Cirrus@Austlit

'Quiet Night', which is ironically named, is set in a hospital staff room and examines the lives of doctors and nurses who come in to take a break.

It's the Gray's Anatomy of 1941!

Unlike 'The First Joanna', which survives as a manuscript in two libraries in Australia, there are sixteen copies of ‘Quiet Night’ across Australia as the play was published by Australasian Publishing Co in 1941 (AusStage).

In 1941, ‘Quiet Night’ was chosen (out of 40 plays) to be performed as part of the W.A Drama Festival ('Entertainments: Quiet Night',1941). A review of the play from 1941 referred to the play’s characters as outstanding but considered the plot to fade out by the second act ('Quiet Night By Dramatist Club Players', 1941). A few years later, Melbourne audiences received a second amateur production of the play. This time the play was considered ‘slightly tragic’ and the review commented on Blewett’s artistic license when it came to the nurses ('Quiet Night: A Clever Australian Play', 1947). This particular version also regarded one of the play’s characters (a junior nurse) to be the comic relief helping to make the play less gloomy ('Quiet Night: A Clever Australian Play, 1947'). It is interesting that in both her plays, Blewett choose to break the tension by introducing comic characters. The play also received a production from the W.A.A.A.F (Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force) who performed the play successfully as a fundraiser in 1944 ('Women’s Realm: Quiet Night, W.A.A.A.F Produce Play', 1944) perhaps a reflection on Blewett’s feminist themes.

Written by Kazzandra Maunder