Aidan Fennessy (died 13 September 2020 [1] ) was an Australian playwright, stage director and actor, known for his work with the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC), where he was at one time aAssociate director. [2]
Fennessy's career began in the 1990s in Melbourne, using his talents as writer, director and actor. [2] He acted in a number of television series, including Neighbours , Introducing Gary Petty , Blue Heelers and City Homicide . [1] In 2012, he was the programming director at MTC. [2]
National Interest (2012) was commissioned by MTC and the Black Swan State Theatre Company (Western Australia) on the theme of the Balibo Five. [3] Fennessy's cousin, Tony Stewart, was one of the five journalists who became known as the Balibo Five after they were murdered in Balibo, East Timor, in 1975. The play focuses on Stewart's family, in particular his mother and sister, as well as the Indonesian Government's cover-up and the Australian Government's handling of the affair. The play incorporates media coverage, speeches, court transcripts and other factual material into this "deeply personal story". [4] It was performed in Perth and Melbourne during 2012. [5]
Fennessy had two children with his partner, Nova. He died from a terminal illness during one of the lockdowns imposed in Melbourne because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. [2]
Plays written by Fennessy include: [2]
David Keith Williamson AO is an Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.
The Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian commercial television networks who were murdered in the period leading up to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. The Balibo Five were based in the town of Balibo in East Timor, where they were killed on 16 October 1975 during Indonesian incursions before the invasion. Roger East travelled to Balibo soon after to investigate the likely deaths of the Five and was later executed by members of the Indonesian military on the docks of Dili.
Timothy Adrian Rogers, known professionally as Tim Rogers, is an Australian musician, actor and writer, best known as the frontman of Australian rock band You Am I. He has also recorded solo albums with backing bands. As of July 2013, Rogers has released 12 albums with You Am I and five solo albums.
The Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) 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 company in Australia.
Linda Cropper is an Australian actress, primarily known for her role as Geraldine Proudman in the TV series Offspring and as Dame Nellie Melba in the television series Melba. An shortened edited version of the television series was selected for screening as a film at a Royal Command Performance before Queen Elizabeth II in London.
Nadia Tass is an Australian film director and producer. The recipient of the 2014 Screen Leader Award for Outstanding Leadership, Achievement and Service to the Screen Industry, Tass is a respected Australian filmmaker. Since 1986 she has directed 13 feature films; her films being responsible for over 70 international awards and twenty-three Australian Film Institute (AFI) nominations, while garnering nine wins including Best Film and Best Director. Known for directing Australian classic films Malcolm and The Big Steal, some of Tass's other feature works include Rikky and Pete, Mr Reliable, Amy, Matching Jack, Fatal Honeymoon, and Oleg. She also directs films and high-end television movies in America. Her first feature in the US was Pure Luck starring Danny Glover and Martin Short.
Theatre of Australia refers to the history of the performing arts in Australia, or produced by Australians. There are theatrical and dramatic aspects to a number of Indigenous Australian ceremonies such as the corroboree. During its colonial period, Australian theatrical arts were generally linked to the broader traditions of English literature and to British and Irish theatre. Australian literature and theatrical artists have over the last two centuries introduced the culture of Australia and the character of a new continent to the world stage.
Pamela Rabe is a Canadian–Australian actress and theatre director. A graduate of the Playhouse Acting School in Vancouver, Rabe is best known for her appearances in the Australian films Sirens, Cosi and Paradise Road, and for starring as Joan Ferguson in the television drama series Wentworth.
Robyn Anne Nevin is an Australian actress, director, and stage producer, recognised with the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards and the JC Williamson Award at the Helpmann Awards for her outstanding contributions to Australian theatre performance art. Former head of both the Queensland Theatre Company and the Sydney Theatre Company, she has directed more than 30 productions and acted in more than 80 plays, collaborating with internationally renowned artists, including Richard Wherrett, Simon Phillips, Geoffrey Rush, Julie Andrews, Aubrey Mellor, Jennifer Flowers, Cate Blanchett and Lee Lewis.
Caroline Ann O'Connor is a Helpmann Award-winning, Olivier Award-nominated Anglo-Australian singer, dancer and actress. For her theatre work she has won three Helpmann Awards: Best Female Actor in a Play for Edith Piaf in Piaf in 2001 and the same category for Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow in 2006, and Best Female Actor in a Musical for Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes in 2015.
What Rhymes with Cars and Girls is the first solo album by You Am I frontman Tim Rogers, and also the name of the stage musical created by Rogers and playwright Aidan Fennessy in 2015.
Garry Stewart is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He was the longest-serving artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre, taking over from Meryl Tankard in 1999 and finishing his term at the end of 2021. He is renowned for his unusual, post-modern interpretations of classical ballets.
Christine "Christie" Whelan Browne is an Australian performer who has worked extensively in musical theatre as an actress, dancer and singer. She has also appeared on television shows and in films. In March 2012, she married fellow performer, Rohan Browne.
Kip Williams is an Australian theatre and opera director. Williams is the current Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company. His appointment at age 30 made him the youngest artistic director in the company's history.
Matt Scholten is an Australian theatre and film director, producer, writer and teacher. He is the Artistic Director & Creative Producer of independent theatre company If Theatre which was established in 2006.
Sam Strong is an Australian theatre director and arts leader; he was the artistic director of Queensland Theatre Company (2015–2019) and of Griffin Theatre Company (2010–2013). He has also been Chair of Circa and the Associate Artistic Director of Melbourne Theatre Company.
Leticia Cáceres (1978) is an Australian stage and film director.
Roger Hodgman is an Australian stage and television director.
Inheritance is a two act play by Australian playwright Hannie Rayson. It is a family saga set in Victoria's Mallee region.
Mark Leonard Winter is an Australian actor, known for performances in film, television and on stage.