Work
Beautiful Mess
Shortlisted, The Readings Young Adult Book Prize, 2018
Longlisted, CBCA Book of the Year, Older Readers, 2018
Shortlisted, Gold Inky Award—Australian Titles, 2018
Longlisted, Indie Book Award for Young Adult, 2018
Shortlisted, ABIA Book of the Year for Older Children (Ages 13+), 2018
Shortlisted, ABDA Best Designed YA Cover: Imogen Stubbs, 2018
Winner, Text Prize for Young Adult & Children's Writing, 2016
Since Ava lost Kelly, things haven’t been going so well. Even before she gets thrown out of school for shouting at the principal, there’s the simmering rage and all the weird destructive choices. The only thing going right for Ava is her job at Magic Kebab.
Which is where she meets Gideon. Skinny, shy, anxious Gideon. A mad poet and collector of vinyl records with an aversion to social media. He lives in his head. She lives in her grief. The only people who can help them move on with their lives are each other.
The winner of the 2016 Text Prize, Beautiful Mess is funny and sad and a bit screwed up and romantic and absolutely real. In other words, a lot like life.
Talking to Brick Walls
Written and co-created by Claire Christian and the Empire Youth Arts IMPACT Ensemble.
Hey! We need to talk! And we’ve needed to talk for over 8000 years. Talking to Brick Walls is a hybrid verbatim piece exploring adolescent and parent relationships. It was co-created by eleven young artists alongside facilitators Claire Christian and Ari Palani over a period of three and a half months. This is the conversation they wanted to have. The story the wanted to tell. The show they wanted to make about teenagers, parents, and their relationships.
Lysa and the Freeborn Dames
Lysa King is nineteen and angry. After spending a year away from her small town, experiencing a powerful uprising of her own political voice, and the protests of women all over the world, Lysa has returned to discover that revolution seems to be happening everywhere but home.
Her arrival coincides with the biggest weekend on the annual calendar, the War Weekender, a weekend-long celebration of the town’s most prized citizens, the local footy team. Unable to stay silent, Lysa decides it’s time to ensure that her voice is heard, and armed with a flag, a manifesto, and the key to the footy club’s change rooms she plans to bring revolution about by any means necessary.
Inspired by Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, Christian lands us in the present with this hilarious, messy, and glitter-filled response to the power of women globally.
Lysa and the Freeborn Dames was first produced by La Boite and QUT Creative industries premiering at the Roundhouse Theatre on July 21, 2018.
Hedonism’s Second Album
For anyone who’s ever been let down by their favourite band, or their best mate…or both.
In a music studio in suburban Brisbane four men gather in an attempt to build upon a surprisingly successful first album. Newly clean, front man Gareth is losing his cool. Lead guitarist Chimney has got cold feet. Bass player Michael is keeping secrets and Sumo, the drummer, has vanished. Meet Hedonism.
Hedonism have rocketed from pub gigs to support acts, international tours and brand management. It’s a whole new world. They’ve been given a license to drink, be rockstars and live, well, hedonistically. They’ve been give permission to never grow up, as long as they record their second album.
After an all-weekend bender involving under-age girls, bikies, racial slurs on YouTube and a wombat from Australia Zoo, record label exec Phil is sent in to pull the boys into line and prevent the looming PR disaster. During the testosterone-fuelled fallout, closely-guarded secrets are laid bare and friendships tested.
Hedonism’s Second Album premiered at The Loft as part of La Boite Theatre Company’s La Boite Indie Season on August 14, 2014.
The Kaboom Collection featuring The Land Mine is Me
There’s a bomb in the school. The bomb is going to explode. Do you know who did it?
The Land Mine is Me is a comic and contemporary take on the life of an adolescent. The school has been evacuated and we meet the misfits, the perfectionists, the drama queens and the socially awkward. More than an angst riddled exploration of “teenage issues”, The Land Mine is Me asks the audience to consider, how far do you have to push before someone explodes?
The Land Mine is Me was originally commissioned by Queensland Theatre Company in 2014 as part of the Scene Project, where it was used as an educational performance text by over 170 Queensland students as well as presented by professional creatives and performers.
The Land Mine is Me was then re-written for the 2015 Queensland Theatre Company Senior Youth Ensemble. The production premiered at the Bille Brown Studio on July 2, 2015. This is the version published in this volume.
Published as part of The Kaboom Collection alongside Orbit by David Burton.