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y separately published work icon State of Shock single work   drama   - Two acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1986... 1986 State of Shock
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Notes

  • Based on the life and murder trial of Alwyn Peter, an Aboriginal man who was released on parole after court consideration of his experiences at the hands of white law and welfare.

  • Dedication: Dedicated to the memory of Deidre Golbert.

  • Epigraph:
    In Queensland there have been created communities in which the incidence of homicide and very serious assaults is among the highest recorded and published in the world. To be a member of such a community one does not have to be mad or bad. One only has to be Aboriginal.
    Defence lawyer Des Sturges, in his opening address in the trial of Alwyn Peter, 1982.

    Our Aborigines live like kings. They are on clover.
    Queensland Premier, Sir Joh Petersen, quoted in the press the same month.

  • In 1989, documentary film-maker David Bradbury produced a documentary, also called State of Shock, about Alwyn Peter's trial and conviction, which included footage of the stage play in performance. It is not an adaptation of the play.

Production Details

  • First presented as a staged reading at the Australian National Playwrights Conference, Canberra, May 1984. A revised version for two actors was first produced at the Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney, 27 August 1986. Also produced by the Playbox Theatre Co., St Martin's Theatre, Melbourne, 1986. Radio adaptation 1991. Also produced by the Riverina Theatre Company in Wagga Wagga, NSW, February 1999 and at the Stables Theatre, Sydney, June 1999.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Currency Press ; Playbox Theatre , 1986 .
      Extent: 53p.
      Description: illus., ports.
      ISBN: 0868191507
      Series: Current Theatre Series Currency Press (publisher), 1983- series - publisher 'Current Theatre Series consists of Australian plays published with the program inserted and sold during theatre seasons. The aim of the series is to promote and encourage new dramatic writing and make it accessible to theatregoers and the public. The text is presented at the first day of rehearsal and does not contain changes which the author may choose to make after the play has commenced its present season - these will be incorporated into any new edition published by Currency.' Currency Press.
    • Sydney, New South Wales,: Currency Press , 2000 .
      Extent: x, 50 p.p.
      Edition info: Revised edition.
      Description: illus.
      ISBN: 0868196193
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.
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Related Works

State of Shock Tony Strachan , 1998 extract drama (State of Shock)
— Appears in: The Actor's Audition Manual 1998; (p. 169-171) The Actor's Audition Manual 1998; (p. 250-252)
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (1)

Works about this Work

Marginalising the Aboriginal : The White System and the Undoing of the Aboriginal in Fountains Beyond and State of Shock Khairul Chowdhury , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Empowering and Disempowering Indigenes : Staging Australian Aboriginal Experience 2010; (p. 269-278)
Untitled David Headon , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , [Double Issue] no. 12-13 1988; (p. 181-185)
— Review of God's Best Country Gordon Francis , 1987 single work drama ; State of Shock Tony Strachan , 1986 single work drama
A Black Production by a White Writer Jeremy Eccles , 1986 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Age , 9 September 1986; (p. 14)
A Black Production by a White Writer Jeremy Eccles , 1986 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 September 1986;
— Review of State of Shock Tony Strachan , 1986 single work drama
Untitled David Headon , 1988 single work review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , [Double Issue] no. 12-13 1988; (p. 181-185)
— Review of God's Best Country Gordon Francis , 1987 single work drama ; State of Shock Tony Strachan , 1986 single work drama
A Black Production by a White Writer Jeremy Eccles , 1986 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 September 1986;
— Review of State of Shock Tony Strachan , 1986 single work drama
Marginalising the Aboriginal : The White System and the Undoing of the Aboriginal in Fountains Beyond and State of Shock Khairul Chowdhury , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: Empowering and Disempowering Indigenes : Staging Australian Aboriginal Experience 2010; (p. 269-278)
A Black Production by a White Writer Jeremy Eccles , 1986 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Age , 9 September 1986; (p. 14)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (4)
Last amended 23 Aug 2017 11:46:10
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