Buzo, Alexander, 1944-2006

Alex Buzo is one of Australia's leading playwrights. When it was performed in Queensland in 1968, Buzo's first major production, Norm and Ahmed, came to national attention as a result of a prosecution for obscenity. The case reached the High Court of Australia, where it was dismissed. Since the early 1970s, Buzo has written many plays including The front room boys and Rooted (1969), Macquarie (1972), Coralie Lansdowne says no (1974), Martello Towers (1976), Makassar Reef and Big River (1980), The marginal farm (1983), The search for Harry Allway (1985), Shellcove Road (1988), Prue flies north (1991) and Pacific Union (1995). In 1972, Buzo was awarded the Australian Literature Society's Gold Medal for his plays Tom and Macquarie and both Norm and Ahmed and Rooted have been produced for film and television.

In addition to his plays, Buzo has written journal and newspaper articles, reviews and several books on sport, tautology, language and theatre. He has adapted novels for film and television, including adaptations of Charles Dickens' stories. He was co-author of the script for the 1969 film Ned Kelly. He has been Writer-in-Residence at many theatre companies, schools and universities. In 1998, Buzo received an Alumni Award for Achievement from the University of New South Wales.