Mark Andrew
Mark Andrew has a career in design with over forty international conference publications. Born in Germany (an ‘army brat’) to English parents, his first job after graduation was for De Beers in Namibia. He returned to London for post-graduate education and then emigrated to Australia. After training humanitarian workers in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, England and Ireland, he now lives in Melbourne and is immersed in the thriving independent theatre scene as a writer.
Mark’s short plays have been produced in five countries including the USA, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. A highlight was Jim Beaver (Deadwood, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) selecting two of his plays to perform in at LA’s The Secret Rose Theatre. His longer plays include Time’s Arrow, Bomb the Base, Seven of Hearts and The Critical Marriage (the inaugural winner of the Amethyst Award).
Q: Do you have a lucky writing talisman? If so, what is it?
A: I have a compass my partner gave me when I ‘got lost’ a few years ago. She said it was to help find my way back. It’s in my study and I look at it every day and thank kismet.
Q: Do you have a favourite quote? (From a book, film, song, speech…)
A: Doris Lessing: ‘That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood all your life, but in a new way.’
Q: Is there a book that you keep going back to, and if so, how many times have you read it?
A: John Le Carre’s The Naïve and Sentimental Lover is not a spy novel. I’ve read it numerous times, often on holiday or while travelling. It has a unique style, subject and pace. I had to buy a hardback edition because the paperback fell apart.
Q: What superpower would you like to have and why?
A: I’d like to be able to grow vegetables better because the quality of bought stuff is so variable. Either that or teleportation to avoid jetlag.
