Texts

y separately published work icon Too Young for Ghosts Janis Balodis , Sydney : Currency Press Stage Company , 1985 Z27945 1985 single work drama (taught in 2 units)
y separately published work icon The Time is Not Yet Ripe : A Comedy in Four Acts Louis Esson , Melbourne : Fraser and Jenkinson , 1912 Z855849 1912 single work drama humour (taught in 2 units)

The action takes place in Melbourne in the weeks leading up to a federal election. The Women’s Anti-Socialist League have selected Doris Quiverton—daughter of the conservative Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Quiverton—to stand for the seat of Wombat. However, no sooner than Doris learns that she has been selected, her fiancé, Sydney Barrett, reveals that he is competing for the same seat. A socialist and an atheist, Barrett opposes everything both Doris’ Liberal father and the Women’s Anti-Socialist League stand for. Doris must carefully navigate extreme political ideals and intense personal relationships. 

"That hilarious comedy, "The Time is Not Ripe," published in 1912, is rather a breathless play, in which the political distractions of that era are complicated by the invention of a love affair between the socialist leader and the daughter of his principal opponent."

The Daily Mercury (1943). Louis Esson. [online] p.2. Available [Accessed 5 Mar. 2018].
Historia Noëlle Janaczewska , 1996 single work drama (taught in 3 units)
— Appears in: Australian Women's Drama : Texts and Feminisms 1997; (p. 254-284) 'Historia' is a fusion of poetry, Polish, and electronic notation that examines love and the social forces with which it struggles to co-exist, and explores the patterns of both personal and cultural histories that determine self-identity.' (Source: Metro Arts mid-May update).
y separately published work icon Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America : A Drama in 30 Scenes Stephen Sewell , Sydney Melbourne : Currency Press Playbox Theatre , 2003 Z1037273 2003 single work drama (taught in 3 units)
y separately published work icon Don's Party David Williamson , 1971 1971 (Manuscript version)x402002 Z1505961 1971 single work drama satire (taught in 17 units)
y separately published work icon The Season at Sarsaparilla : A Charade of Suburbia in Two Acts Patrick White , 1962 (Manuscript version)x400826 Z865952 1962 single work drama (taught in 11 units)
y separately published work icon The Dreamers Jack Davis , Paddington : Currency Press , 1996 Z450251 1982 single work drama (taught in 18 units)
— Appears in: ドリーマーズ : ノー・シュガー 2006;

'With humane irony the Western Australian poet, Jack Davis gives a painful insight into the process of colonisation and the transformation of his people.'

'The Dreamers is the story of a country-town family and old Uncle Worru, who in his dying days, recedes from urban hopelessness to the life and language of the Nyoongah spirit which in him has survived 'civilisation'.' (Currency Press website)
y separately published work icon Rusty Bugles Sumner Locke Elliott , 1948 (Manuscript version)x400830 Z254884 1948 single work drama war literature (taught in 1 units)

Description

This course traces the development of a distinctive Australian voice in theatre and drama from its origins in late C19th melodrama to the present. Theatre topics covered include a survey of federation era theatre, bush realism, urban theatre, the New Wave, indigenous and mulitcultural theatre, as well as contemporary performance perspectives of the late C20th and early C21st. The course thus traces a cultural and political history of Australia from Federation to the present, emphasising the integral role theatre has in not only reflecting, but also helping to shape issues of national identity. In addition to an increased appreciation and understanding of an Australian national theatre canon, students are consequently expected to come out of this course with an increased understanding and appreciation of Australian national identity.

Assessment

Participation; review; essay plan; essay.

Other Details

Levels: Undergraduate
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