No Strings Attached by Hilary Beaton
Sue Rider’s championing of new works by Queensland playwrights and new Australian plays became a feature of her artistic directorship and was unprecedented in the State’s cultural history. It gave the Company a market-enhancing profile that contributed substantially to its capacity to continue to move forward as a professional operation.
Her first foray into the development of new works was Hilary Beaton’s No Strings Attached. Published by Playlab Press to coincide with the play’s 1994 La Boite season, director Sue Rider said this play “was a fine example of the close work that can occur between a number of artists who believe in and are committed to the success of a new work”.[i] Critic Sue Gough called it “the best-crafted new play by a Queensland playwright in a long time”[ii] and the Matilda Award committee agreed – Hilary Beaton won a Matilda Award for her play, the first such award presented to a playwright.[iii]
Writer: Dr Christine Comans
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