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Stephen Sewell | |
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 Sewell in Sydney, 2023 | |
| Born | 1953 (age 70–71) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Agent(s) | David Smith, Smith & MacDonald |
Stephen John Sewell (1953) is an Australian playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his play and later (1998) screenplay of The Boys .
Stephen John Sewell was born in 1953 in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia. [1] His first theatre experience was playing a pirate in a school production of The Pirates of Penzance .[ citation needed ]
He studied physics at the University of Sydney, but abandoned his studies and devoted himself to creative writing.[ citation needed ]
His short play Kangaroo was presented at a Sydney fringe theatre in 1975. His first full-length play, The Father We Loved on a Beach by the Sea was performed at La Boite Theatre in Brisbane under the artistic directorship of Rick Billinghurst in 1977.[ citation needed ]
His first major success was Traitors at the Australian Performing Group's Pram Factory in 1979, followed quickly by Welcome the Bright World, directed by Neil Armfield at the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney in 1981. In 1983 Armfield directed a production of The Blind Giant is Dancing by the State Theatre Company of South Australia. Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America, A Play in 30 Scenes was a large-scale production directed by Aubrey Mellor at the Malthouse Theatre in 2004. Three Furies - Scenes from the Life of Francis Bacon was directed by Jim Sharman for the 2005 Sydney Festival.[ citation needed ]
In 1998 his film The Boys, directed by Rowan Woods, was released.[ citation needed ]
Sewell's work is looks at the nature of power in class society, and shows his commitment to radical social change, promoting egalitarianism and social justice. He has been influenced and Inspired by a many thinkers, including Democritus, Marx, Lacan, Hegel, and Zizek. His plays showed passion, rage, and intellectual rigour,, but also humour and hope. [2] He has said of his work, "No artist, no creator, ever sets forth without hope, even if the thing they create appears to be carved out of pitch black despair". [3]
Sewell was head of writing at the National Institute of Dramatic Art between 2012 and 2021. [4]
Sewell has worked as playwright, dramaturg, screenwriter, script editor, lyricist, theatre and film director, lecturer, and workshop supervisor. His creative work spans a diverse range of genres, from drama and screen to physical theatre, musicals, cabaret, and digital content.[ citation needed ]
He has won many awards, including winning of the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award three times.[ citation needed ] In 2004 Sewell won the Louis Esson Prize for Drama at the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards for Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America: A Drama in 30 Scenes. [5]
He is currently[ when? ] convenor of the Currency House Authors' Group, as well as being an honorary senior lecturer at Australian National University.[ citation needed ]
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