image of person or book cover 7339559453130896550.jpg
y separately published work icon In Our Town single work   drama   - Two acts
Alternative title: Our Town
Issue Details: First known date: 1990... 1990 In Our Town
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

This play is set in a country town, the story centres on the return of an Aboriginal soldier after World War II and the rejection he experiences by the white community.

Exhibitions

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8184446
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Notes

  • CONTAINS:

    Love Versus Racism - Adam Shoemaker

    A Poignant Reminder - Lynette Narkle

    Act One

    Act Two

    Glossary

Production Details

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: Our Town
First known date: 1990
    • Paddington, Kings Cross area, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,: Currency Press , 1992 .
      image of person or book cover 7339559453130896550.jpg
      Extent: xvi, 68pp.
      Description: illus.; port.
      Note/s:
      ISBN: 0868192945 (pbk)
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Works about this Work

Writing Their Own History : 'Aboriginal Australia' in the Poetry of Jack Davis and Kevin Gilbert Deepti Sharma , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: IJAS , no. 5 2012; (p. 84-97) This paper : focuses on the history emerging out of the poems of these two writers Davis and Gilbert in the context of New Historical perspective.' (85)
Where Campfires Used to Gleam : A Collage of Bipolar Dreaming in Davis’ Aboriginal Theatre Sibendu Chakraborty , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities , vol. 2 no. 2 2010; (p. 136-144) 'Jack Davis' preoccupation with an aboriginal sense of experience as symbolized through uncle Worru's characterization in The Dreamers, is thought to have been sparked off by a mysterious man named Jack Henry, whose nostalgia was embittered and angered by what he considered to be the end of the golden age. Davis' own experience at the Moore River Settlement and his angst at having been forced to overlook the Noongar culture and tradition are snowballed into a representation of wisdom bordered on the edge of eccentricity. Uncle Worru's strong evocation of a poetic, almost archaic, wish-fulfilling past is thus addressed in terms of his dream-time stories. This paper tries to locate the significance of the dream-time stories in consolidating the theme of protest. The question is: how far successful is uncle Worru in acting out the role of Davis' spokesman? Uncle Worru's scheme of looking back at his past endeavors and success needs to be weighed against the younger generation's instinctive habit of dreaming forward into the future. The sense of false securities embodied through uncle Worru's dreaming backward in time necessarily comes in clash with the later generation's habit of dreaming forward. The dilution of the theme of protest thus gets enmeshed in the whirlpool of cultural abnegation. Davis' "syncretic theatre" distils the elixir of dreams polarized on the chronological separation between past and present.' (Author's abstract).
Untitled 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 12 July no. 230 2000; (p. 29)
— Review of In Our Town Jack Davis , 1990 single work drama
In Our Town 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 12 July no. 230 2000; (p. 29)
— Review of In Our Town Jack Davis , 1990 single work drama
Swinburne Students Play Quite an Event Todd Condie , 1997 single work column
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 18 June no. 153 1997; (p. 26)
In Our Town 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 12 July no. 230 2000; (p. 29)
— Review of In Our Town Jack Davis , 1990 single work drama
Untitled 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 12 July no. 230 2000; (p. 29)
— Review of In Our Town Jack Davis , 1990 single work drama
Directed to Dead-End Town Alison Farmer , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 27 September 1990; (p. 9)
— Review of In Our Town Jack Davis , 1990 single work drama
This Town Not Everyone's Ron Banks , 1990 single work review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 24 September 1990; (p. 52)
— Review of In Our Town Jack Davis , 1990 single work drama
Where Campfires Used to Gleam : A Collage of Bipolar Dreaming in Davis’ Aboriginal Theatre Sibendu Chakraborty , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities , vol. 2 no. 2 2010; (p. 136-144) 'Jack Davis' preoccupation with an aboriginal sense of experience as symbolized through uncle Worru's characterization in The Dreamers, is thought to have been sparked off by a mysterious man named Jack Henry, whose nostalgia was embittered and angered by what he considered to be the end of the golden age. Davis' own experience at the Moore River Settlement and his angst at having been forced to overlook the Noongar culture and tradition are snowballed into a representation of wisdom bordered on the edge of eccentricity. Uncle Worru's strong evocation of a poetic, almost archaic, wish-fulfilling past is thus addressed in terms of his dream-time stories. This paper tries to locate the significance of the dream-time stories in consolidating the theme of protest. The question is: how far successful is uncle Worru in acting out the role of Davis' spokesman? Uncle Worru's scheme of looking back at his past endeavors and success needs to be weighed against the younger generation's instinctive habit of dreaming forward into the future. The sense of false securities embodied through uncle Worru's dreaming backward in time necessarily comes in clash with the later generation's habit of dreaming forward. The dilution of the theme of protest thus gets enmeshed in the whirlpool of cultural abnegation. Davis' "syncretic theatre" distils the elixir of dreams polarized on the chronological separation between past and present.' (Author's abstract).
Shift for Davis Play 1990 single work criticism
— Appears in: The West Australian , 18 August 1990; (p. 40)
`The Maker of History': Jack Davis - An Introduction Gerry Turcotte , 1994 single work criticism
— Appears in: Jack Davis : The Maker of History 1994; (p. 1-15)
`The Real Australian Story': An Interview with Jack Davis Adam Shoemaker (interviewer), 1994 single work interview
— Appears in: Jack Davis : The Maker of History 1994; (p. 22-47)
Oral Culture, Theatre, Text: Jack Davis's Plays Joanne Tompkins , 1994 single work criticism
— Appears in: Jack Davis : The Maker of History 1994; (p. 48-59)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (12)
Last amended 4 Dec 2018 13:25:54
Subjects:
  • Northam, Northam area, Northam - Southern Cross area, Southwest Western Australia, Western Australia,
Settings:
  • 1940s
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