Peter Kenna

Infobox Writer
name = Peter Joseph Kenna


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birthdate = birth date|1930|3|18
birthplace = Balmain, New South Wales
deathdate = death date and age|1987|11|29|1930|3|18
deathplace = Sydney, Australia
occupation = playwright, film and screenwriter
nationality = Australian
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Peter Joseph Kenna (18 March, 1930–29 November, 1987) was an Australian playwright, radio actor and screenwriter.

Born in Balmain, New South Wales, Kenna left school at fourteen and took up various jobs. He started working in the theatre by participating in concert parties at the camps in Sydney during World War II.cite web |title= Agent Details - Kenna, Peter Joseph|publisher= Austlit |url= http://www.austlit.edu.au/run?ex=ShowAgent&agentId=A)l$ |accessdate= 2008-03-09] Kenna's first play was written when he was twenty-one.

Kenna died in Sydney on November 27, 1987 after a long illness.

Career

In 1959 the play "The Slaughter of St Teresa’s Day" was produced in Sydney, based on the life of Tilly Devine. The play was turned into a television drama in 1960.cite web |title= The Slaughter of St Theresa's Day (1960) (TV) |publisher= Imdb |url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380716/ |accessdate= 2008-03-09]

Kenna wrote the screen play for the film, "The Good Wife" produced in 1987, a WW11 drama about a man, his wife and his brother. The film starred Bryan Brown, Rachel Ward and Sam Neill. Rachel Ward won the Tokyo International Film Festival award for best actress for the film, and Jennie Tate the Australian Film Institute award for Best Achievement in Costume Design.

Works

Plays

* "Animal Grab"cite web |title= Plays by Peter Kenna |publisher= Doollee.com: the Playwrights Database |url= http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsK/kenna-peter.html |accessdate= 2008-03-09]
* "An Eager Hope"
* "The Fair Sister"
* "The Landladies"
* "Muriel's Virtues"
* "The Slaughter Of St. Teresa's Day" (1972, Currency Press)
* "A Hard God" (1974, Currency Press) [http://www.currency.com.au/page24503359.aspx Review] [http://www.currency.com.au/page9172423.aspx Critical essay] [http://www.currency.com.au/page24501141.aspx Reviews]
* "Listen Closely" (1977, Currency Press)
* "Mates" (1977, Currency Press)
* "Talk to the Moon" (1977, Currency Press)
* "Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted" (1977, Currency Press)
* "Furtive Love" (1980, Currency Press)

Television writing

* "The Slaughter of St Theresa's Day" (1960) (adapted for TV)
* "Dust or Polish" (1972) (TV, adaptation of a novel by Norman Lindsay)
* "The Emigrants" (1976) (BBC TV)
* "A Hard God" (1981) (adapted for TV)

Film

* "The Good Wife" (1987) [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/20332/The-Good-Wife/overview Review]

Notes

References

* [http://www.austlit.edu.au/run?ex=ShowAgent&agentId=A)l$ AustLit Agent - Kenna, Peter Joseph] (Retrieved March 9, 2008)
* [http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsK/kenna-peter.html Plays by Peter Kenna] (Retrieved March 9, 2008)
* [http://www.awm.gov.au/fiftyaustralians/15.asp Fifty Australians - Tilly Devine] Australian War Memorial (Retrieved March 9, 2008)
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0447824/ Filmography - Peter Kenna] ImDb (Retrieved March 9, 2008)

Persondata
NAME=Kenna, Peter Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=playwright, radio actor and screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH=18 March 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=29 November 1987
PLACE OF DEATH=Sydney Australia