Annette Gale Edwards (born 14 November 1954) is an Australian

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, who has worked extensively throughout Australia and internationally. She has also directed for television and film.

Professional career

Edwards began her career at

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

youth theatre company Energy Connection. From 1986 to 1989 she was associate director of the State Theatre Company of South Australia, has been an Artistic Director of the Melbourne Theatre Company, she has worked with every other major Australian theatre company, including the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

and

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with t ...

. Internationally, Edwards directed the 1996 London revival of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'', which opened at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts on Broadway in 2000, and for which she won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for the televised recording of the production. Edwards contributed to the

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

of the musical '' Whistle Down the Wind'', for which she directed the West End production. She directed

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '' The Merchant of Venice'' and ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Edwards has directed for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

and Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington D.C.). She directed the premiere production of '' The Boy from Oz''. For Opera Australia, she directed '' Aida'' (2015), ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'' (2016–2023), ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' (2017), ''

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

'' (2019). She co-wrote the book and lyrics of the musical ''Eureka'', which premiered in Melbourne in 2004. Edwards'credits directing for film and television include the 2011 Australian film '' A Heartbeat Away'' and the "Pride" segment of 1993 television series ''

Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins (also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins) function as a grouping of major vices within the teachings of Christianity. In the standard list, the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church are pride, greed ...

'', as well as filmed versions of stage presentations.

Awards

Edwards has been the recipient of three Sydney Critics Circle Awards, four Melbourne Green Room Awards (most recently for her 2012 production of ''Chess'' for The Production Company), an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

, two

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical theatre ...

(Best Direction of a Musical for ''The Boy From Oz'' and '' Sweeney Todd''), a Sydney Critics Award, two nominations for Helen Hayes Awards in Washington D.C., and a 2000 Centenary Medal 'for Service to Australian Society'. Edwards was made a member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Gale Edwards won two awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1992 , Gale Edwards , Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre , , - , 1999 , Gale Edwards , Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Gale 1954 births Living people Australian theatre directors Australian women theatre directors Australian opera directors Female opera directors Helpmann Award winners Members of the Order of Australia