image of person or book cover 8758928403595161767.jpg
Brisbane Courier, 4 July 1931, p.2
y separately published work icon In Beauty It Is Finished : A Play in Three Acts single work   drama   - Three acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1931... 1931 In Beauty It Is Finished : A Play in Three Acts
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Set on an island off the coast of Queensland, the play deals with the refusal of a lighthouse keeper to recognise the effect that the geographic and social isolation is having on his family.

Notes

  • Won the Brisbane Repertory Society Competition, 1931.
  • The play generated a small flurry of controversy on production. Advertisements were labelled 'This Play is not suitable for children' (see image), and subsequent news reports questioned its fitness for production. The play was defended by George Landen Dann; J.J. Stable, one of the judges for the competition it had won; and Barbara Sisley, producer.

Production Details

  • First performed by the Brisbane Repertory Theatre, at Her Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane, 16 July 1931.

    Director: Barbara Sisley.

    Cast including Dulcie Scott, Mrs P.J. Symes, Hilda Hastle, Edith Rowett, Cecil R. Carson, and Royston Marcus.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

      1931 .
      (Manuscript) assertion
      Series: The Hanger Collection of Australian Playscripts series - publisher

      A collection in the Fryer Library at The University of Queensland of manuscript film and play scripts.

      Holdings

      Held at: University of New England Dixson Library
      Location: Campbell Howard Collection
      Local Id: 93

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Queensland University of Queensland Library Fryer Library
      Location: The Hanger Collection of Australian Playscripts
      Local Id: H0392
    • Fortitude Valley, Fortitude Valley - New Farm area, Brisbane - North East, Brisbane, Queensland,: Playlab , 2013 .
      image of person or book cover 3860261354185024790.jpg
      Extent: 1vp.
      Note/s:
      • Available as an PDF download.
      Series: y separately published work icon Playlab New Vintage Playlab (publisher), Fortitude Valley : Playlab , 2013- 16932703 2013 series - publisher drama
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

Questions for George Susan Davis , 2015 single work drama
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , April no. 29 2015; 'What lies at the heart of our creative and research journeys? Are we always seeking to understand something about ourselves no matter what the subject? What makes writing and the creative journey worthwhile? Is it acknowledgement in our own lifetime or a belief in leaving some form of literary legacy? This script ponders such questions as the researcher explores, in creative form, her journey to answer questions about the life of one of Queensland’s early playwrights, George Landen Dann who came to prominence in 1931 when he won the Brisbane Repertory Theatre playwriting competition with the play In Beauty it is Finished. Dann later became one of Australia’s leading playwrights. Critics, publishers and directors (Brisbane, 1977; McCallum, 2009, Rees, 1973; Rowbotham, 1962) have long argued that Dann’s work deserves greater recognition. This script examines events from the time of a 1930s scandal, making links to events from his final years and the significance of the work of an Honours student who wrote her thesis about him. The researcher’s own questioning frames the investigation, creating a Readers Theatre style of documentary script drawing on evidence from interviews, newspaper clippings, letters and other documents in the Fryer Library collection at the University of Queensland. ' (Publication abstract)
An Australian Strindberg Katharine Brisbane , 1977 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 30 April vol. 99 no. 5055 1977; (p. 65-66)
— Review of In Beauty It Is Finished : A Play in Three Acts George Landen Dann , 1931 single work drama
3 Queensland Plays Richard Fotheringham , 1977 single work review
— Appears in: Theatre Australia , June vol. 2 no. 2 1977; (p. 48-49)
— Review of In Beauty It Is Finished : A Play in Three Acts George Landen Dann , 1931 single work drama ; Treadmill Lorna Bol , 1977 single work drama ; The Kite Jill Shearer , 1977 single work drama ; The Boat Jill Shearer , 1977 single work drama ; Nocturne Jill Shearer , 1977 single work drama
Why Prize Play Was Cut 1931 single work column
— Appears in: The Telegraph , 14 July 1931; (p. 1)
3 Queensland Plays Richard Fotheringham , 1977 single work review
— Appears in: Theatre Australia , June vol. 2 no. 2 1977; (p. 48-49)
— Review of In Beauty It Is Finished : A Play in Three Acts George Landen Dann , 1931 single work drama ; Treadmill Lorna Bol , 1977 single work drama ; The Kite Jill Shearer , 1977 single work drama ; The Boat Jill Shearer , 1977 single work drama ; Nocturne Jill Shearer , 1977 single work drama
An Australian Strindberg Katharine Brisbane , 1977 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 30 April vol. 99 no. 5055 1977; (p. 65-66)
— Review of In Beauty It Is Finished : A Play in Three Acts George Landen Dann , 1931 single work drama
Questions for George Susan Davis , 2015 single work drama
— Appears in: TEXT Special Issue Website Series , April no. 29 2015; 'What lies at the heart of our creative and research journeys? Are we always seeking to understand something about ourselves no matter what the subject? What makes writing and the creative journey worthwhile? Is it acknowledgement in our own lifetime or a belief in leaving some form of literary legacy? This script ponders such questions as the researcher explores, in creative form, her journey to answer questions about the life of one of Queensland’s early playwrights, George Landen Dann who came to prominence in 1931 when he won the Brisbane Repertory Theatre playwriting competition with the play In Beauty it is Finished. Dann later became one of Australia’s leading playwrights. Critics, publishers and directors (Brisbane, 1977; McCallum, 2009, Rees, 1973; Rowbotham, 1962) have long argued that Dann’s work deserves greater recognition. This script examines events from the time of a 1930s scandal, making links to events from his final years and the significance of the work of an Honours student who wrote her thesis about him. The researcher’s own questioning frames the investigation, creating a Readers Theatre style of documentary script drawing on evidence from interviews, newspaper clippings, letters and other documents in the Fryer Library collection at the University of Queensland. ' (Publication abstract)
Why Prize Play Was Cut 1931 single work column
— Appears in: The Telegraph , 14 July 1931; (p. 1)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (4)
Last amended 29 Aug 2022 16:14:41
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