Justin Fleming

Justin Fleming (1953- ) is a playwright and writer. Like Gerard Windsor and Nick Enright, Fleming attended St Ignatius' College, Riverview, where he was taught English Literature by Joseph Castley and Charles MacDonald, S.J., and the classics by Charles Fraser, S.J. He later studied at the Ensemble Theatre under Hayes Gordon and Zika Nester. Fleming has degrees in Law from Dublin University and Sydney University, and a Master of Laws from University College London. He was for some years a barrister, before devoting himself full-time to writing.

Fleming has been Vice-President of The Australian Writers' Guild and served on the Board of The Australian National Playwrights' Centre. His plays have been produced and published widely, including the UK, USA, Canada, France, Australia, Belgium and Poland. His popular history of the Common Law, BARBARISM TO VERDICT, contains a foreword by Sir John Mortimer, QC.

In 1983, in the Sydney Opera House, Sir Robert Helpmann starred for the Sydney Theatre Company in the world premiere of Fleming's play The COBRA. Helpmann's portrayal of the elderly Lord Alfred Douglas, reflecting bitterly on his notorious youthful relationship with Oscar Wilde, was described as unforgettable.

The Playwright was described by Harold Pinter as a writer "of authority and distinction", with Pinter especially admiring his "amazingly successful portrait of Samuel Beckett" in Fleming's classic drama, BURNT PIANO (Le piano brulé), which short-listed him for the Premier's Literary Award (New South Wales), the AWGIE award for Best Play, and earned the New York New Dramatists' Exchange Award [http://www.writers.net/writers/5127] .

Published Works

*Nonfiction
** ALL THAT BROTHERS SHOULD BE
** PARIS STUDIO
** BARBARISM TO VERDICT - A History of the Common Law, foreword by John Mortimer, QC.
** THE VISION SPLENDID - A History of Carroll & O'Dea [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:opv-YTX2wZUJ:www.lawsociety.com.au/page.asp%3Fpartid%3D2535+riverview+lawyers+nsw&hl=en&gl=au&ct=clnk&cd=13&client=firefox-a]
** THE CREST OF THE WAVE - A history of waverley college 1903-2003
*Scripts
** THE NONSENSE BOY
** JUNCTION (Coup d'Etat & Other Plays)
** THE COBRA
** BURNT PIANO (Coup d'Etat & Other Plays)
** HAMMER
** KANGAROO (Coup d'Etat & Other Plays)
** COUP d'ETAT & OTHER PLAYS
** INDIAN SUMMER
** The DEPARTMENT STORE (Coup d'Etat & Other Plays)
** BURNT PIANO
** SATANGO
** COUP d'ETAT
** HAROLD IN ITALY
** THE MYTH OF THE PASSIVE CITIZEN
** THE STARRY MESSENGER (COUP d'ETAT & Other Plays)
** The COBRA (Coup d'Etat & Other Plays)
** HER HOLINESS - With Melvyn Morrow. (Origin Theatrical Pty. Ltd.)
** TARTUFFE (The Hypocrite) - Melbourne Theatre Company 2008

Links

*List of playwrights

Sources

* [http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsF/FlemingJustin.htm| Justin Fleming Playwright - plays biography information]
* [http://www.writers.net/writers/5127| Justin Fleming - Writer's Profile from WriterNet]