The Playmakers (46 page)

The Playmakers
was
Graeme’s first novel. A second novel,
Lover,
Husband, Father, Monster,
was co-written with Elsie when
they lived in Dublin in 2009. They are now writing its sequel,
The Aftermath.
Graeme’s political memoir
of Joan Child, Australia’s first woman Speaker of the House, will
be published soon.

KEVIN
HEENEY was educated by the Jesuits at Xavier College, Melbourne,
and it was there that a chance remark by a teacher about
“Shakespeare not being written by Shakespeare” set him on the path
that has culminated in this book. He found the concept compelling
and over the years since has been gathering material from a wide
variety of sources to develop a case.

As a young man Kevin toured the world, at one
stage living in Hollywood behind the famous Grumman’s Chinese
Theatre and later working on the Stock Exchange in Canada. His
working life included establishing a distribution company,
promoting a dance band and managing the magnificent Her Majesty’s
Theatre in Ballarat.

Built during the gold rush days, it is
Victoria’s longest surviving theatre and regarded as one of the
best live performance locations in Australia. Under his management,
international talent such as Barry Humphries appeared there,
spurring Kevin’s interest in entertainment, the arts and
literature.