'In the fortieth year of the Australasian Association for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, this seventieth issue of its journal continues to publish a remarkably diverse range of articles from a continuously evolving set of disciplines. The collection is presented in roughly chronological order, beginning with two articles exploring aspects of Australia's colonial past. Jane Woollard's richly detailed account of the different styles and careers of two of Australia's best known nineteenth-century actresses is followed by an article in which William Dunstone and Helena Grehan revisit the history of performance on the Western Australian Goldfields through the lens of cultural geography.' (Editorial introduction)
Only literary material within AustLit's scope individually indexed. Other material in this issue includes:
- A Rare Opportunity to Fail' STAB's Legacy of Theatrical Experimentation by Emma Willis (NZ)
- Performing Emotion to Remember Pakeha Worldview by Adriann Smith (NZ)
- A review of Mary Luckhurst's Caryl Churchill by Sally Richards
- A review of Caroline Heim's Audience as Performer : The Changing Role of Theatre Audiences in the Twenty-First Century by Maryrose Casey
- A review of Yuji Sone's Japanese Robot Culture : Performance, Imagination and Modernity by David O'Donnell
- A review of Roger Hall's Best Playwriting Book Ever and David O'Donnell (ed) Shift : Three Plays by Alison Quigan, Vivienne Plump & Lydia Chanwai-Earle by Lisa Warrington
'Eliza Winstanley (1818 - 82) and Maria Taylor (1805? - 41) were English-born actors who were among the early leading performers in Barnett Levey's acting company at his Theatre Royal in George Street, Sydney. Taylor's parents were 'singing actors' who, in the first years of the nineteenth century, performed at London's Haymarket and Covent Garden theatres, and were regularly engaged for the summer seasons in provincial theatres. Winstanley also came from a theatrical family - her father was a scenic painter and her younger sister Ann was a performer. This article describes how Maria Taylor and Eliza Winstanley brought their theatrical skills and resilience to the task of building a theatrical culture in Australia. Both women faced many challenges in their personal and professional lives but both possessed the capacity to bounce back, continuing to practise and refine their craft in difficult circumstances.' (Publication abstract)