Aidan Fennessy

Aidan Fennessy (died 13 September 2020

Fennessy's career began in Melbourne in the 1990s, involving his talents as writer, director and actor. In 2012, he was the programming director at MTC. Fennessy's cousin, Tony Stewart, was one of the five journalists who became known as the Balibo Five after they were murdered in Balibo, East Timor, in 1975. The play focuses on Stewart's family, in particular his mother and sister, as well as the Indonesian Government's cover-up, and the Australian Government's handling of the affair. The play incorporates media coverage, speeches, court transcripts, and other factual material, into the "deeply personal story". It was performed in Perth and Melbourne during 2012.

Fennessy had two children with his partner, the writer Nova Weetman. He died from cancer during one of the lockdowns in Melbourne arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. National Interest What Rhymes With Cars And Girls (a musical based on the album What Rhymes With Cars And Girls by Tim Rogers, staged by MTC in 2015) Chilling and Killing My Annabel Lee (Playbox/Malthouse), The House On The Lake (Black Swan) The Way Things Work (Griffin, Red Stitch)

Accolades The Trade (2002), written for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, won the 2002 Barry Award (since renamed the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award. What Rhymes With Cars And Girls (2015) was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work in 2015.