Through precise staging and performance styles, contemporary Australian theatre combines the elements of drama as well as the conventions and traditions of many theatre movements to illustrate the struggles of the characters in an agreeable and interesting way for both the audience and performers.…
The sewer scene in the musical drama Guys and Dolls highlights many directorial decisions and shows many of the different aspects working together. We arrive upon this scene viewing a crap game taking place in a remarkably clean sewer, dimly lit with a cat walk overhead and the projection of gears on the back wall. The atmosphere portrays the theme of dirty men playing clean. The stylized suits the men wear show the world in which they live Broadway! The sharp lines, neutral colors with accents that pop, and grab your attention like the streets above.…
In the context of 1980’s, when the play was performed, Australians were beginning to celebrate multiculturalism and so Davis encourages the audience to recognise the hypocritical…
I was encouraged to respond to Aboriginal people in a positive way. By viewing Davis’ play I am more understanding of Aborigines and sympathetic towards them as the drama provided me with the opportunity to recognize a realistic portrayal of the daily lives and hardships of these people, especially the older generations of indigenous Australians. By comparing how I live to how the characters in the play, I realise I am extremely fortunate; such necessities as soap that I take for granted, they lived without, and ironically their ‘protectors’ saw this item as a luxury, yet denounced them based on an absence of cleanliness. I, as the audience, was encouraged to sympathise with the Aboriginal characters, and embrace a negative attitude towards characters such as Neville and the Sergeant. These two white Australian characters along with a multitude of others treated the Aboriginals with very little or no respect. This emphasizes the ignorance of white Australians. “The native’s entrance is around the back” this quote demonstrates the key issue of racism Davis raised in ‘No Sugar’. ‘No Sugar’ is a play that promotes many issues related to the treatment of Aborigines during the Depression but which also still exists in today’s society. By viewing plays such as ‘No Sugar’,…
is little red riding hood. Although in the childlike adaption it results a happier ending, itʼs the…
Australian plays make any normal situation intriguing and unique while exposing Australia’s cultural, social, political and personal issues and concerns. This influences the way in which audiences understand and respond to the subliminal messages that different Australian practitioners use. The playwrights of both Ruby Moon By Mat Cameron and Stolen By Jane Harrison use dramatic forms, performance styles and techniques to establish strong personal and social tensions between characters in both plays. Social issues are anything that effects a large part of society for example, the stolen generation, suburban paranoia, discrimination ect where as personal issues refer to issues that affect an individual in relation to things like grief, loss and identity.…
The play ‘Cosi’ composed by Louis Nowra and set in Melbourne during the early 1970’s allows the audience to reflect on what it mean to be an Australian in the era and in modern times. Through the eyes of the protagonist, Lewis and his conflicting relationships with the mental patients he meets while directing the play ‘Cosi Fan Tutte’ and his own personal relationships, the audience examines the notion of inner growth in young people as they navigate their way into adulthood. The audience is also forced to look at the opposing views of love and fidelity as represented by Lewis and the minor characters. Through the use of the backdrop of the Vietnam Way and the turmoil of 1970’s, the audience is also asked to reflect on Australia’s changing identity through the treatment of the mentally ill and the tension caused by the war in Vietnam. This is most clearly highlighted through symbolic use of lighting and set design and emotive language.…
Ibsen ideas about gender and societal roles is Ibsen concerns about the position of the women's not society is brought to life in the story A Doll House. He believed that women had a right to develop their own individual but in reality their role was often self sacrificial. Women was not treated as men,either in relation to their husband or society. Women could not conduct business or control their own money they needed the authorization of the men who owned them husband, brother. Son, or father. Women wasn't even educated either that's why men think they are better than women that's why they have so much control over them. Torvalds defines his life of what society finds acceptable and respectable. Krogstad life has been affected by society…
A Doll’s House consists of two examples of foiling. One being Nora Helmer to Christine Linde. At the start of the novel it seems that Nora has it all, a loving and wealthy husband, a few children, and she doesn’t have to work. All she has is some debt that she pays off with her allowance. Unlike Nora, Christine has had a life of hardship. She works for a living and has no family because she is alone. By the end of the novel, it seems as if the two have switched places. Nora has become alone and deserts her family. While Christine has discovered her love with Krogstad, and hopes for a happy family. But in what ways do Nora and Christine differ? They differ simply because they’re opposites of eachother. Ways Nora and Christine differ are Christine has to grind her life out and Nora lives simply, Nora is wealthy and Christine lives on low-income; lastly Christine is content…
A sense of belonging may be shaped by various factors including being intrinsically connected to place; particularly places of birth, childhood or religious and spiritual centres. Relationships and allegiances with the land and with peers within can also directly and indirectly influence an individual’s feeling of acceptance and identity as within varied contexts; personal experience can trigger a transformation of outlook, self-esteem and ideas linked to personal identity. Even within a significant place; barriers arise from indifference and prejudice. Jane Harrison’s play Rainbow’s End explores how minority groups struggle to find a strong sense of connection in a world full of racial prejudice and posits the notion that individuals or groups must overcome significant barriers if they are to develop a positive sense of belonging. Likewise; “I’ve Been Moved”, written by Kev Carmody presents the aboriginal relationship with nature and a specific sense of identity relating to places.…
An ideal marriage consists of communication and honesty, but in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen the Helmer marriage is quite the opposite. At the beginning of the play, Nora conformed to obeying her husband and she was naïve in hoping that her husband would sacrifice his reputation for her. She even forged a check to borrow money from the bank to help Helmer with his illness. She thought that this would be a good way to show her love and ability. Their weak marriage later revealed that Helmer never really understood her and he was ashamed that she had concealed this secret. This event awakened Nora’s true personality and she finally realized that their marriage was fake and weak. In the play A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen uses symbolism to portray how Nora is forced by societal norms to mask her true personality through her lies and secrecy, which shows her transition into an independent woman, further emphasising that self knowledge is needed for an authentic life.…
Belonging can enrich our identity and relationships, and can lead to acceptance and understanding. This essay will be comparing and contrasting the ways the concept of Belonging is represented in the play, Rainbow’s End, by Jane Harrison as well as the Playstation 1 videogame Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, developed by Oddworld Inhabitants. Rainbow’s End is a portrayal of the harsh realities of life as Indigenous people in the 1950’s. Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee demonstrates the cruel treatment of Abe and his buddies, the Mudukons, by the Glukkons and Sligs that have enslaved them and now want to slaughter them for profits-sake. Now it is up to Abe to save all his friends and himself. What promotes belonging is a willingness to be accepting of others.…
And anyway, I’m freeing you. From everything. Complete freedom on both sides. See here’s your ring. Give me mine (The Norton Anthology of Drama, 247). The fact that Nora has the audacity to walk out on her children and husband even though it goes against nineteenth century views of women it shows the audience how Nora is a strong, powerful woman who does not need a husband to control her.…
An essential element of belonging is one’s identity as it provides an understanding of the group to which one belongs. However, it is often difficult to retain one’s individuality while belonging to a particular community. This difficulty is evident in Sara Gavron’s film “Brick Lane” and Shaun Tan’s “Stick Figures” (Tales From Outer Suburbia), where both composer’s highlight the loss of individuality as a result of group conformation. In contrast, William Shakespeare’s play “As You Like It” demonstrates the converse as it highlights that it is possible to balance belonging to group while keeping one’s unique identity. As a result, by comparing the exploration of all three composers, a responder can enhance their understanding of the influences that affect one’s sense of belonging and identity.…
On Sunday, April 9, I attended a production of A Heroine Free Summer, written by Dr. Janet Lowery. This production was held at Spring Street Studios, and directed by Chesley Krohn of Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company. Set at a lake house in upstate New York, this play explores what happens when a family of four sisters becomes divided - the result of two teenage sons confessing to drug use. The piece explores ideas of drug addiction, family history, and determining where your allegiances lie. Although I would have liked to have seen more vocal control from one of the actors, I felt that this piece overall had strong acting, well conceived scenic design, and well thought out costuming choices.…