Plays by Joanna Hempel

Hempel is formerly one of Australia’s leading playwrights for young people.

See her Playlist below.

The playwright.

Joanna Hempel née Millicer began writing plays at school in Melbourne. She graduated in History and Psychology from the University of Sydney and completed a master’s degree in Drama from the University of New England. As director of the Armidale School of Youth Drama in the 1980s and 1990s, she became a successful playwright, known for her keen sense of style. Her tragi-comic plays continue to be studied and performed in youth theatres and schools in Australia, Canada, and the USA.

 
 

What audiences and directors have said …

 
Play reviews

“Our students enjoyed immensely producing & performing Gifts.”

— Curtin University, Perth

“Full of wit, wisdom and absurdity.”

— LOWDOWN review of Cinderina and the Corridors of Power

“Another gift.”

— Director of What’s Right for Me

“Poignant, very funny drama about growing up.”

— No Big Deal

“Gripping and powerful drama.”

— The Iceberg Factory

“A little classic.”

— Gabriella Rhymes with Fella

“Punahou Theatre has presented us with many fabulous plays, but not many are as inventive and creative as Cinderina.”

— Honolulu

“Cinderina … one of my new favourites … enchanting.”

— Youth Theatre, Maine

“From one of Australia’s leading writers for young audiences, this charming play is an allegory with fun and romance, and deeper lessons for all of us about power, ambition, optimism, trendiness, and self-doubt.”

— Modern Interpretations of Cinderella

 

Playlist

Plays for Teenagers

Gabriella Rhymes with Fella (Currency Press)

No Big Deal (Heinemann)

Gifts (Heinemann)

Cinderina and the Corridors of Power (Longman, Dramatic Publishing USA)

The Iceberg Factory (Longman)

What’s Right for Me (Currency Press)

The Queue

Jack of Hearts

Spiral

Plays for Pre-Teens

Lion and Mouse do a Deal

Bets on Hare and Tortoise

Owl and Kookaburra

The Glass Cage

Christmas Plays

The Innkeeper’s Wife

One and One Makes One

The Answers Will Grow with the Child

Plays for Adults

Take This Woman

One of the People

Doors — seven female monologues