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Katherine Thomson

KATHERINE THOMSON

  
Nationality:    Australia
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    HLA Management Pty Ltd  

Katherine Thomson began her career in the Theatre as an actor. For the stage she has written Harbour, Navigating, Diving for Pearls, BarmAIDS, Mavis Goes to Timor and Wonderlands all published by Currency. Other plays performed by leading Theatre companies include Kayak, A Sporting Chance, Darlinghurst Nights and This Hospital is My Country. She has also written extensively for television where her credits include Grass Roots, Blackjack, Wildside, Fallen Angels, Halifax fp, GP and Something in the Air. She has been nominated for five New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, winning for Harbour and three Australian Film Institute Awards and has won multiple AWGIEs - three in 2006 alone, two as co-writer of the television series Answered by Fire and a third for her screenplay for the film Unfolding Florence - the Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst. She has been Vice-President of the Australian Writers' Guild and President of Sydney PEN. In 2005 she received the ANPC Award for her contribution to the Australian Theatre industry.

Research:    http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/613

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below is a list of Katherine Thomson's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Barmaids         Darlinghurst Nights         Diving For Pearls         Fragments of Hong Kong         Harbour         Kayak         King Tide         Mavis Goes To Timor         Navigating         Sporting Chance, A         This Hospital Is My Country         Tonight We Anchor In Twofold Bay         Wonderlands

Barmaids

Synopsis:
Barmaids tells the story of Nancy and Val who know how to run a pub. But when the Arms is bought by a syndicate, accountants start hatching new schemes. A play full of colourful stories and worrying rumours evoking the loyalty between barmaid and drinker.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Old Customs House, Fremantle, WA    09 Nov 1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/13441

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Darlinghurst Nights

Synopsis:
A musical play set during a day and hot night, in Darlinghurst and King's Cross in the late 1920's. A poet, Ken, sits in his Elizabeth Bay 'eyrie' wanting to conjur up the old King's Cross. From the harbour lights comes his cartoonist friend Joe, long dead but as wild and anarchic as ever, and Joe takes Ken back to their time together as young men. Back to the Gunmen's Girl, the Iceman, the Woman in the Green Roll's Royce and all their interweaving stories in which Ken and Joe were involved. (Please note that rights for poetry have to be acquired for each season of the show as well).

Notes:
Based on the book "Darlinghurst Nights" by Kenneth Slessor.

1st Produced:
The Wharf Theatre, Walsh Bay, NSW    07 Jan 1988

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/403

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Diving For Pearls

Synopsis:
A glossy resort grows in place of the old community of steel workers and two ordinary people attempt to adjust to the new order,

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Geelong, VIC    21 Mar 1991

Organisations:
Melbourne Theatre Company,

1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/79485

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Fragments of Hong Kong

Synopsis:
A school girl wanders the neighbourhood planning her suicide, watched by an ambitious young woman being fitted out not only for her wedding dress, but also for her political role. Mrs Ma folds letters on behalf of Chinese dissidents, while a Filipina maid worries that the family is planning to emigrate, but if they are, why is she being sent to buy a car space? It's been raining for a week and the embankment is seeping. Fragments is the story of these women interwoven around an inquest at which all but one must testify.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
http://australianplays.org/   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
60 mins One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Harbour

Synopsis:
On the Wednesday before Easter, 1998, a few hundred metres away from the site of the new Sydney theatre, one of the most Dramatic events in recent Australian history took place. It was the culmination of a tightly planned scheme between the Federal Government and a stevedoring company. An attempt to smash the Maritime Union of Australia -- the wharfies. This play is set against the backdrop of this explosive industrial dispute. Sandy - a retired wharfie - comes home after a six year absence to find his family divided. His kids have moved on -- and up. they're on opposite sides of the political divide. His wife doesn't want to be in the same room as him. the world has changed, and it seems he no longer has a place in it. But he's a battler, with a burning desire to unite his family and set the past to rights. A past full of explosive secrets that threaten to blow them apart forever.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Sydney Theatre, Walsh Bay, NSW    03 Jan 2004

Organisations:
Sydney Festival 2004

1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/32252

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Kayak

Synopsis:
A moral thriller that begins on Sydney Harbour when a sole woman kayaker, in search of isolation from human contact, is pelted with doughnuts by a boy in a passing 'tinnie'. the woman seeks revenge, the boy's guardian becomes involved, and the tables are turned again and again as all three characters struggle for the moral high ground. A fast-moving thriller with strong comic undertow.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Flinders University Drama Centre, Bedford Park, SA    18 Jul 2005

Organisations:
Flinders University Drama Centre

1st Published:
http://australianplays.org/   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
40 mins One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/67257

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King Tide

Synopsis:
Three years ago, Sal was an award-winning investigative journalist. Uncovering government corruption and public scandals she was forever on the front line. But her son's death robbed Sal of her willingness to engage. Increasingly reclusive, she opted out, choosing to live in a borrowed beach house as she struggles to come to terms with her loss. When her teenage daughter brings home a Japanese surfer to stay, Sal finds herself confronted with a sense of danger that was once so vital to her life. King Tide is a surprising story of hope, emerging out of the love and vulnerability of two very different people.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Stables Theatre, Darlinghurst, NSW    19 Oct 2007

Organisations:
Griffin Theatre Company

1st Published:
Currency Books, Australia, 2008   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/70937

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Mavis Goes To Timor

Synopsis:
Stung into action by the suffering of the East Timorese, an 86-year-old retired haberdasher from regional Victoria decides that she can make a difference. Along with her daughter, Mavis takes her sewing machines to Timor and sets in motion her practical contribution. Twenty-three sewing centres later, more than 119 tonnes of donated household goods have made their way from Mavis's place in Yarrawonga to the newly independent nation of Timor, and the sewing co-operatives continue today. Based on a true story.

Notes:
written by Katherine Thomson, Angela Chaplin And Kavisha Mazzella. Education Resource Notes for this play Are Available from the Malthouse theatre. the notes include interviews with key Artists, playwrights And directors plus Activities And questions for discussion And Analysis. For more information go to malthousetheatre.com.au.

1st Produced:
Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, WA    07 Feb 2002

Organisations:
Perth International Arts Festival 2002

1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/16506

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Navigating

Synopsis:
the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing', observed Edmund Burke. the courage of ordinary people in the face of economic upheaval or public corruption is at the heart of Katherine Thomson's writing. In Navigating we meat Bea, an embattled woman who finds herself in possession of damaging documentary evidence. the seaside town in which her and her sister live is riddled with corruption and buried secrets, as the forces once responsible for a holiday tragedy now conspire to win the contract for a private prison. Unwilling to recognise the fear and deceit around her, Bea confides in one hollow friend after another. Her small world crumbles. Silence, she discovers, is as damaging as speech. A dense, powerful, witty human Drama which goes to the heart of small-town politics and finds sources of unexpected wisdom.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Fairfax Studio, Melbourne, VIC    06 Nov 1997

Organisations:
Melbourne Theatre Company

1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/31452

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Sporting Chance, A

Synopsis:
A play for young people, the action takes place in the course of an under 15's AFL game. Michelle is worried that her footy days are over and Ferret, playing opposite her, wants more than anything to please his Father who has finally come to watch him play. Nancy hates her breasts, falls down a crumbling cliff, and spends the entire game-time climbing to safety, while Terry can only watch the footie from the sidelines dreaming of the day that they "pick me!" Highly physical.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Seymour Downstairs Theatre, Chippendale, NSW    21 Nov 1988

Organisations:
Toe Truck Theatre

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/1576

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This Hospital Is My Country

Synopsis:
This moving play examines the life of Elena, a refugee from the Greek civil war who has dedicated her life to working in a children's hospital. Now, with the threat of privatization, she may be asked to go and the memories come flooding back. As Elena locks herself in her beloved laundry, she finds a young girl taking refuge. A young girl who is, like Elena, afraid to face her future.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
http://australianplays.org/   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  2            Other:  musician

Further Reference:
-

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Tonight We Anchor In Twofold Bay

Synopsis:
It is an epic piece telling the tory of the NSW south coast town of Eden, stories of fishing, whaling, wood cuting and social life. It is based on the oral history recorded by th author from stories told by residents and descendants.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Wollongong Town Hall, Wollongong, NSW    10 Apr 1985

Organisations:
Theatre South

1st Published:
http://australianplays.org/   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Act 110 mins Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/74273

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Wonderlands

Synopsis:
the Yirralong people have lodged a native title claim for the right to "possess, occupy and enjoy their ancestral lands". Lon, a third generation pastoralist is terrified that his dream of passing the family property on to his son-in-law will be shattered. As the pressure mounts, long buried secrets begin to unravel. This is a play about white belonging, black belonging. It's about the dust storm of forgetfulness and about finding new ways to move forward. It's about the struggle to find the balance of a shared history - personal and political - and that binding, that connection, that sets our hearts free.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Butter Factory Theatre, Wodonga, VIC    13 Jun 2003

Organisations:
Griffin Theatre Company; Riverina Theatre Company; HotHouse Theatre

1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/74802

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