Patricia Cornelius

Writer

Patricia Cornelius is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist.

In 2019 Patricia was announced as the winner of the prestigious Windham-Campbell prize for Drama.

2023 has seen two mainstage productions for Patricia. In May/June this year, a major revival of Do Not Go Gentle at the Sydney Theatre Company, directed by Paige Rattray and most recently, My Sister Jill (adapted from her own novel) which received its premiere production at the Melbourne Theatre Company, directed by Susie Dee.

Patricia’s latest play Runt was written in collaboration with Susie Dee and Nicci Wilks and received its debut at 45Downstairs. Following the 2021 season, the play ran at the Sydney Opera House in May 2022. The one-woman show was led by the central tour-de-force performance by Nicci Wilks.

Patricia’s other recent work for the stage includes Anthem, a follow up to Who’s Afraid of the Working Class (co-written with Andrew Bovell, Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Reeves and Irine Vela), which premiered at the Melbourne International Arts Festival in 2019 before being performed at the 2020 Sydney Festival. In 2018 Patricia’s The House of Bernadette premiered at the MTC to glowing reviews. The play was adapted from The House of Bernarda Alba by Lorca. Earlier in the year her new work In The Club premiered at the STCSA as part of the Adelaide Festival. She also received the 2018 Mona Brand Award for women stage and screen writers.

In 2017 Big Heart, directed by Susie Dee premiered at Theatre Works and her play Shit, was presented at the Sydney Festival, following its 2015 Melbourne premiere as part of MTC’s Neon Season and its 2016 remount at 45Downstairs. Also later in 2017 her AWGIE nominated play Caravan co-written with Angus Cerina, Wayne Macauley and Melissa Reeves premiered at the Melbourne Festival. Her play Savages (45Downstairs) won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Drama in 2014 and the Green Room Award for Writing and was nominated for an AWGIE and the Griffin Prize. It has since been produced at Darlinghurst Theatre in Sydney. Over her career Patricia has written over twenty-five plays and they include: Do Not Go Gentle, The Call, Love, Fever, Boy Overboard, Slut and Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? (co-written with Andrew Bovell, Christos Tsiolkas, Melissa Reeves and Irine Vela).

Her prizes for stage work include the 2011 Victorian and NSW Premiers’ Literary Awards, the Patrick White Playwright’s Award, the Richard Wherrett Prize, the Wal Cherry Award and nine AWGIES for stage, community theatre, theatre for young people. She won the prestigious Australian Writers Foundation Playwriting Award in 2015 as well as the Patrick White Fellowship (2012), and a Fellowship from the Australia Council’s Theatre Board. Patricia has won the AWGIE Major Award three times. Patricia is a founding member of Melbourne Workers’ Theatre.

Patricia adapted her critically acclaimed play Shit for the screen, directed by Susie Dee and Trudy Hellier. She is also developing a feature film with director Catriona McKenzie with Screen Australia funding. Patricia co-wrote the feature film adaptation Blessed, based on the play Who’s Afraid of the Working Class? (for which she won an AWGIE). Patricia wrote the novel My Sister Jill (Random House) and her plays are published by Currency Press.

For enquiries regarding Patricia Cornelius please contact us via email or on (02) 9319 7199