Joanna Murray-Smith

'I'm ignited by three small words. I will not.' It's 9 October, 2012. She's been PM for two years and four months and she's worn down. She's been hounded, slurred, dissected, libelled. She's been violated over and over again by words. Julia Gillard's prime ministership was marred by the Australian media monopoly's inability to step over one thing: that she was a woman. A woman who, as a young aspiring lawyer, was told, 'When you are on your way up, don't forget the flowers that grow on the roadside'. There, in the spotlight of Australia's politics and patriarchy, she encounters thorns of the sharpest, cruellest kind. Joanna Murray-Smith's Julia peels back the public mask to attend to the private woman; one who harbours compassion, doubt, rage and ambition. A woman compelled not simply by her own voice, but by the voices of a million others speaking to, and with, her. 'The writing teems with wit, desire and tenderness.' ArtsHub

1995, the Swiss Alps. Patricia Highsmith, the queen of the thriller, now ageing and ailing, hides away in her study, surrounded by her collection of books and antique weaponry, finding solace in her seclusion, her cats and her cigarettes. A polished young man turns up, sent by her New York publisher to persuade her to write one final instalment of her best-selling series featuring the master manipulator, Tom Ripley. But as day breaks over the mountains, it becomes clear that the charming stranger is set on a far more sinister mission. Joanna Murray-Smith's play Switzerland is a gripping psychological thriller, filled with razor-sharp dialogue. It was first performed at the Sydney Opera House in 2014. The play received its UK premiere at the Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath, in 2018, before transferring to the Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End.

When a great singer lets her voice float out over the anonymous crowd, or form the grooves of thousands of records, or flow through radios into millions of homes across the world, she makes countless unknown connections with people. In Joanna Murray-Smith's Songs for Nobodies we meet five anonymous women whose brushes with fame had a profound effect on their lives, interweaved with the songs that gave them heart.

A deliciously wicked comedy that proves that the female of the species is not only deadlier, but funnier than the male. From the author of the West End-hit, Honour. Thirty years ago Margot Mason, pioneer of the 1970's Women's Liberation movement and fearless academic, wrote her groundbreaking work, The Cerebral Vagina. Numerous best-sellers and international adulation followed, but now she has writer's block. As she sits in her country house struggling with a deadline, in walks Molly Rivers, student, idealist and daughter of one of Margot's most dedicated followers. Initially flattered, Margot is less pleased when Molly handcuffs her to the desk and pulls a gun... Joanna Murray-Smith's play The Female of the Species was premiered in Melbourne, Australia, in 2006. This revised version was premiered at the Vaudeville Theatre in the West End in 2008.

Six funny and perceptive monologues about the stresses of modern female life. Meryl Davenport – A mother who tells the story of her non-stop day in a rapid-fire internal monologue. Tiggy Entwhistle – A cactus lover bravely attempting to rise above her relationship crisis. Mary O'Donnell – A feisty teenage schoolgirl competing in a talent quest. Theresa McTerry – An increasingly disillusioned bride on her wedding day. Winsome Webster – A widow with an appetite for the unexpected. Zoe Struthers – An American cabaret singer who's had her fair share of personal problems. Joanna Murray-Smith's play Bombshells was first performed by Caroline O'Connor at the Fairfax Theatre, Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia, in December 2001. It was revived at the same venue in 2004, transferring to the York Theatre in Sydney in April 2004. A reduced version consisting of four monologues was performed by Caroline O'Connor as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, in 2004. This production – now consisting of all six monologues – transferred to the Arts Theatre in the West End in September 2004.

An unsettling play about infidelity seen from the perspective of the three women involved: the wife, the lover and the daughter. George and Honor have been happily married for thirty-two years. She is a successful writer, he is a revered columnist. They have a perfect understanding of each other. Until a pushy young female journalist - on an assignment to 'profile' George - quite deliberately seeks to undermine that understanding. The fallout is dreadful - but beautifully and convincingly portrayed in all its painful consequences. Joanna Murray-Smith's play Honour was first performed at the Playbox Theatre, Melbourne, Australia, in November 1995. It received its UK premiere, in this revised version, at the National Theatre, London, in February 2003, and was revived in the West End in 2006.

A play that shines a light on Australia's unsettled soul. It is set among smart and educated people whose cynicism appears to answer various questions.

A reconciliation between a mother and the daughter she gave away at birth. Anna is a successful film editor in her 40s who has defined herself through her political conscience. Living alone in a cold, stylish apartment she believes she has come to terms with her history, until a young woman called Billie arrives at her door.