The Green Room Awards Association has announced that Uncle Jack Charles will be inducted into its prestigious alumni of recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award, at its 31st Annual Ceremony to be held at the Comedy Theatre on Monday 28 April.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is made to a person who is distinguished by the quality, profile and longevity of their achievements and by the extent to which their contribution has been of value to a younger generation of practitioners.
Born in 1943, Uncle Jack Charles is considered an Australian legend: veteran actor, musician, Koori elder and activist, and well and truly a child of the Stolen Generation. He spent many of his formative years in the boys’ homes of Melbourne, which he took on with his usual laconic outlook. For a good portion of his nearly 70 years he has also been an addict, a thief and a regular in Victoria’s prisons.
In 1972, he founded the first Aboriginal theatre company, Nindethana, and has performed with the cream of Australia’s actors, directors and writers including Geoffrey Rush, Neil Armfield, John Romeril and Tracey Moffatt. His work has spanned feature films, TV series and plays including The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Bedevil, Ben Hall, The Marriage of Figaro and his own one man show, Jack Charles V The Crown.
Charles was the subject of Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s award-winning documentary Bastardy, and was awarded the prestigious Tudawali Award at the Message Sticks Festival in 2009, honouring his lifetime contribution to Indigenous media. His constant and unswerving optimism and generosity of spirit and his humanity shines through his work on and off the stage.
The Green Room Awards Association will also present a Technical Achievement award to Global Creatures for their outstanding work in the production of King Kong; and an Industry Contribution Award to Ilbijerri Theatre Company for its ongoing role in presenting outstanding works of indigenous theatre on the Melbourne stage.
The Green Room Awards are Melbourne’s premier peer-presented, performing arts awards recognising excellence and innovation in productions from Alternative & Hybrid Performance, Cabaret, Dance, Independent Theatre, Music Theatre, Opera and Theatre Companies. Panels representing these seven categories make their nominations in February of each year with the recipients announced on the night.
The 31st Green Room Awards Ceremony will be hosted by Genevieve Morris and presented at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre on Monday 28 April 2014. For more information, visit: www.greenroom.org.au for details.
Image: Uncle Jack Charles