Matthew Ryan is an Australian playwright, theatre director and screenwriter.

Early life

Ryan's family had a hobby farm at

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and he spent some of his childhood living there. The farm was not far from Glenrowan where the Ned Kelly shootout occurred and his 2012 his play ''Kelly'' looks at the myth and the legend of Ned Kelly. He attended Somerset College on the Gold Coast and says, "I loved Drama in high school. For me it was a real escape from teenage life. I had a wonderful drama teacher at Somerset College ... who cared so much about the Arts." He continued to act in theatre on the Gold Coast after leaving school.

Writing

Talking about the beginnings of his writing career Ryan said,

After I moved to Brisbane I was looking for the sort of plays I wanted to be in. Then I realised the things I wanted to be in hadn’t been written. It started at the University of Queensland with a crazy student production I co-wrote and co-directed. I loved it so much I started writing my new play straight after the first one. It took me another seven years to get a work on the professional main stage (at La Boite) but I was committed to achieving it.

Career

Matthew Ryan has written and co-written a number of plays which have been performed by professional theatre companies including

La Boite Theatre Company La Boite Theatre, founded as the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society, is an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite was established in 1925 and is Australia’s longest continuously running theatre company. La Boite ...

, Queensland Theatre Company (QTC), Hothouse Theatre and

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

. He has been nominated and won awards for his plays and several are available in print including ''Brisbane,'' '' Boy Girl Wall'', ''Kelly'', ''Summer Wonderland'', ''The Harbinger'' and ''The Dance of Jeremiah''. His book ''Plays from the Top of the Stairs, Vol, 1'' was written for use in the classroom where students can work in groups. Its target age is 8 to 15 years and it was developed through work with the Backbone Youth Arts. He is a co-founder with Jonathon Oxlade, Lucas Stibbard and Neridah Waters of independent theatre-making group The Escapists. His play '' Boy Girl Wall'' toured from August 2011 to September 2012 through

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. ''The Harbinger'' toured from August to October 2014 through Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales Western Australia, Northern Territory, and ACT. ''Kelly'' toured Australia nationally from March to July 2015.

Awards

2000 George Landen Dann Award Winner (''The Dance of Jeremiah'') 2005

Matilda Awards The Matilda Awards recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, theatre, and performance in southeast Queensland. History Established in 1987 by Alison Cotes and Sue Gough, the awards are an annual event held in February or March. The awards are ...

nominated for the Book Nook Award for Best Playwright (''The Dance of Jeremiah'') 2007

nominated for Best New Australian Work (''Summer Wonderland'') 2008

Winner for Best New Australian Work (''Attack of the Attacking Attackers'') 2010

Winner for The Escapists for Best Independent Production (''Boy Girl Wall)'' 2010

nominated for Best New Australian Work (''Boy Girl Wall'' ) 201
Screen Queensland
joint winner The Writers’ Room 2012

nominated for Best New Australian Work (''Kelly'') 2015

Winner The Lord Mayor's Award for Best New Australian Work (''Brisbane'') 2015

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 ...

shortlisted Best Regional Touring Production (''Kelly'') 201
ScreenCraft
Drama Screenplay Contest (Los Angeles) Semi-finalist (''Goodbye My Enemy'') 201
ScreenCraft
Action & Thriller Screenplay Contest (Los Angeles) Grand Prize Winner (''Get It Together'')

Works

Other Theatrical Work

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Matthew Australian dramatists and playwrights Living people Year of birth missing (living people)