Lawson is Oriel Gray's first full-length play, and is based on the stories of Henry Lawson. These stories include 'Past Carin', 'At Dead Dingo', 'Arvie Aspinall’s Alarm Clock','‘The Man Who Forgot', 'Pretty Girl in the Army', 'Water them Geraniums' and 'Steelman’s Pupil'.
The narrative begins with Wilson, Macquarie and Lawson yarning round a campfire beside a drover’s track. Lawson is the group’s chief storyteller. As each story materialises, the fire and the figures around it fade out and a spotlight thrown on the opposite side of the stage illuminates each new set of characters.
Characters
Act 1 Scene 1
THE BALLAD SINGER
JOE WILSON
MACQUARIE
LAWSON
BOBBY
MITCHELL
ORACLE
CONSTABLE
SCOTTY
THE LITTLE MAN
SMITH
BOSS
SERVANT GIRL
MRS. ASPINALL
AGENT
BILLY
CHINNY
DRUNK
MARGE
BILL
JIM
ACT 2 SCENE 1
GENT 1
GENT 2
STEELMAN
MARY WILSON
DORIE SPICER
MRS. SPICER
FLOWER GIRL
JACK MOONLIGHT
BOYS
THE ARMY
OFFICER
LASSIES
HANNAH
MATRON
RATTY WOMAN
CAPTAIN