Monica Maughan

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Monica Maughan is an Australian actor with notable and well-known roles in film, theatre and television.

She launched her professional career at the Union Repertory Theatre Company (URTC) at Melbourne University in 1957 playing Capulat in Jean Anouilh's romantic comedy Ring Round the Moon. Her first leading role came that same year in Beauty and the Beast. URTC, Australia's first professional theatre company, became the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) in 1968. Monica Maughan has appeared in more plays for that flagship company than any other actor.

She has worked for every major theatre company in Australia including Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and Alan Bennett's Habeas Corpus for the Queensland Theatre Company in 1978 and the role of Aggie in A Hard God produced by the State Theatre Company of South Australia in 1981. Perhaps Maughan's best-known stage role was as Miss Prism in the MTC's "The Importance of Being Earnest". The production, co-starring Geoffrey Rush, was so popular that it toured Australia between 1988 and 1992, and was televised by the ABC. In 2003 she starred in Inheritance by Hannie Rayson. Maughan has also directed plays for the MTC.

Early television roles in Crawford's dramas led to ongoing television parts that made Maughan a recognisable face around Australia, including prim secretary Jean Ford in the first year of The Box (1974-75) and downtrodden prisoner Pat O'Connell for five months in women's-prison drama Prisoner in 1979. She received an AFI Award and a Silver Logie Award for her role as Monica McHugh in the ABC's black comedy mini-series, The Damnation of Harvey McHugh (1994).

Her feature films include A City's Child (1971), Strange Bedfellows (2004), Crackerjack (2002) and Road to Nhill (1997), plus a number of films by Dutch-Australian director Paul Cox.

Monica Maughan recently extended her repertoire to include non-dancing roles with the Australian Ballet, including Effie's mother in La Sylphide (2005) and Doreen's mother in The Sentimental Bloke (2002).

Her awards:

Erik Kuttner Award for Acting (1968) for the title role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (MTC)

Erik Kuttner Award for Best Actress (1971) as Anna Bowers in Three Months Gone (MTC)

AFI Award (Hoyts Prize) for Best Performance (1971) for the lead role in A City’s Child (dir. Brian Kavanagh)

Green Room Award for Best Supporting Actress (1983) as Mollie in Gulls (MTC)

Television Society of Australia Commendation for performance by an Actress in a supporting role in a mini-series (1985) for her role in Flying Doctors (Crawford's)

Green Room Award for Best Supporting Actress (1987) as Mme Arcati in Blithe Spirit (MTC)

Green Room Award for Best Supporting Actress (1990) as Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest (MTC)

Silver Logie Award Most Outstanding Actress (1995) as Monica McHugh in The Damnation of Harvey McHugh (ABC)

AFI Award for Best Actress in a TV Drama (1995) as Monica McHugh in The Damnation of Harvey McHugh (ABC)

Green Room Award for Best Actress (1998) for her role in Tear from a Glass Eye (Playbox)

Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress (2008) as the teacher in The Toy Symphony (Belvoir St Company B)


[edit] References

References

  • Monica Maughan - Stage acting credits
  • "The Importance of Being Earnest" — (information and photos):
[1] , [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] , [8]

[edit] External links