Mary Rachel Brown Mary Rachel Brown i(A72631 works by) (a.k.a. Rachel Brown; Mary Brown)
Gender: Female
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 y separately published work icon Rosieville Mary Rachel Brown , 2023 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2023 27202273 2023 single work drama

'Every night, same time, same pigeon crash lands in my room.
At first I think it’s dead, But then it starts talking.

'A homing pigeon with no sense of direction becomes the unlikely saviour of a young girl up against her first encounter with heartbreak.

'Rose’s life has been turned upside down. She seems to be getting through it ok, except at night when her dream life is taken over by a mouthy homing pigeon that claims to be her subconscious.

'The last thing Rose wants is to be put through a psychological boot camp by a bossy rat with wings, but the bird’s intentions are good. It is there to help Rose to prepare for a new world order. It knows her Dad is not coming home.

'Rosieville is a universal story about getting back up after a blow to the heart. It is a homage to the instinct, loyalty, stamina and grit of homing pigeons who, despite countless obstacles and long distances, always manage to find their way home.' (Production summary)

1 1 y separately published work icon Dead Cat Bounce Mary Rachel Brown , 2019 Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2019 14531543 2019 single work drama

'As if their 20-year age gap wasn’t trouble enough, Matilda’s fighting for space with Gabe’s long-time bedfellows: misery, booze and writerly angst. She’s not even convinced he’s over his ex-girlfriend and publisher Angela, who was hooked on picking up his pieces.

'If Gabe wants to get sober, he’ll have to abandon his image as tragic writer betrothed to the bottle. And if Angela’s really trying to let Gabe go, like her partner Tony needs her to, she should probably say goodbye to Gabe’s wretched cat—which she’s somehow still looking after.'

Source: Griffin Theatre.

1 These Are Not My People Mary Rachel Brown , 2018 single work drama

'On the eighth of April at five seventeen pm, an incident of racial abuse occurs on a bus. Mobile phone footage of the abuse is uploaded on to social media at five thirty pm, by six o’clock the incident goes viral. The hunger for blame above resolution dominates the debate.

'The perpetrator, the victim, the bystander and the person filming are thrown into a media storm.

'Their actions and inactions judged.
Their privacy gone.
Their family harassed.
Their perception of the truth challenged.
Their ethics commodified.
Their safety threatened.

'Behind the eight-seconds of footage exists four personal lives that are forever altered. These Are Not My People questions the fine line between revenge and justice when it comes to social media shaming.'

Source: australianplays.org

1 y separately published work icon Permission to Spin Mary Rachel Brown , 2018 14001900 2018 single work drama

'Permission to Spin is a funny till it’s not cage fight between art and ethics; a Trumpesque allegory about men that carry their school-yard bully techniques all the way to adulthood. This play is for everyone that thinks children’s music is torture.'

Source: Red Line Productions.

1 Silent Night Mary Rachel Brown , 2017 single work drama

'A hilarious take-no-prisoners comedy for anyone who feels a mix of terror and affection about spending Christmas with family. Normally Christmas is a time for giving, but for the Lickfold family it's a time for winning!

'Every year for the past 12 years the Lickfolds have entered the ARCE Awards for the best Christmas decoration display in Australia. The Lickfolds are over participators determined to win at any cost but their path to electric glory is thwarted when someone unexpected comes down the chimney. This unwanted Christmas guest wastes no time in exposing the darker secrets behind a winning display and the true reason for his coming.'

Source: Darlinghurst Theatre Company.

1 4 The Dapto Chaser Mary Rachel Brown , 2011 single work drama humour

'For the Sinclair family, the cut-throat world of greyhound racing is a religion. And their beloved dog Boy Named Sue is more than a greyhound; he’s their heart and soul on four legs. With the crucial Winnebago Classic on the horizon, Cess Sinclair has one shot at reversing his family’s fortunes for good. Against all the odds, he’s betting on a miracle.

'The Dapto Chaser is warts-and-all Australian comedy that gets its hands dirty with the adrenaline, sweat and guts of the dog racing sub-culture. The Sinclairs are a family trapped in the pressure cooker of gambling addiction and when things don’t go to plan, they are forced to gamble the most important commodity of all – their relationship to each other.

'Playwright Mary Rachel Brown wrote The Dapto Chaser perched in the bleachers track-side, while director Glynn Nicholas will be going on an all-schnitzel diet to get it over the line.' (Production summary)

1 1 Four Plays About Wollongong Marcel Dorney , Simon Luckhurst , Mary Rachel Brown , Vanessa Badham , 2009 single work drama
1 Blame it on Dapto Mary Rachel Brown , 2009 single work drama
1 2 Inside Out Mary Rachel Brown , 2009 single work drama

'What do you do when a loved one changes beyond recognition? When the rational world is taken away from you? A journey into one young man's mind, to the place where borders are shifting and battle lines are drawn. This play looks at our very selfhood and how we survive when it is taken away.'

Source: Australian Script Centre website, http://www.ozscript.org/
Sighted: 19/05/2009

1 Australian Gothic Mary Rachel Brown , 2008 single work drama
— Appears in: Collection #7 : 27 New Plays from the Australian Script Centre 2008; (p. 4)
1 1 1 in a 100 Mary Rachel Brown , 2007 single work drama
1 2 National Security and the Art of Taxidermy Mary Rachel Brown , 2005 single work drama
1 1 Clown Empire Mary Rachel Brown , Caleb Lewis , 2005 single work drama
1 Lounge.Room.Culture Peter Robinson , Mary Rachel Brown , 2001 single work drama
1 2 All My Sleep and Waking Mary Rachel Brown , 2001 single work drama

''I am not saying I don't wish him peace but he should run through those pearly gates of heaven. If he walks, he'll get caught for something.'

'As a father's death approaches, three siblings struggle to reconcile with their differing experience of the same man. Conflicting memories, rusted on family habits and arguments about who will do what at the funeral all create distraction from the painful truth. Parental love isn't always fair. And keeping score on family history is a dangerous game.'

Source: Old 505 Theatre (2018 season).

X