Contemporary Australian Drama

In the late 1960s, new theatre companies who had a passion for Australianess, were created in opposition to stuffy, mostly imported theatre of no relevance to themselves. This work gives insights on how the new drama explored Australian themes and issues, in a theatre where the playwright had pride of place.

Historical perspectives - Critical perspectives.

Playing Australia explores the insights and challenges that Australian theatre can offer the international theatre community. Collectively, the essays in this book ask what Australian drama is, has been, and might be, both to Australians and non-Australians, when it is performed in national and international arenas. Playing Australia ranges widely in its discussions and includes analysis of Australian practitioners playing away from home; playing with Australian stereotypes; and the relationship between play, culture, politics and national identity. Topics addressed in this diverse collection include: whiteness, otherness and negotiations of Aboriginal and Asian identities; Australian school and college drama; the discourse of Australian professional theatre magazines: Aboriginal Shakespeare; Australian drama and Australian cricket; the marketing of Australianness in Germany; the international successes of Tap Dogs and Cloudstreet. New histories of Australian theatre are offered and practitioners whose careers are reconsidered in detail include high wire-walker Ella Zuila, playwright May Holt, suffrage worker and playwright Inez Bensusan, classicist Gilbert Murray, and commercial playwright Haddon Chambers. With contributions from authors as diverse as Guardian theatre critic Michael Billington and leading post-colonial critic Helen Gilbert, and interview discussion with Cate Blanchett and Tap Dogs producer Wayne Harrison, Playing Australia seeks to pay tribute to the complexities of Australian theatre experiences, to reassess Australian theatre as a significant force in the international arena and to challenge traditional thinking on what Australian theatre can be.

SIGHTLINES explores Australian drama for its complex negotiations of race, gender, and postcolonialism. Drama scholar Helen Gilbert discusses an exciting variety of plays. Although focused mainly on performance, her insistent interest in historical and political contexts also speaks to the broader concerns of cultural studies. 23 illustrations.

Contemporary Australian Playwriting provides a thorough and accessible overview of the diverse and exciting new directions that Australian Playwriting is taking in the twenty-first century. In 2007, the most produced playwright on the Australian mainstage was William Shakespeare. In 2019, the most produced playwright on the Australian mainstage was Nakkiah Lui, a Gamilaroi and Torres Strait Islander woman. This book explores what has happened both on stage and off to generate this remarkable change. As writers of colour, queer writers, and gender diverse writers are produced on the mainstage in larger numbers, they bring new critical directions to the twenty-first century Australian stage. At a politically turbulent time when national identity is fractured, this book examines the ways in which Australia’s leading playwrights have interrogated, problematised, and tried to make sense of the nation. Tracing contemporary trends, the book takes a thematic approach to the re-evaluation of the nation that is dramatized in key Australian plays. Each chapter is accompanied by a duologue between two of the playwrights whose work has been analysed, to provide a dual perspective of theory and practice.

Analyses major playwrights of this century studying theme, structure and style - Aboriginal drama - Vance Palmer - Sumner Locke Elliott - Douglas Stewart - Patrick White - Thomas Keneally - David Williamson - Michael Gow.

Saturday night, small town Wales, one pub, one party and three lads stuck with their school reputations - the gimp, the geek and the bully. Their dream - to get the hell out Dead White Males: "Triumphant...The neatly lined up ducks of academic absolutism are ruthlessly, and hilariously, assassinated" - Sydney Morning Herald; "Swain is a wonderful creation" - Guardian The 7 Stages of Grieving: "A subtle and complex invitation to experience something of the depth of Aboriginal grieving" - Melbourne Age. Hotel Sorrento: "Has a moody, evocative, literary sweep and scope to it" - Sydney Morning Herald Two: In 1948, in a German town, Anna comes to Rabbi Chaim Levi for Hebrew lessons. As the two study the language, their stories are gradually revealed, raising fundamental moral questions as they try to reconcile their tormented pasts and accept and renew their lives. The Popular Mechanicals: "One of the most rollickingly entertaining nights in the theatre" (Sydney Morning Herald)

Springboards: Australian Drama 2, provides specialist Drama and generalist English teachers with a blend of theory and practice for their secondary school Drama, Theatre and English courses. It gives students from middle to senior secondary the opportunity to develop skills in drama from a number of key perspectives. Features 'The student as director' outlines a practical approach through the use of the elements of drama. 'The student as dramaturg' delineates a theatrical approach to the analysis of text in preparation for production through research questions and relevant examples 'The student as critic' provides questions that form a frame of reference to guide student analysis and appreciation of all elements of a production Workshop activities for individuals and groups cover the key dimensions of Forming, Presenting and Responding Excerpts from 21 contemporary Australian plays, with a range of themes and styles, have been chosen for their relevance and suitability for the classroom Interviews with practitioners such as David Williamson and Robyn Nevin provide industry links Review and analysis of contemporary Australian drama lends to real-world focus The practical, student-friendly approach allows students to apply theory to practice A glossary explains key terms and unfamiliar concepts

Infocus Article - English Away deals with the transformations of people and their attitudes towards life and death. This detailed examination of the play looks at its structure, characterisation, and the use of naturalistic dialogue in contrast with its theatrical settings. pp. 54-64 Subjects: the journey (area of study).