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Advertisement for the NT production of the play, July 1951.
y separately published work icon Shoulder the Sky single work   drama  
Issue Details: First known date: 1945... 1945 Shoulder the Sky
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Set in an 'Australian League Canteen' during World War II in an Australian coastal city. The play deals with military life and social status in the context of the war. The characters (22 in total) include voluntary workers who man the canteen, nurses, military personnel from all of the armed forces, and munitions factory workers, from various social levels. One of the characters is an un-named Aboriginal AIF private.

Miss Clancy – Voluntary Helper at Canteen

Matt Payne – A.I.F. Sergeant

An Aboriginal – A.I.F Private

Sister Ruth Wynne – A.I.F. Nurse

Flying-Officer Don Preston – R.A.A.F.

Elmer Lee – Sergeant in U.S. Forces

Bill Stevens – A.I.F. Private

Mrs Fitzgerald – Voluntary Helper at Canteen

Young U.S. Airman

Mrs Stanwell-Rock – Voluntary Helper at Canteen

Mrs Gilden – Voluntary Helper at Canteen

Bettina Smythe – Voluntary Helper at Canteen

Mrs Mona Halliday – Munition Worker and Voluntary Helper at Canteen

'Kokoda' – Young A.I.F. Boy

Jake – Merchant Navy Newfoundlander

Erky – Merchant Navy Cockney

Scottish Naval Rating with R.N.

Laura – A.W.A.S.

Trixie – A.W.A.S.

Sergeant Julie Rutherford – A.A.M.C.

Mrs Shirley Watt – Voluntary Helper at Canteen

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon Shoulder the Sky Dymphna Cusack , Australia : ABC Radio , 1945 13419468 1945 single work radio play

A radio adaptation of Dymphna Cusack's play of the same name.

Notes

  • First published as stage play, 1945. Details as yet untraced.

Production Details

  • First produced 5-7 July 1951 by the NT Society of Arts at the Belsen Recreation Hut in Darwin. Produced by Keith Mason with some cast cuts and script alterations to make it suit the limitations of the venue. According to a report in the Northern Standard on the activities of the NT Society of Arts in 1952, Cusack 'expressed her appreciation of the Society's courage at being the first organisation to produce the play.'

    • Cast incl. Sheila Madden (Miss Clancy), Lyn Berlowitz (Mrs Fitsgerald), Therese Marks (Bettina Smythe), Lynette McAnley (Sister Wynne), Maureen Blowes (Laura), Wendy Walker (Trixie), Beryl Bolton (Julie Rutherford), Ellen Mahoney (Mrs Shirley Watt), Jean Drysdale (Mrs Stanwell-Rock), Nora Pike (Mrs Gilden), Una Roberts (Mrs Mona Halliday), Clarrie Taylor (Matt Payne), Bill Richardson (Elmer Lee), Alan Carson, Les Last, Bill Sime, Reg Waters, Glen Woodward, Ian White ('Kokoda'), Bill Alderman.

    Also broadcast on ABC radio 12 July 1945.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

      1945 .
      Extent: 29 leavesp.
      Description: Typescript (duplicated).
      (Manuscript) assertion

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Queensland University of Queensland Library Fryer Library
      Location: The Hanger Collection of Australian Playscripts
      Local Id: H0367
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Three Australian Three-Act Plays Dymphna Cusack , Sydney : Australasian Publishing Co. , 1950 Z791826 1950 selected work drama Sydney : Australasian Publishing Co. , 1950 pg. 89-177

Works about this Work

Dymphna Cusack's Plays Helen Thomson , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , April no. 32 1998; (p. 63-76)
From Staff-Room to Canteen Miriam Godfrey , 1951 single work review
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 12 no. 2 1951; (p. 101-102)

— Review of Three Australian Three-Act Plays Dymphna Cusack , 1950 selected work drama ; Comets Soon Pass Dymphna Cusack , 1950 single work drama ; Shoulder the Sky Dymphna Cusack , 1945 single work drama ; Morning Sacrifice Dymphna Cusack , 1940 single work drama
Good Crowds See Society of Arts Best Show 1951 single work review
— Appears in: Northern Standard , 13 July vol. 6 no. 266 1951; (p. 5)

— Review of Shoulder the Sky Dymphna Cusack , 1945 single work drama
Good Houses for NT Show 1951 single work review
— Appears in: Northern Standard , 6 July vol. 6 no. 265 1951; (p. 12)

— Review of Shoulder the Sky Dymphna Cusack , 1945 single work drama
Society of Arts to Do 'Shoulder the Sky' 1951 single work column
— Appears in: Northern Standard , 1 June vol. 6 no. 260 1951; (p. 8)
From Staff-Room to Canteen Miriam Godfrey , 1951 single work review
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 12 no. 2 1951; (p. 101-102)

— Review of Three Australian Three-Act Plays Dymphna Cusack , 1950 selected work drama ; Comets Soon Pass Dymphna Cusack , 1950 single work drama ; Shoulder the Sky Dymphna Cusack , 1945 single work drama ; Morning Sacrifice Dymphna Cusack , 1940 single work drama
Good Houses for NT Show 1951 single work review
— Appears in: Northern Standard , 6 July vol. 6 no. 265 1951; (p. 12)

— Review of Shoulder the Sky Dymphna Cusack , 1945 single work drama
Devil's Make-up Man Was His Task H. N. Huffadine , 1950 single work essay
— Appears in: The News , 29 September vol. 55 no. 8470 1950; (p. 12)

— Review of Comets Soon Pass Dymphna Cusack , 1950 single work drama ; Shoulder the Sky Dymphna Cusack , 1945 single work drama ; Morning Sacrifice Dymphna Cusack , 1940 single work drama
This article contains multiple reviews.
Good Crowds See Society of Arts Best Show 1951 single work review
— Appears in: Northern Standard , 13 July vol. 6 no. 266 1951; (p. 5)

— Review of Shoulder the Sky Dymphna Cusack , 1945 single work drama
Dymphna Cusack's Plays Helen Thomson , 1998 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , April no. 32 1998; (p. 63-76)
Society of Arts to Do 'Shoulder the Sky' 1951 single work column
— Appears in: Northern Standard , 1 June vol. 6 no. 260 1951; (p. 8)
Last amended 22 Mar 2018 13:08:30
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