Currency Press is a leading performing arts publisher and its oldest independent publisher still active. Their list includes plays and screenplays, professional handbooks, biographies, cultural histories, critical studies and reference works.

Currency Press Pty Ltd
Founded1971
FoundersKatharine Brisbane and Philip Parsons
Country of originAustralia
Headquarters locationRedfern, Sydney
DistributionRegency Media
Publication typesBooks
Nonfiction topicsPerforming arts
Fiction genresPlays and screenplays
Official websitecurrency.com.au

History edit

Currency Press was founded by Katharine Brisbane, then national theatre critic for The Australian newspaper, and her husband Philip Parsons, a lecturer in Drama at the University of New South Wales.[1] After Philip's death in 1993, Katharine remained at the helm of the company until she retired as Publisher in December 2001 to devote her energies to Currency House, a non-profit association dedicated to the Australian performing arts.[2] Currency press is currently run by her son Nicholas Parsons

Description edit

Currency Press is a leading Australian specialist performing arts publisher, and its oldest independent publisher still active. It is located in the Sydney suburb of Redfern.

Awards edit

In 2011, Currency Press received the Dorothy Crawford Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession at the AWGIE Awards.[3]

Selected titles edit

Plays edit

Seven of these plays have been included in the Australian Society of Authors' list of Australia's 200 best literary works.[5]

Screenplays edit

  • Blue Murder by Ian David – a powerful and frightening story about police corruption and Sydney's underworld
  • Chopper by Andrew Dominik – goes inside the mind of Mark Brandon 'Chopper' Read, one of Australia's most notorious criminals
  • Muriel's Wedding by P. J. Hogan – Muriel, an unhappy young woman in dismal surroundings, sets out to overcome obstacles such as her family, her joblessness, and her obsession with 70s glam rockers ABBA
  • Rabbit Proof Fence by Christine Olsen – three Aboriginal girls are forcibly removed from their outback families in 1931 to be trained as domestic servants as part of official government policy
  • Strictly Ballroom by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce – an exuberant story about the struggle for love and creativity in a world limited by greed and regulation

References edit

  1. ^ "Katharine Brisbane". AustLit. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  2. ^ Sharon, Verghis (19 November 2011). "Katharine Brisbane retains her great currency in theatre". The Australian. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  3. ^ "44th Annual AWGIE Awards – Winners List". AWG website. The Australian Writers Guild. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  4. ^ "Alma de Groen". www.rgm.com.au. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  5. ^ Marshall, Rebecca (7 November 2013). "Are these Australia's best 200 works of literature?". Courier Mail. Retrieved 22 May 2022.

External links edit