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Vanessa Badham Vanessa Badham i(A7111 works by) (a.k.a. Van Badham)
Born: Established: 1978 Sydney, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Vanessa Badham has worked as 'an art gallery attendant, principal boy, pole-juggler, transcriptionist, speaking coach, accounts clerk, comic-book writer, dancing fairy and President of the National Union of Students. None of these jobs have qualified her for a career in retail, but they have all contributed to the black and malevolent humour of her dramatic work.' Badham's plays have been performed throughout Australia and in the UK and range in theme across a variety of political and social issues.

Badham has been playwright-in-residence with Company Theatre Physical and with the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She has also taught creative writing at the University of Wollongong.

(Source: Webs We Weave website, http://www.websweweave.org/cgi-bin/w_vanessa.asp)

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Banging Denmark Kensington : NewSouth Publishing , 2019 16673397 2019 single work drama

'Ish Madigan is a feminist academic writing a thesis on computer games. Jake Newhouse is a full-time management consultant and part-time pickup artist. They’re not exactly best friends.

'But when Jake’s latest crush – a brilliant Danish librarian – doesn’t respond to his usual seduction techniques, he knows he needs help. Jake asks Ish to coach him in feminist-friendly flirtation. He’ll pay. And Ish needs the money.

'So, what’s stopping her? Oh, you know, just ethics, morals and every fibre of her being.

'From the pen of Australian playwright and social commentator Van Badham comes this hilariously explicit new comedy. Banging Denmark is a swinging satire on the men who claim to understand the ‘female mind’ and the online culture that inspires them.'

Source: Sydney Theatre Company.

2020 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting
y separately published work icon The Bull, The Moon and the Coronet of Stars 2013 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2013 5989749 2013 single work drama

'Alone in the museum, in the dark, Marion unravels a ball of string so Michael can venture into a mystery. In recent weeks, strange stirrings have haunted the ancient relics and rumours of a monster abound. Michael finds his way back to her and to an impossible situation.

'Marion flees and finds herself the prim centre of an over-sexed septuagenarian art group at a seaside resort. Here, Marion is infuriated by Mark, a wayward sommelier with an eye for the ladies, determined to disrupt her lessons and her life.

'Whimsical, sensual and charmingly humorous, 'The Bull, the Moon and the Coronet of Stars' is a love story of mythic proportions. It will lure you into an orgy of antiquity, cupcakes and beachside frivolity.

'Award-winning playwright Van Badham is joined by Griffin Associate Director Lee Lewis ('Silent Disco', 'A Hoax') for this delightfully debaucherous fairytale for adults.'

Source: Griffin Theatre Company.

2014 winner Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Scripts
y separately published work icon Swamplands 2010 Hobart : Australian Script Centre , 2011 Z1800264 2010 single work drama 'The Diplomat, the Spy, the CIA, Rudyard Kipling, Lord Byron, Dick Cheney (a 10 foot lizard) and 32 other characters defend and patrol, confuse and concuss the US, the middle east and the rest of the world in a boiling vortex of subterfuge, paranoia, incompetence and international intrigue. This wild and furious play - it's stylish, surreal, funny and alarming in equal measure - gets its teeth into the intelligence that lead to the war in Iraq asking tough questions about politics, accountability and the human cost of the war on terror.'

Source: Australian Plays website, http://australianplays.org/
Sighted: 23/08/2011
2011 shortlisted Asher Literary Award
Last amended 1 Dec 2009 15:04:15
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