Arts Industry to Honour Queensland Actress Carol Burns

On Monday 8 February 2016 the arts community and leaders from various industry sectors will gather at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) Playhouse to honour the life and career of the acclaimed and much loved Australian actress, CAROL BURNS who passed away after a brief illness, just before Christmas.

QPAC, Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) and the Actors' Benevolent Fund will produce this special tribute which will feature a variety of guest speakers and artists who worked with Carol during her outstanding career, one which spanned some 50 years.

Carol was one of Queensland's shining stars and a much loved film and television actor, perhaps most famously known for her iconic role as Franky Doyle in the famous television series Prisoner, for which she was awarded a TV Week Logie Award for Best Lead Actress. She was revered as the matriarch of stage and screen and was a committed arts activist.

Carol began her professional career as a founding member of QTC in 1969 and went on to star in numerous productions alongside contemporaries Geoffrey Rush and Bille Brown among others. Since then, her name has been in lights for productions including The Female of the Species, Rabbit Hole, Black Comedy, Private Lives, The Real Inspector Hound, A Conversation, Bill & Mary, The Clean House, Design for Living, The Glass Menagerie and more.

In 2012 Carol stunned audiences with her powerful performance in Elizabeth: Almost By Chance A Woman by Italian playwright Dario Fo, and just six months ago as part of QTC's Mainstage Season 2015 program, she received rave reviews for her performance in the lead role in Samuel Beckett's Happy Days.

Carol worked with Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, La Boite Theatre Company, Nimrod Theatre Company and the State Theatre Company of South Australia among others, and in the United Kingdom, appeared in West End and regional productions, with guest roles in television series' The Bill, Taggart, Casualty, Heartbeat and Hannay.

A talented director, Carol also directed several productions including The Road to Mecca and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg and her own stage adaptation of Picnic At Hanging Rock for Brisbane Arts Theatre.

On television in Australia she appeared in such iconic series as Prisoner as well as The Day of the Roses, The Love of Lionel's Life, Blue Heelers, Reef Doctors, Small Claims, Carson's Law, Flipper, All the Rivers Run, Fire, Medivac and Pig in a Poke. Her films credits included The Mango Tree, Bad Blood, Starstruck, Strikebound, Hard Drive, Dusty, The Turning, Small Mercies and more recently Gettin' Square and Tracks.

Carol was an irrepressible leader in the arts community in her roles as a founding member and Associate Artist of QTC and Queensland Arts Council/Artslink; Patron of The Independent Theatre (Eumundi) and Fame Theatre School (Brisbane); a member of Actors Equity since 1973; President of Actors Equity Queensland; and a member of the National Performance Committee. Carol championed artists in need through her role as Vice-President of the Actors' & Entertainers' Benevolent Fund (Qld) Inc.

After the Tribute, guests are invited to the Playhouse foyer to share stories and memories of Carol's life and illustrious career. Refreshments will be available. Although this is a free event, in memory of Carol Burns, and at her request, guests attending are encouraged to make a donation to the Actors' & Entertainers' Benevolent Fund (Qld).