BazMark Luhrmann was born in 1964 in Australia. He grew up in a small, secluded town in Northern New South Wales, where his Father Leonard Luhrmann ran the Gas Station and for a short time the local cinema. At the cinema his Father would show old television shows and old movies, which included old musicals such as ‘Top Hat’ and ‘The Band Wagon’.
Later in life he attended NIDA (The National Institute of Dramatic Arts) in Sydney, Australia. During his days at NIDA he wrote and staged ‘Strictly Ballroom’ and took it to the World Youth Festival, where it won Best Director and Best Production.
After graduating from NIDA Baz formed the Six Year Old Company. An independent theatre company and he was the Artistic Director. The Six Year Old Company brought back ‘Strictly Ballroom’ and took it to the World Expo in Brisbane.
Baz also worked on a few productions of classical and original Opera. Including ‘La Boheme’, which won a Mo Award for Operatic Performance of The Year in 1990. Other projects, which won awards, include ‘Lake Lost’ which won a Victorian Green Room Award for Best Director and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which won Critic’s Prize at the Edinburgh Festival.
Baz also acted in ‘The Dark Room’ and ‘Winter of Our Dreams’, edited an issue of Vogue and wrote The Sunscreen Song, which has been a major success throughout the world.
Strictly Ballroom, the first of the Red Curtain Trilogy, was brought to the big screen in 1992, with Baz directing it. It starred Paul Mercucio and Tara Morice as the two main characters Scott and Fran.
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet starring Claire Danes and Leonardo Dicaprio was also directed by Baz and was the second of the Red Curtain Trilogy. It was released in 1996. |
