Gabrielle Scawthorn Explained

Gabrielle Scawthorn
Birth Place:Queensland, Australia
Occupation:Actor, Writer
Years Active:2010 - Present
Website:www.gabriellescawthorn.com

Gabrielle Scawthorn is an Australian actress. She has appeared in numerous stage productions[1] as well as TV and film.[2] Gabrielle grew up in Ipswich, Queensland.[3] She trained at NIDA.[4]

Career

In 2015, Scawthorn created the role of Abbey in Christopher Harley's play Blood Bank at Ensemble Theatre[5] The following year, she returned to Ensemble Theatre to perform in a production of Jane Caferella's e-baby, a two-hander play where she played the surrogate in a gestational surrogacy arrangement alongside Danielle Carter and directed by Nadia Tass.[6] [7] In a review for Stage Noise, critic Diana Simmonds said "Largely through Gabrielle Scawthorn’s vivid, vanity-free and characteristically intelligent performance, the humour scattered about the first half is well to the fore. It means that the transition to a more serious and potentially tragic second half (it’s about 90 minutes straight through) is effectively achieved."[8] Carter and Gabrielle Scawthorn were described as bringing "such life to their roles" and being "utterly believable – in equal parts loveable and frustrating – [so that] the heartbreak, when it comes, is visceral.[9] It was the Sydney premiere of the play, which had only previously been produced in Melbourne in 2015,[10] and was Caferella's first full-length play.[11]

In 2017 Gabrielle starred in the Sydney premiere of the Penelope Skinner play The Village Bike directed by Rachel Chant.[12] Scawthorn was nominated for a Sydney Theatre Award for her performance.[13] Sydney Morning Herald critic, Elissa Blake, wrote of her performance, "One of the most expressive actors around, Gabrielle Scawthorn, has impressed in every show I've seen her perform in. This play feels like a match for her talent."[14]

In 2018 Scawthorn performed at Darlinghurst Theatre as The Angel of Death in The Sound Of Waiting by Mary Anne Butler.[15] Later that year she performed with Sport For Jove Theatre Company in the world premiere of Ear To The Edge of time by Alana Valentine.[16] That same year, Scawthorn played the role of Darja in the Australian premiere of Ironbound by Martyna Majok, for which she received her third Sydney Theatre Award nomination.[17] Critic, John Shand, wrote of her performance, "Gabrielle Scawthorn has Darja's essence spilling off the bus-stop bench like it's raining verity and there's no roof beneath which to shelter."[18]

In 2019 Scawthorn premiered the one woman show The Apologists at the VAULT Festival in London.[19] Later that year she returned to Australia to perform in the role of Louise in Steve Martin's The Underpants at The Seymour Centre in Sydney.[20]

In 2020 Scawthorn appeared in a return season of The Apologists at The Omnibus Theatre in London.[21]

She was the host of the Back From Reality podcast investigating the world of reality television and the impact that it has on the lives of its participants. On the show, Gabrielle also regularly reflected on her own experience as runner up on Channel V's Fresh Meat at the age of seventeen. Podcast guests have included The Vixen (RuPaul's Drag Race), Amy Hart (Love Island), Belinda Chapple (Popstars), Fiona Falkiner (The Biggest Loser).[22]

Gabrielle was also a writer, performer and founding member of the Australian sketch comedy group, 'I'm With Stupid' featuring Matthew Backer, Hugo Chiarella, Briallen Clarke, Paige Gardner and Tim Reuben. The group began producing online sketches in 2013 before being selected to produce sketches for the ABC TV/Screen Australia comedy initiative Fresh Blood. Their sketches were broadcast on ABC2 and ABC iView in 2014.[23]

In 2023 Gabrielle created the role of Suzy in "The Confessions" by Alexander Zeldin. The play toured Europe and had a season at the Royal National Theatre in the UK.[24]

Personal life

Gabrielle is married to director and writer, Hugo Chiarella.[25] She currently lives in London and travels between the UK and Australia for work.[26]

Theatre credits

YearShowRoleVenue
2014Stop KissSaraUnlikely Productions
The Young TycoonsSherylynDarlinghurst Theatre
2015BloodbankAbbeyEnsemble Theatre
Ride and FourplayAliceDarlinghurst Theatre
ShakespearealismActorSport For Jove Theatre Company
Love's Labour's LostLongavilleSport For Jove Theatre Company
Young and JacksonLornaFortyfivedownstairs
2016HurtAlexOld 505
E-babyNellieEnsemble Theatre
2017The Village BikeBeckyThe Old Fitz
HurtAlexBelvoir/HotHouse Theatre
2018The Sound Of WaitingAngel of DeathDarlinghurst Theatre
IronboundDarjaKXT Bakehouse
Ear to the Edge Of TimeMartinaSport For Jove Theatre Company
2019The ApologistsLouise/Holly/SiennaVAULT Festival, London
The UnderpantsLouiseSeymour Centre
2020The ApologistsLouise/Holly/SiennaUK tour
2021The ApologistsLouise/Holly/SiennaOld 505 Theatre, Sydney
2021A Midsummer Night's DreamHelenaBell Shakespeare
2023The ConfessionsSuzyRoyal National Theatre

Awards and nominations

YearAwardsCategoryWorkResult
2015Sydney Theatre AwardsBest Actress in a Leading Role in an Independent ProductionStop Kiss[27]
2017Sydney Theatre AwardsBest Actress in a Leading Role in an Independent ProductionThe Village Bike[28]
2018Sydney Theatre AwardsBest Actress in a Leading Role in an Independent ProductionIronbound[29]
2022Sydney Theatre AwardsBest Actress in a Leading Role in an Independent ProductionThe Apologists[30]

Filmography

Year TitleRoleNotes
2013Deadly WomenMaidTelevision series (Episode 'Brutal Bride')
2014The Killing FieldStacey MatthewsTV movie
2014ABC Fresh BloodActor and WriterTelevision series (3 episodes)
2015The Doctor Blake MysteriesGlenda LambertTelevision series (Episode 'Women and Children')
2017No Appointment NecessaryMeredith StanleyFilm

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Australian Live Performance Database . www.ausstage.edu.au . 11 April 2020.
  2. Web site: Gabrielle Scawthorn . IMDb . 11 April 2020.
  3. Web site: Blake . Elissa . "I knew people who were always on the brink" . AUDREY Journal . 11 April 2020 . en-AU.
  4. Web site: NIDA Alumni Archive . 10 April 2020.
  5. News: Blake . Elissa . Ensemble Theatre's Blood Bank finds romance in the unlikeliest place . 13 April 2020 . The Sydney Morning Herald . 12 October 2015 . en.
  6. Web site: Sebag-Montefiore . Clarissa . E-baby review – an endearing but haphazard romp into the complex world of surrogacy . The Guardian . 27 October 2016.
  7. Web site: Blake . Jason . E-Baby review: Gestational clock ticks on tale of ethical complexity . The Sydney Morning Herald . en . 20 October 2016.
  8. Web site: Simmonds . Diana . E-baby Stage Noise - Diana Simmonds . www.stagenoise.com . en.
  9. Web site: Sebag-Montefiore . Clarissa . E-baby review – an endearing but haphazard romp into the complex world of surrogacy . The Guardian . 10 April 2020 . 27 October 2016.
  10. Web site: REVIEW: Jane Cafarella's E-BABY . Theatre Press . en . 8 March 2015.
  11. Web site: Blake . Jason . E-Baby review: Gestational clock ticks on tale of ethical complexity . The Sydney Morning Herald . 10 April 2020 . en . 20 October 2016.
  12. Web site: BWW News Desk . Sydney Premiere of THE VILLAGE BIKE Comes to Old Fitz Theatre . BroadwayWorld.com . 10 April 2020 . en.
  13. Web site: NIDA Alumni News . 10 April 2020.
  14. Web site: Blake . Jason . The Village Bike Review: One of the best independent productions of the year . The Sydney Morning Herald . 10 April 2020 . en . 12 June 2017.
  15. News: Shand . John . The Sound of Waiting review: A two-hander with one character too many . The Sydney Morning Herald . 5 April 2018 . en.
  16. News: Tongue . Cassie . Ear to the Edge of Time review Theatre in Sydney . 13 April 2020 . Time Out Sydney . en.
  17. News: Neutze . Ben . The Sydney Theatre Award nominations have been announced . 13 April 2020 . Time Out Sydney . en.
  18. News: Shand . John . Ironbound review: A migrant dream becomes a black-eye reality . The Sydney Morning Herald . 6 September 2018 . en.
  19. Web site: Marcolina . Cindy . BWW Review: THE APOLOGISTS, VAULT Festival . BroadwayWorld.com . 13 April 2020 . en.
  20. Web site: Simmonds . Diana . The Underpants Stage Noise - Diana Simmonds . www.stagenoise.com . 13 April 2020 . en.
  21. News: Dilek . Mert . The Apologists review at Omnibus Theatre, London . 13 April 2020 . The Stage.
  22. Web site: Back From Reality on Apple Podcasts . Apple Podcasts . en-us.
  23. Web site: Groves . Don . Fresh Blood recipients: a new generation of comedy creators . IF Magazine . 5 May 2020 . 17 February 2014.
  24. Web site: Harms . Talura . Alexander Zeldin's The Confessions Begins at London's National Theatre October 19 . Playbill . 29 January 2024.
  25. Web site: Barnes . Candice . Romantic Rottnest proposal for Les Miserables actor . The Sydney Morning Herald . 1 May 2020 . en . 7 January 2015.
  26. Web site: Blake . Elissa . "I knew people who were always on the brink" . AUDREY Journal . 1 May 2020 . en-AU.
  27. Web site: 2014 Sydney Theatre Awards . www.sydneytheatreawards.com . 11 April 2020 . 8 October 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211008224935/http://www.sydneytheatreawards.com/history/2014 . dead .
  28. Web site: 2017 Sydney Theatre Awards . www.sydneytheatreawards.com . 11 April 2020.
  29. Web site: 2018 Sydney Theatre Awards . www.sydneytheatreawards.com . 11 April 2020.
  30. Web site: 2021 Sydney Theatre Awards nominations announced News . AussieTheatre.com . 7 February 2022 . en-AU . 3 January 2022.