y separately published work icon Five Proven One-Act Plays selected work   drama  
Issue Details: First known date: 1948... 1948 Five Proven One-Act Plays
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Notes

  • Dedication: To the memory of "Pakie" Macdougall to whose kindly encouragement these plays owe their beginning
  • None of these plays may be performed in public without permission in writing first being obtained-for performance in New South Wales or Queensland, from Will Andrade, 173 Pitt Street, Sydney; in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia or Tasmania, from Miss M.F. Miller, Box 707F, G.P.O., Melbourne, to either of whom a fee of 10/6 per performance must be remitted.(Note after t.p. and dedication)
  • Introduction by George Mackaness ....this assemblage of five "proven" plays from the pen of Lionel Shave is important dramatically, for it now makes available in printed form for the first time some of the most outstanding Australian dramatic successes of the last two decades....Lionel Shave owes his success, apart, of course, from his natural genius, to the pains he has taken with plot construction, to his realism in the treatment of character and to the skill he shows in the use of dialogue....In the present volume will be found only five of the twenty odd plays of Lionel Shave. In all he has written four of full length. Of the one-acters, one, That's Murder, has recently been pronounced as "perhaps the most popular short play ever written by an Australian."...' G.M.(i-ii).
  • E. Morris Miller and Frederick T. Macartney's Australian Literature : A Bibliography to 1938 Extended to 1950 (1956): 424 comments: 'These one-act plays comprise "A Sirius Cove" in which a woman's plans for her daughter's marriage are defeated by a hardly credible ruse on the part of the lover whom the latter prefers; "Red and Gold", with its action in the days of the gold-diggings and bushrangers; "That's Murder: A Mystery Comedy"; "The Resignation of Mr. Bagworth", with a bank official's settled habits prevailing over a chance of betterment; and "Twelve Moon's Cold", proceeding from cross-purposes connected with recovery of a thief's booty after he is released from jail. The interest in each instance is sustained with easy animation.'

Contents

* Contents derived from the Sydney, New South Wales,:Australasian Publishing Co. , 1948 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
A Sirius Cove, Lionel Shave , single work drama
The Campbell Howard Annotated Index of Australian Plays 1920-1955 ed. Jack Bedson and Julian Croft (1993):335-336 comments 'A mystery comedy. An incredible impersonation by the true lover shocks the moneyed 'desirable' eligible into breaking off with the heroine and all live happily ever after.' The play is set in 'A lounge-vestibule in Mrs. Pilcarrow-browne's bellevue Hill home. The present.'
(p. 1-21)
Red and Gold, Lionel Shave , single work drama
The Campbell Howard Annotated Index of Australian Plays 1920-1955 ed. Jack Bedson and Julian Croft (1993): 334-335 comments: 'The play is set in the interior of a bush shanty on the road to the diggings. 1865.' Its synopsis is as follows: 'The "new chum" becomes demented in the loneliness of the bush.' and a final comment: 'A cleverly woven plot - some very good twists and denouement.'
(p. 23-47)
That's Murder : A Mystery Comedy in One Act, Lionel Shave , single work drama
The Campbell Howard Annotated Index of Australian Plays 1920-1955 ed. Jack Bedson and Julian Croft (1993): 336 comments:'A murder has been committed, or is it suicide? If it is murder, is it the work of the wife, the mistress or the maid?'
(p. 49-76)
The Resignation of Mr. Bagsworth, Lionel Shave , single work drama
The Campbell Howard Annotated Index of Australian Plays 1920-1955 ed. Jack Bedson and Julian Croft (1993): 335 comments: 'A comedy. The theme is how much is man a creature of habit.' The play is set in a cafe.
(p. 77-97)
Twelve Moons Cold, Lionel Shave , single work drama crime
The Campbell Howard Annotated Index of Australian Plays 1920-1955 ed. Jack Bedson and Julian Croft (1993): 337 comments: 'A double double-cross by underworld characters.' The play has 'A good plot well handled.'
(p. 99-117)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

Recent Books; Digest of the Month's Reading 1948 single work review
— Appears in: The Australasian Book News and Literary Journal , April vol. 2 no. 10 1948; (p. 519-521, 523-531)

— Review of Brimming Billabongs : The Life Story of an Australian Aboriginal W. E. Harney , 1947 single work single work children's fiction ; Harvest of Mischief D. W. Burbidge , 1947 single work novel ; Five Proven One-Act Plays Lionel Shave , 1948 selected work drama ; Smiley Gets a Gun : A Novel Moore Raymond , 1947 single work children's fiction ; He Lived in My Shoes : An Autobiography of My Second Self Leslie Greener , 1948 single work autobiography ; High-Ho to London : Incidents and Interviews on a Leisurely Journey by Air from Australia to Britain Frank Clune , 1949 single work biography ; Forever to Remain E. V. Timms , 1948 single work novel
A Bundle of Plays 1948 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 15 September vol. 69 no. 3579 1948; (p. 2)

— Review of Five Proven One-Act Plays Lionel Shave , 1948 selected work drama
Recent Books; Digest of the Month's Reading 1948 single work review
— Appears in: The Australasian Book News and Literary Journal , April vol. 2 no. 10 1948; (p. 519-521, 523-531)

— Review of Brimming Billabongs : The Life Story of an Australian Aboriginal W. E. Harney , 1947 single work single work children's fiction ; Harvest of Mischief D. W. Burbidge , 1947 single work novel ; Five Proven One-Act Plays Lionel Shave , 1948 selected work drama ; Smiley Gets a Gun : A Novel Moore Raymond , 1947 single work children's fiction ; He Lived in My Shoes : An Autobiography of My Second Self Leslie Greener , 1948 single work autobiography ; High-Ho to London : Incidents and Interviews on a Leisurely Journey by Air from Australia to Britain Frank Clune , 1949 single work biography ; Forever to Remain E. V. Timms , 1948 single work novel
A Bundle of Plays 1948 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 15 September vol. 69 no. 3579 1948; (p. 2)

— Review of Five Proven One-Act Plays Lionel Shave , 1948 selected work drama
Last amended 30 Aug 2007 11:02:39
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