Ben Ellis is a playwright from

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It cove ...

in Australia, now based in both

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

. His significant works include ''Post Felicity'' (2001), ''Falling Petals'' (2002), a stage adaptation of

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ty ...

's ''

The Metamorphosis ''Metamorphosis'' (german: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himsel ...

'' (2005), and more recently ''Poet No. 7'' (2006) and ''The Final Shot'' ( Theatre503, 2007), both premiering in London. ''The Final Shot'', about the television broadcast of a man's death, featured

Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including ''Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ( ...

. His latest play, The Captive, explores the folklore surrounding the supposed capture of a white woman by aboriginal people in East Gippsland. Ellis' short play about the death of activist

Rachel Corrie Rachel Aliene Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American activist and diarist. A member of the pro-Palestinian group International Solidarity Movement (ISM), she was crushed to death by an armored bulldozer of the Israe ...

, ''Blindingly obvious facts'', was directed by Matt Scholten and was featured in the 2007

Top 30 season of the Short and Sweet short play competition. NIDA commissioned ''Story of the Red Mountains'' for a 2012 production at Carriageworks, Sydney, and is a 12 character piece centred on a secretive gathering of

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been ...

members on the night of the 1951 referendum to outlaw communism in Australia. Rupert Goold and Robert Icke directed his work in the multi-authored Headlong project, Decade, at St Katherine's Docks, London, 2011, alongside work by writers including Simon Schama, Mike Bartlett, Amy Steel and Ella Hickson, dealing with the culture of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in New York. His first professional play, ''Outpatients'', produced at the Carlton Courthouse, La Mama, Melbourne, was a satire on the treatment of

type one diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...

- which he was diagnosed with in 1979 - by the Victorian hospital system.

Awards

Ellis was awarded the inaugural

Malcolm Robertson Prize Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerpeffray, 14th-century bishop-elect of Dunkeld Nobility * Máel C ...

and the Patrick White Playwrights' Award for ''Post Felicity'' (the latter in 2000, before the play was produced, under the title ''Who Are You, Mr James?''). He was also the recipient of the Wal Cherry Play of the Year Award in 2002 for ''Falling Petals''. An unproduced play, ''Eighty-Eight'', was shortlisted for the 2008 Bruntwood Prize, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

References

External links

Ellis plays at Currency Press
* Ben Ellis's website
www.benelliswriter.com
Year of birth missing (living people) Australian male dramatists and playwrights Australian expatriates in England Living people 21st-century Australian writers {{Playwright-stub