Hannah Cowley (14 March 1743 – 11 March 1809) was an English dramatist and poet. Although Cowley’s plays and poetry did not enjoy wide popularity after the nineteenth century, critic Melinda Finberg rates Cowley as “one of the foremost playwrights of the late eighteenth century” whose “skill in writing fluid, sparkling dialogue and creating sprightly, memorable comic characters compares favourably with her better-known contemporaries, Goldsmith and Sheridan.” Cowley’s plays were produced frequently during her lifetime. The major themes of her plays; including her first, The Runaway (1776), and her major hit which is being revived, The Belle's Stratagem (1780); revolve around marriage and how women strive to overcome the injustices imposed by family life and social custom.
[on Haunting of the Innocent] My friends were looking at me thinking "er, pale Viking witch? Another case of typecasting!" Half of my family are Scottish and descended from a clan in the very remote, northern Isle of Skye, and coincidentally, I have a few Old Norse songs stuck in my head from school so right off the bat it was a role I was fascinated by and felt naturally inclined toward.
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[on Hollywood] I think it's a very accessible place, I love that about America and Americans in general - there's a real openness and enthusiasm about trying the impossible. Optimism is contagious - you definitely feel here than you can try almost anything with minimal risk.
Studied PhD in History (counter-insurgency, trans-nationalism, colonialism, concentration camps) at UNSW.
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Hannah was featured in billboard advertising all over the UK during the 1980s.
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Had a radio show on Sydney's BondiFM called"Any Colour You Like" which ran thematically linked music stretching from Mahler to RevCo's Chris Connelly; she left after refusing to pander to the station's request for more "commercial" music.
$950,000
