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y separately published work icon Breaker Morant : A Play in Two Acts single work   drama   - Two acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1979... 1979 Breaker Morant : A Play in Two Acts
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Adaptations

form y separately published work icon Breaker Morant Jonathan Hardy , David Stevens , Kenneth Ross , ( dir. Bruce Beresford ) 1980 Adelaide : South Australian Film Corporation , 1980 Z840559 1980 single work film/TV

Adapted from the play of the same title by Kenneth Ross, Breaker Morant is based on the 1901 Boer War court martial of three colonial officers in the Bushveldt Carabineers, who are sacrificed to the dictates of imperial expediency. The interweaving of courtroom drama with the re-creation of the events leading to the court martial (the supposed murder of twelve prisoners and a German missionary) is given a degree of moral complexity, but the balance of sympathies is manipulated to favour the three Australian 'irregular' soldiers. The accused (Lieutenants Harry 'Breaker' Morant, Peter Handcock, and George Witton) are defended by Major Thomas, an inexperienced Australian lawyer who struggles to have his case heard.

Notes

  • Dedication: In Memory / Les Graham
  • Study kit available.

Production Details

  • Premiere:

    First produced at the Athenaeum Theatre by the Melbourne Theatre Company, 2 February 1978.

    Notable Later Performances:

    Performed at the Seymour Centre: Reginald Theatre, 12-21 April 2012

    Produced by Sydney-based Theatre Troupe.

    Directed by Gareth Boylan.

Contents

* Contents derived from the Melbourne, Victoria,:Edward Arnold Australia , 1979 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Introduction, Mary Lord , single work criticism (p. 1-5)
Butchered to Make a Dutchman's Holidayi"In prison cell I sadly sit,", Breaker Morant , single work poetry satire war literature (p. 5)
Note: With title: The Breaker's Last Rhyme and Testament
A Note from the Playwright, Kenneth Ross , single work prose (p. 7-8)
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Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Other Formats

  • Also braille, sound recording.
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Related Works

y separately published work icon The Breaker : A Novel Kit Denton , Sydney : Angus and Robertson , 1973 Z818857 1973 single work novel historical fiction There was a Breaker Morant - he was executed at Pretoria on 27 February 1902. His crime? Wilful murder of civilians. Yet to this day his guilt remains in doubt. Kit Denton's novel, The Breaker, does more than recount the facts and mystery surrounding Morant's death sentence. Full of action and set in three continents, it covers the entire range of the Breaker's activities. We see him as a champion horseman, a likeable larrikin, a popular balladist. We see him in love and in war. Then we see him face the firing squad that will end his life. Was he a cold-blooded killer or a scapegoat? Based on a true story.
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (1)

Works about this Work

Literary and Cinemagraphic Techniques in Breaker Morant Judy MacGraw , single work criticism
Credit Where It's Due Bruce Beresford , 2012 single work correspondence
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 11-12 August 2012; (p. 2)
Lack of Straight Shooting Makes Mess of Courtroom Classic Jason Blake , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 17 April 2012; (p. 12)
— Review of Breaker Morant : A Play in Two Acts Kenneth Ross , 1979 single work drama
Soldiers on Stage Bring a Touch of Realism to Breaker Tale Adam Fulton , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10 April 2012; (p. 10)
— Review of Breaker Morant : A Play in Two Acts Kenneth Ross , 1979 single work drama
Acting in Breaker's Defence Elissa Blake , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 8 April 2012; (p. 15)
Confusing Case for Justice Peter Wilkins , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 23 March 2012; (p. 15)
— Review of Breaker Morant : A Play in Two Acts Kenneth Ross , 1979 single work drama
Would be a Very Good Play Richard Fotheringham , 1979 single work review
— Appears in: Theatre Australia , May vol. 3 no. 10 1979; (p. 27-28)
— Review of Breaker Morant : A Play in Two Acts Kenneth Ross , 1979 single work drama
Flying the Flag for a Theatrical Republic Peter Goers , 1992 single work review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 2 June 1992; (p. 11)
— Review of Breaker Morant : A Play in Two Acts Kenneth Ross , 1979 single work drama ; A Manual of Trench Warfare Clem Gorman , 1978 single work drama
Soldiers on Stage Bring a Touch of Realism to Breaker Tale Adam Fulton , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10 April 2012; (p. 10)
— Review of Breaker Morant : A Play in Two Acts Kenneth Ross , 1979 single work drama
Lack of Straight Shooting Makes Mess of Courtroom Classic Jason Blake , 2012 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 17 April 2012; (p. 12)
— Review of Breaker Morant : A Play in Two Acts Kenneth Ross , 1979 single work drama
Pardon Me for Being a Historian Craig Wilcox , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , June vol. 41 no. 2 2010; (p. 233-240) ‘What are the origins of recent calls for a retrospective pardon for Harry ‘Breaker’ Morant and the two other Australian found guilty of murder during the Boer War of 1899-1902? Who’s behind the calls, what course have they taken, and what success might they find? Whatever the calls’ result, historians should resist the underlying rejection of evidence and imagination in favour of patriotic platitudes and narrow legalism.’ (Publisher’s abstract p. 233)
Breaking Tradition: Play Gets Modern Twist Larissa Nicholson , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 22 March 2012; (p. 6) A discussion of the Everyman Theatre Production of Breaker Morant, directed by Jarrad West and produced at the Canberra Theatre in March 2012. Larissa Nicholson notes that Kenneth Ross has recently written some extra pages for the play, but they were received too late to be incorporated into the Everyman production.
Acting in Breaker's Defence Elissa Blake , 2012 single work column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 8 April 2012; (p. 15)
Credit Where It's Due Bruce Beresford , 2012 single work correspondence
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 11-12 August 2012; (p. 2)
'A Man Never Knows His Luck in South Africa' : Some Australian Literary Myths from the Boer War Shirley Walker , 1996 single work biography
— Appears in: Kunapipi , [Double Issue] vol. 18 no. 2-3 1996; (p. 15-26)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (11)
Last amended 9 Dec 2015 13:31:43
Subjects:
Settings:
  • c
    South Africa,
    c
    Southern Africa, Africa,
  • 1890s
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