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y separately published work icon Diving for Pearls single work   drama   - Two acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1991... 1991 Diving for Pearls
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Set in Wollongong during the economic rationalism of the 1980s, Diving for Pearls remains startlingly relevant–the political decisions of that time planted the seeds of divide we continue to witness between those with opportunity, and those without.

'With the town she grew up in changing all around her, Barbara is determined to change with it. Dreaming of a way out, she sets her sights on landing a job at one of the new resorts popping up all over town. Meanwhile, her partner Den is having change forced upon him. The steelworks he’s worked at his whole life has been sold and Den must reinvent himself to survive. The arrival of Barbara’s daughter, Verge, just might be the thing that tips Barbara and Den over the edge.' 

 (Publication summary)


 

Notes

  • Dedication: With thanks to Bob, and the Timbs family of Dapto.
  • Study kit available.

Production Details

  • First produced by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Geelong Performing Arts Complex, Victoria, on 22 March 1991. Directed by Ros Horin.

    Broadcast on ABC Radio National on Sunday 6 February 2011 as part of the Playing the 20th Century series.

    Presented by Griffin Theatre, 8 September - 28 October 2017.

    Director: Darren Yap.

    Set & Costume Designer: James Browne.

    Lighting Designer: Benjamin Brockman.

    Composition & Sound Designer: Max Lambert & Roger Lock.

    Stage Manager: Cara Woods.

    Cast includes Steve Rodgers, Ebony Vagulans, Ursula Yovich, Jack Finsterer, and Michelle Doake.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1991
    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Currency Press , 1992 .
      image of person or book cover 4376232114216644151.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: xii, 87p.p.
      Description: illus.
      Note/s:
      • Introductions by Di Kelly and Paul Thompson.
      ISBN: 0868193232
    • Strawberry Hills, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,: Currency Press , 2017 .
      image of person or book cover 3762520353068500038.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 76p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 8th September 2017
      ISBN: 9781760620431
Alternative title: 真珠を拾うもの
Transliterated title: Shinju o hirou mono
Language: Japanese
    • Yokohama, Honshu,
      c
      Japan,
      c
      East Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,      :       オセアニア出版社 ,       2000 .
      image of person or book cover 5903753212989265416.jpg
      Extent: 201 p.p.
      ISBN: 4872030737
      Series: y separately published work icon オーストラリア演劇叢書 Australian Drama Series Yokohama : オセアニア出版社 , 1993 15756704 1993 series - publisher drama

      This series publishes Japanese translations of 20th century Australian drama.

             Number in series: 3
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Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.
  • Large print.
  • Braille.
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Works about this Work

Best Touring Drama Set for Theatre Stage 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 9 February 2012; (p. 39)
Pockets of Rebellion : Katherine Thomson Rachel Fensham , Denise Varney , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Dolls' Revolution : Australian Theatre and Cultural Imagination 2005; (p. 157-198)

'This chapter focuses on Katherine Thomson as a playwright who utilises the conventions of social realism and naturalism to write plays that dramatise the effects of social and economic change on the lives of fictional but realistically-based characters.' (p.158)
y separately published work icon Katherine Thomson's Diving for Pearls Insight Text Guides – Diving for Pearls Pamela Williams , Drouin : Insight Publications , 1999 6896973 1999 single work criticism

'Insight Text Guides – Diving for Pearls is designed to help secondary English students understand and analyse the text. This comprehensive guide to Katherine Thomson's play contains detailed character and chapter analysis and explores genre, structure, themes and language. Essay questions and sample answers help to prepare students for creating written responses to the text.' (Publisher's blurb)
y separately published work icon Diving for Pearls : By Katherine Thomson Wendy Beckett , Glebe : Pascal Press , 1999 Z425968 1999 single work criticism
Doomed Love Has Universal Appeal David Allen , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 5 June 1998; (p. 15)
— Review of Diving for Pearls Katherine Thomson , 1991 single work drama
Untitled Elizabeth Perkins , 1994 single work review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , April no. 24 1994; (p. 197-200)
— Review of The Girl Who Saw Everything Alma De Groen , 1991 single work drama ; Diving for Pearls Katherine Thomson , 1991 single work drama
Doomed Love Has Universal Appeal David Allen , 1998 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 5 June 1998; (p. 15)
— Review of Diving for Pearls Katherine Thomson , 1991 single work drama
Stage Steven Carroll , 1991 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 22 March 1991; (p. 13)
— Review of Diving for Pearls Katherine Thomson , 1991 single work drama
Cardboard Cut-Outs Cast Adrift in the Shallows Peter Craven , 1991 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 4 April 1991; (p. 9)
— Review of Diving for Pearls Katherine Thomson , 1991 single work drama
Wisdom of Pearls Alison Croggon , 1991 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 16 April vol. 113 no. 5765 1991; (p. 118)
— Review of Diving for Pearls Katherine Thomson , 1991 single work drama
Pockets of Rebellion : Katherine Thomson Rachel Fensham , Denise Varney , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Dolls' Revolution : Australian Theatre and Cultural Imagination 2005; (p. 157-198)

'This chapter focuses on Katherine Thomson as a playwright who utilises the conventions of social realism and naturalism to write plays that dramatise the effects of social and economic change on the lives of fictional but realistically-based characters.' (p.158)
Best Touring Drama Set for Theatre Stage 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 9 February 2012; (p. 39)
Shoot Me, I'm Only the Writer Pamela Payne , 1991 single work criticism biography
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 26 March vol. 113 no. 5762 1991; (p. 110-111)
A Writer who Plays on Poetry Jo Litson , 1991 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Australian , 1 April 1991; (p. 7)
Diving for Katherine Jeremy Eccles , 1992 single work criticism biography
— Appears in: The Advertiser Magazine , 10 October 1992; (p. 8)
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Awards

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Last amended 20 Feb 2020 12:52:53
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