worked as a

gofer A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an employee who specializes in the delivery of special items to their superior(s). Examples of these special items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term ...

for Sydney's

Nimrod Theatre The Nimrod Theatre Company, commonly known as The Nimrod, was an Australian theatre company based in Sydney. It was founded by in 1970 by Australian actor John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "g ...

before being appointed a trainee director at the

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 won an

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

Fellowship to study directing at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, graduating in 1977. On his return to Australia, he joined the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

as actor and director, later becoming associate director. He was Head of Acting at the

NIDA Nida or NIDA may refer to: People * Nida Allam (born 1993), American politician * Nida Fazli (1938–2016), Indian Hindi and Urdu poet and lyricist * Nida Eliz Üstündağ (born 1996), Turkish female swimmer * Eugene Nida (1914–2011), American l ...

in 1983 and 1984. He was encouraged to write plays while at NYU by one of his teachers, the playwright

Israel Horovitz Israel Horovitz (March 31, 1939 – November 9, 2020) was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979. He served as artistic director until 2006 and later served on the board, ex officio an ...

. His many plays include: ''Good Works'', ''

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...

'', ''Daylight Saving'', ''Mongrels'' (about the relation between Australian playwrights

Jim McNeil James Thomas McNeil (23 January 1935 – 16 May 1982) was an Australian award-winning playwright. While serving a 17-year sentence in Parramatta Correctional Centre for armed robbery and shooting a police officer, McNeil began writing plays. With ...

and

Peter Kenna Peter Joseph Kenna (18 March 193029 November 1987) was an Australian playwright, radio actor and screenwriter. He has been called "a quasi-legendary figure in Australian theatre, never quite fashionable, but never quite forgotten either." Biograp ...

, the latter a friend), ''The Female Factory'', ''A Man with Five Children'', ''On the Wallaby'', and ''A Poor Student'', many of them published by

Currency Press Currency Press is a leading performing arts publisher and its oldest independent publisher still active. Their list includes plays and screenplays, professional handbooks, biographies, cultural histories, critical studies and reference works. H ...

. His plays – which include French and Italian translations and adaptations – have been performed by all major Australian theatre companies, including

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

, Company B, the Australian Opera (as it then was),

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 ...

, the

Ensemble Theatre The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company and theatre, situated in the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli, New South Wales. History It is Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, having given its first performa ...

, Playbox,

La Boite Theatre 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 ...

, and the

Australian Theatre for Young People Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) is a not-for-profit national youth theatre company located in Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia. It was founded in 1964 by Eleanor Witcombe. History The first committee was formed in 1964 and co ...

. His one-act theatre-in-education play ''A Property of the Clan'' was developed into the full-length play, and later film, ''

'' (1997). He wrote the book and lyrics to a number of musical works: three musicals with Terence Clarke – '' The Venetian Twins''; ''

Variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individuals ...

'' (Winner, NSW Premier's Literary Play Award, 1983); and '' Summer Rain'' (commissioned for a graduating class at NIDA) -, and others with

Alan John Alan John (born 7 May 1958 in Sydney) is an Australian composer. He studied music at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1980. His compositions include original music for various plays, films (such as '' Holding the Man'', ''Three Dollars'' an ...

(''Orlando Rourke''), David King (''The Betrothed'', ''The Voyage of Mary Bryant'', ''The Good Fight''), and

Max Lambert Max Lambert (born 1955) is an Australian composer and musical director. Biography Born in 1955 in Sydney, he studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Lambert composed the musicals ''Darlinghurst Nights'' and ''Miracle City'', both first ...

(''

Miracle City ''Miracle City'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Nick Enright and music by Max Lambert. Synopsis It is conceived as a real time, live-to-air Christian television show ''Ministry of Miracles'' hosted by Tennessee evangelical family Ricky a ...

''); and an opera with Graham Dudley (''The Snow Queen''). Enright wrote the book of the

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

version of ''

The Boy from Oz ''The Boy from Oz'' is a Australian jukebox musical based on the life of singer and songwriter Peter Allen, featuring songs written by him. The book commissioned for the musical is by Nick Enright, based on Stephen MacLean's 1996 biography of A ...

'', based on the biography of the same name written by

Stephen MacLean Stephen MacLean (1950 – April 2006) was Australian screenwriter, journalist, broadcaster, and director of films and television series. His best known work is a biography of Peter Allen which was adapted to create the hit musical ''The Boy fr ...

, which was produced by Ben Gannon with great success around Australia, and, after his death, in New York. His adaptation, with

Justin Monjo Justin Monjo (born 1963, New York) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and actor, best known for his work on ''Farscape'' and penning the Farscape movie in 2014. He is the son of children's author F. N. Monjo III and the great-great- ...

, of

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles ...

's ''

Cloudstreet ''Cloudstreet'' is a novel by Australian writer Tim Winton published in 1991. It chronicles the lives of two working-class families, the Pickles and the Lambs, who come to live together in a large house called Cloudstreet in Perth, Western Aus ...

'' enjoyed huge critical and box-office success at the

and

Perth Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

s (whose co-production it was), on tour of Australia, at the Festival of Dublin, and in London. He wrote for ABC Radio, including ''Watching over Israel'' (1990

AWGIE 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 ...

winner, Best Radio Play). His non-dramatic work includes a book for children, ''The Maitland and Morpeth String Quartet'' (illustrated by Victoria Roberts), a set of verses for ''The Carnival of the Animals'', and occasional verse. He edited '' Holding the Man'', a memoir by his former

student,

Timothy Conigrave Tim Conigrave (19 November 1959 – 18 October 1994) was an Australian actor, activist and author of the internationally acclaimed memoir, '' Holding the Man.'' Education and career Conigrave was born in Melbourne, and attended the Jesuit-run X ...

, and, following Conigrave's death, saw it to publication by

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

recurred; he died of cancer on 30 March 2003, at age 52. Three years after his death, ''

Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, and E.G ...

'' was dedicated to his memory.

Awards

Enright was co-nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for his screenplay of ''

Lorenzo's Oil ''Lorenzo's Oil'' is a 1992 American drama film directed and co-written by George Miller. It is based on the true story of Augusto and Michaela Odone, parents who search for a cure for their son Lorenzo's adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), leading to ...

'' (1992), co-written with its director George Miller. He received the

Major AWGIE Award The Major AWGIE Award is awarded by the Australian Writers Guild for the outstanding script of the year at the annual AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen ...

from the

Australian Writers Guild The Australian Writers' Guild (AWG) is the professional association for Australian performance writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962. The AWG is a member of the Australian Council of ...

four times, for the play ''

Daylight Saving Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time or simply daylight time (United States, Canada, and Australia), and summer time (United Kingdom, European Union, and others), is the practice of advancing clocks (typicall ...

'' (1990), the play ''A Property of the Clan'' (1993), the film screenplay ''

'' (1997) and the stage adaptation of ''Cloudstreet'' (1999, with Justin Monjo). He received the inaugural Play Award at the

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 ...

in 1983 with composer Terence Clarke for the musical ''

''. This award is now named the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting. He won a

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 ...

in 2001 for the musical ''

'', and was nominated in the same category the following year for ''A Man with Five Children''. His many other awards include those from the

Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards were created in 1984 by the trustees of the Sidney Myer Fund to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sidney Myer Sidney Myer (born Simcha Myer Baevski (); 8 February 18785 September 1934) was a Ru ...

(1998 Individual Winner) and the

Green Room Awards The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

. He had been appointed an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

in the School of Drama at the

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...

; after his death, one of his former WAAPA students,

Eddie Perfect Eddie Perfect (born 17 December 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, comedian, writer and actor. Widely known for his role as Mick Holland in Channel Ten's TV series ''Offspring'' in which he performs his own music, he has record ...

, wrote an

elegiac The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...

song about him ('Someone like that').

Honours

In June 2004 his appointment as a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

was posthumously announced, although it was deemed effective from 14 November 2002.Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No S 167, 14 June 2004
. Retrieved 30 March 2015 The citation read: 'For service to the performing arts, particularly as a playwright, teacher, actor, director, and as a mentor of emerging talent'.It's an Honour
/ref>

Select credits

Plays

*''The Mavis McMahon Show'' (1972) – contributing writer *''The Good Ship Venus'' (1980) – one act *''On the Wallaby'' (1980) *''First Class Women'' (1982) *''The Maitland and Morpeth String Quartet'' (1985) – based on his radio play *''

'' (1989) *''St James Infirmary Blues (1992)'' *''A Property of the Clan'' (1992) *''Bobbin' Up'' (1993) *''Good Works'' (1994) *''

'' (1995) *''Playgrounds'' (1996) *''Mongrels'' (1997) *''Chasing the Dragon'' (1998) *''

'' (1998) *''Spurboard'' (1999) *''A Poor Student'' (2001) *''Country Music'' (2002) *''The Female Factory'' *''A Man with Five Children'' *''The Quartet from Rigoletto''

Musicals

*'' The Venetian Twins'' (1979) *''On the Wallaby'' (1980) *''Buckley's!'' (1981) *''Fatal Johnny'' (1982) *''

'' (1982) *'' Summer Rain'' (1983) *''Orlando Rourke'' (1985) *''The Betrothed'' (1993) *''The Voyage of Mary Bryant'' (1996) *''

'' (1996) *''

'' (1998) *''The Good Fight'' (2001) *''The Snow Queen'' (opera)

Adaptations

*Sophocles' ''Electra'' (1978) (with Frank Hauser) *Goldoni's ''The

Servant of Two Masters A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

'' (1978) (with

Ron Blair Ronald Edward Blair (born September 16, 1948 in San Diego, California) is an American musician notable for being the bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He was originally the band's bassist from 1976 to 1981. In 2002, he returned to the ...

) *''Oh What a Lovely War, Mate'' (1979) * Gozzi's ''King Stag'' (1980) *Beaumarchais' ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' (1983) *Molière's ''Don Juan'' (1984) *Hans Andersen's ''The Snow Queen'' (1985) *Euripides' ''

The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC during ...

'' (1989) * Offenbach operetta ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French libretto based on the 1829 one act play '' Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement'' by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived o ...

'' (1993)

Screenplays

*''Breaking Through'' (1990) *'' Come in Spinner'' (1990) *''

'' (1992) *''

Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

'' – "Coral Island" (1996) (TV episode) *''

'' (1997)

TV movies

*'' Breaking Up'' (1985)

Radio

*''The Maitland and Morpeth String Quartet'' (1979) *''Ship Without a Sail – The Songs of Lorenz Hart'' (1985) *''Watching over Israel'' (1990)

Theatre director

*''Uncle Vanya'' (1972) (assistant) *''London Assurance'' (1972) * Juggler's Three (1973) *''Mick Wants to Go'' (1978) *''Royal'' (1978) *''Arms and the Man'' (1978) *''Roses in Due Season'' (1978) *''American Buffalo'' (1979) *''Twelfth Night'' (1979) *''The Matchmaker'' (1979) *''King Stag'' (1980) *''Traitors'' (1980) *''A Month in the Country'' (1980) *''As You Like It'' (1981) *''A Hard God'' (1981) *''The Money or the Box?'' (1983) *''Holiday Makers'' (1984) *''The Comedy of Errors'' (1984) *''The Real Thing'' (1985)

References

External links

*
Rights to Nick Enright's PlaysNick Enright on AustralianPlays.orgFindaid.library.uwa.edu.auNick Enright in AusStageGenesian Theatre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enright, Nick 1950 births 2003 deaths Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Australian screenwriters Australian gay writers Members of the Order of Australia People educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Australian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian musical theatre lyricists 20th-century Australian male writers Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts faculty 20th-century Australian screenwriters 20th-century LGBT people