AustLit
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.
Latest Issues
Notes
-
Originally commissioned by Aubrey Mellor and John Bell for the Nimrod Theatre in the mid-1980s, but the Nimrod company folded before a production could take place.
-
Dedication: To my heart Anna Russell In memory of my friend Fay Mokotow
Production Details
-
First produced by the State Theatre Co., Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, 1 March 1986. Season directed by Neil Armfield.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Dreams in an Empty City : A Strikingly Prescient Morality Tale about Banking
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 12 July 2018;'There is no single event foreshadowing the darker mood of the 1980s, as the election of the Whitlam Labor government presaged the expansive atmosphere of the 1970s. Margaret Thatcher, “the Iron Lady”, became UK Prime Minister in 1979. The neo-conservative Ronald Reagan was elected US President in 1981. Thereafter came a firestorm of social and economic changes: the deregulation of financial markets; the rise of Islamic fundamentalism; the dismantling of trade barriers; the collapse of Eastern bloc communism; the re-opening of China to the West; Fukuyama’s End of History.'
-
Dreams of Australia Sewell
2014
single work
essay
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 74 no. 3 2014; (p. 15-20) 'My play, Dreams in an Empty City, a story set in the murderously ruthless world of Australian property finance, was first produced in 1986, just a few months before the international crash of 1987, which was, at that point, the greatest market crash since 1929. And, according to the standard economic theory still taught in schools, impossible.' (15) -
Stephen Sewell and the State of the Nation
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Radical Visions 1968-2008 : The Impact of the Sixties on Australian Drama 2011; (p. 239-266) -
Dark Heart Beats in the Emerald City
2005
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 29 September 2005; (p. 13) Twenty years after being written, Stephen Sewell's Dreams in an Empty City receives its first Sydney production by the graduating class of the National Institute of Dramatic Art. -
Re-Reading Stephen Sewell's Traitors : Ideology and Gender in 'the Australian Play'
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Modern Drama , Spring vol. 48 no. 1 2005; (p. 108-117)
-
Untitled
1986
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian , 3 March 1986; (p. 11)
— Review of Dreams in an Empty City 1986 single work drama -
Sewell Take the Attack to Britain
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Magazine , 17-18 September 1988; (p. 14)
— Review of Dreams in an Empty City 1986 single work drama -
Untitled
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian , 10 September 1988;
— Review of Dreams in an Empty City 1986 single work drama -
Untitled
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: Independent , 14 September 1988;
— Review of Dreams in an Empty City 1986 single work drama -
Untitled
1988
single work
review
— Appears in: Financial Times , 10 September 1988;
— Review of Dreams in an Empty City 1986 single work drama -
Re-Reading Stephen Sewell's Traitors : Ideology and Gender in 'the Australian Play'
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Modern Drama , Spring vol. 48 no. 1 2005; (p. 108-117) -
Dark Heart Beats in the Emerald City
2005
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 29 September 2005; (p. 13) Twenty years after being written, Stephen Sewell's Dreams in an Empty City receives its first Sydney production by the graduating class of the National Institute of Dramatic Art. -
Views of the Harbour : The Empty City in Contemporary Australian Drama
1992
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Populous Places : Australian Cities and Towns 1992; (p. 48-57) -
Stephen Sewell and the State of the Nation
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Radical Visions 1968-2008 : The Impact of the Sixties on Australian Drama 2011; (p. 239-266) -
Breaking Through With Hate
1988
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Age , 24 December 1988; (p. 9)
Last amended 6 Jan 2009 08:42:46
Settings:
- Sydney, New South Wales,
Export this record