Mark Jones Mark Jones i(A128723 works by)
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 1 y separately published work icon Cautionary Tales for Children Claudia O'Doherty , Mark Jones (composer), 2012 Z1839288 2012 single work musical theatre 'Learning lessons about good behaviour has never been so absurd and amusing all at the same time. Arena Theatre Company team with the absurd imagination of comic writer Claudia O'Doherty to bring to life Hilare Belloc’s early 20th century satirical poems about wayward children and their just deserts. Expertly poking tongues at authority figures and pompous types, this mock-moralistic, vividly colourful show-within-a-show is told by a dysfunctional family troupe of four aided by their time machine.' Source: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/ (Sighted 01/02/2012).
1 y separately published work icon Smiley : The Musical John Watson , David Cocker (composer), Mark Jones (composer), Lance Strauss (composer), 1992 Dover Heights : David Spicer Productions , 1992 Z1641152 1992 single work musical theatre

Set in the late 1940s, the narrative unfolds in and around the outback community of Murrumbilla. At the Sunday School Break-up Picnic we meet the town's personalities, most notably Smiley, an irrepressible larrikin kid with a spontaneous zest for life, who regularly creates havoc by determining to give anything a go! His on-going conflicts with Mrs Gaspen, the self appointed pillar of local society, are most often arbitrated by Police Sergeant Flaxman who, like most residents, tolerates Smiley's impulsive enthusiasm for the whimsical because of the inevitably humorous consequences. In such a harsh environment laughter is a valuable contribution to the rough, homespun texture of daily life. Smiley's father is away droving and, when he is in town, spends most of his time at Rankin's Hotel. His mother is faced with raising Smiley single-handed. She works long and hard to do the best she can, and, as events evolve, comes to rely on the support that the townspeople are able to offer. When Smiley's obsession with owning a bicycle is thwarted by the unexpected return of his father, he is confronted with a complexity of challenges. All eyes watch to see if this "menace to society" has the grit to act responsibly and unselfishly.

The show evokes classic images including a picnic under shady river gums, a bush shack, the country pub, the general store and turns on a bush fire and the breaking of the drought. (ctd. David Spicer Productions, q.v.)

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