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y separately published work icon The Tower single work   drama   - Two acts
  • Author:agent Hal Porter http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/porter-hal
Issue Details: First known date: 1963... 1963 The Tower
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

"The Tower takes place in 1850s Hobart, in the mansion of wealthy Sir Rodney de Havilland. Members of Sir Rodney’s household include his spinster sister Hester, his wheelchair-bound step-daughter Amy, his new 19 year-old-wife Selina, and creepy 14 year old son Edwin. Amy falls off the new tower being built on top of the house and signs point to it not being an accident. Was it suicide? Was she pushed? There are lots of twists and memorable characters (including a hunky ex-convict and dodgy maid), and the house is a wonderfully creepy setting in the style of Thornfield Hall or Manderley."

Source

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon The Tower Noel Robinson , ( dir. Christopher Muir ) Australia : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1965 7119714 1965 single work film/TV

A faithful adaptation of Hal Porter's The Tower. 

Synopsis of the original play:

"The Tower takes place in 1850s Hobart, in the mansion of wealthy Sir Rodney de Havilland. Members of Sir Rodney’s household include his spinster sister Hester, his wheelchair-bound step-daughter Amy, his new 19 year-old-wife Selina, and creepy 14 year old son Edwin. Amy falls off the new tower being built on top of the house and signs point to it not being an accident. Was it suicide? Was she pushed? There are lots of twists and memorable characters (including a hunky ex-convict and dodgy maid), and the house is a wonderfully creepy setting in the style of Thornfield Hall or Manderley."

Source

Notes

  • An Arabic translation, titled 'Al burj' (1969) is listed in Index Translationum. This has not been traced.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

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Other Formats

  • Also braille, sound recording.
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Works about this Work

Ten Old Australian Plays Worthy of Another Look Stephen Vagg , 2023 single work essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 6 March 2023;
Abominable Scripts : Hal Porter's Plays Noel Rowe , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 4 no. 2005; (p. 23-34) Rowe reads Porter's plays 'in order to talk about ethics and literature, arguing for a narrative model of ethical reflection that recognises the constitutive role of narrative (literary, social, personal) in ethical being '(Editorial p.8).
y separately published work icon Hal Porter : A Man of Many Parts Mary Lord , Milsons Point : Random House , 1993 Z475586 1993 single work biography
Hal Porter, 'The Tower' and the Quintessence of Porterism Giovanna Capone , 1991 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , vol. 15 no. 2 1991; (p. 162-172)
Three Australian Plays : Introduction Alrene Sykes , 1985 single work criticism
— Appears in: Three Australian Plays 1985; (p. 9-23)
Barnstormer R. G. Howard , 1964 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 28 March vol. 86 no. 4388 1964; (p. 44)
— Review of The Tower Hal Porter , 1963 single work drama
Black Comedy James Murphy , 1964 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 4 July vol. 86 no. 4402 1964; (p. 44)
— Review of The Tower Hal Porter , 1963 single work drama
Abominable Scripts : Hal Porter's Plays Noel Rowe , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: JASAL , vol. 4 no. 2005; (p. 23-34) Rowe reads Porter's plays 'in order to talk about ethics and literature, arguing for a narrative model of ethical reflection that recognises the constitutive role of narrative (literary, social, personal) in ethical being '(Editorial p.8).
Repetition and Menace in Hal Porter's 'The Tower' Reba Gostand , 1973 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , May vol. 6 no. 1 1973; (p. 36-45)
Hal Porter, The Watcher R. G. Geering , 1964 single work criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 24 no. 2 1964; (p. 92-103)
Hal Porter, 'The Tower' and the Quintessence of Porterism Giovanna Capone , 1991 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Literary Studies , vol. 15 no. 2 1991; (p. 162-172)
Three Australian Plays : Introduction Alrene Sykes , 1985 single work criticism
— Appears in: Three Australian Plays 1985; (p. 9-23)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (9)
Last amended 19 Sep 2022 13:18:45
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Hobart, Southeast Tasmania, Tasmania,
  • 1850s
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