Vanessa Badham (born 1974) is an Australian writer and activist. A playwright and novelist, she writes dramas and comedies. She is a regular columnist for the ''

Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an Online newspaper, online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 201 ...

'' website.

Early life and education

Vanessa Badham was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1974. Her parents worked in the

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 ...

gaming and track industry, with her father eventually working as a manager in the registered club industry. She studied creative writing and performance at the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

, graduating with Bachelor of Arts and

Bachelor of Creative Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

(Honours) degrees. At university, Badham won the Philip Larkin Poetry Prize in 1997, and the Des Davis Drama Prize and Comedy Prize in 2000. In 2001, she went on an exchange with the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

in the UK to study English literature. At the University of Wollongong she was drawn into involvement in student politics and left-wing activism, and she was elected editor of the Student Representative Council newspaper, ''

Tertangala ''Tertangala'' is the student magazine of the University of Wollongong. It is published by Wollongong Undergraduate Students' Association, and ''Tertangala'' is older than the university itself. Content The magazine features student investigat ...

''. She worked with the Student Union as Media Officer and Women's Officer, and sat on the Academic Senate and University Internationalisation Committee. While a student, she was associated with anarchist and

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

causes; more recently, she describes her politics as democratic socialist. In 2013, she completed a Master of Arts degree with first class honours in Theatre at the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music (FFAM). It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus ...

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

Career

Stage

In 1999 Badham won the Naked Theatre Company's first "Write Now!" play competition and with it a production of her winning play, ''The Wilderness of Mirrors'', at 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 ...

's Wharf studio. About secret service infiltration of an activist organisation, the play brought her to public attention and she began to stage more work across Australia. In 2001, she relocated to the United Kingdom. Her work was discovered by the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 1740 and drove the industrialisation of the city. ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, who staged a collaborative production of ''Kitchen'' with Nabokov Theatre in 2001. A play about marriage as a metaphor for capitalism, it then toured to the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Her 2003 play ''Camarilla'' was a critical success at the

2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 56th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The Fringe ran from 3–25 August 2003 and presented 1541 shows over 207 venues. 2003 was the first year that over one million tickets were sold at the Fringe. Venues The ...

, cementing Badham's international reputation as a proponent of radical political theatre. Badham was appointed literary manager of London's

Finborough Theatre The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world p ...

in 2009 and worked there until relocating to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to become an artistic associate at the

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD ...

from 2011 to 2013. In Australia, her plays have had mainstage seasons at Griffin Theatre,

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

Black Swan State Theatre Company Black Swan State Theatre Company, formerly known as the Black Swan Theatre Company, is Western Australia's state theatre company. It runs an annual subscription season in Perth at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, tours its produc ...

. The world premiere of ''The Questions'', a musical co-written by Badham with Richard Wise, was staged by the

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

, in July/August 2024, directed by

Mitchell Butel Mitchell Patrick Butel (born 10 February 1970) is an Australian actor, singer, director and writer. He is best known for his work in theatre, including musical and opera productions. He was the artistic director of the State Theatre Company of ...

. It opened to excellent reviews.

Other writing

In 2009 it was announced that Badham had been signed for a three-book deal by

Pan Macmillan Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. History Pan Books began as an indepe ...

Australia. Her first book, '' Burnt Snow'', was released in September 2010. In November 2021 she released her debut non-fiction book with Australian independent publisher Hardie Grant Books, ''Qanon and On''.

Media career

In 2013 Badham began publishing political commentary and arts criticism for the

website. Her commentary has also appeared in publications ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

'', ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', ''

Der Freitag ''Der Freitag'' (English: ''The Friday'', stylized in its logo as ''der Freitag'') is a German weekly national newspaper established in 1990. It has a focus on politics, culture and economy, and is published in Rhenish format. The place of publi ...

'', ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', Women's Agenda, ''

Australian Cosmopolitan ''Cosmopolitan'' (stylized in all caps) is an American quarterly fashion and entertainment magazine for women, first published based in New York City in March 1886 as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and, sin ...

'', and ''

Daily Life Everyday life, daily life or routine life comprises the ways in which people typically act, think, and feel on a daily basis. Everyday life may be described as mundane, routine, natural, habitual, or normal. Human diurnality means most peop ...

''. As a commentator, she has been a guest of '' The Drum'' on

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

, '' Politics HQ'' on

Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs fe ...

Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

, ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning, at the start of the Sun path. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon. Terminology Although the S ...

'' and '' The Project'' and in appeared many times as a panellist on the ABC's '' Q&A'' programme. She has also been a featured speaker at the

Wheeler Centre The Wheeler Centre, originally Centre of Books, Writing and Ideas, is a literary and publishing centre founded as part of Melbourne's bid to be a Unesco Creative City of Literature, which designation it earned in 2008. It is named after its pa ...

Festival of Dangerous Ideas A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes ...

, All About Women festival,

Melbourne Writers Festival Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) is an annual literary festival held in the Australian city of Melbourne, a UNESCO City of Literature. The Festival runs during early September each year. Melbourne Writers Festival is part of the Word Alliance, a ...

and

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

National Congress.

Other activities

Badham is also an ambassador for the

National Secular Lobby The National Secular Lobby is an Australian pro-secular organisation, founded in July 2017 and officially launched in January 2018. It aims to promote secular principles and the separation of church and state in Australia. The National Secul ...

Recognition and awards

In 1999 Badham won the Naked Theatre Company's first "Write Now!" play competition for her play, ''The Wilderness of Mirrors''. Other awards for her theatre work include the 2005

Queensland Premier's Literary Award The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

for ''Black Hands / Dead Section'', the 2014 New South Wales Premier's Literary Award for ''Muff'', and the 2014

Western Australian Premier's Book Awards The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards is an annual book award provided by the Government of Western Australia, and managed by the State Library of Western Australia. History and format Annual literary awards were inaugurated by the Wes ...

for ''The Bull, the Moon and the Coronet of Stars''.

References

External links

Van Badham
on

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

Van Badham
on Australian Plays {{DEFAULTSORT:Badham, Van 1974 births Living people Australian women dramatists and playwrights University of Wollongong alumni 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Australian Marxists Australian feminist writers 21st-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian women writers