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Oriel Gray's Sur Le Pont is a one-act play set in the wardrobe room of the Talma Theatre in the small French provincial town of Arles in June 1944. The narrative begins shortly after an allied bombing raid has destroyed the armament compound hidden by the German military beneath the town's railway bridge.
The members of the small theatre company, which is currently presenting a revue, become aware that one of them is now passing information to the military police in order to propel his career opportunities elsewhere. The supposed traitor is identified as Charles Durier, with Paul Lanyon appearing to be concerned about Durier's activities. He convinces Annette, who is romantically involved with Durier, to keep a watch on him. The tables are turned at the end of the play with the real traitor being exposed and dealt with. The plays reads well with good pace and interesting characters who have depth.
Characters
EMILIE wardrobe mistress
JULIE one half of the Bellini Sisters act - not actually sisters
FIFINE the other Bellini Sister
BARRON stage manager
PAUL LANYON actor/entertainer
CHARLES DURIER actor/entertainer
ALBERT Lanyon's onstage partner
ANNETTE actress/entertainer
Notes
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The title refers to a song of the same name.
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'Oriel Gray set her Sur Le Pont in the wardrobe room of the Talma Theatre in Arles, in occupied France:
Fifine (empty-headed revue artist): There’s still some life in Paris. People still go to nightclubs and women wear decent dresses, and men send you flowers and perfume in black glass bottles with stoppers this long! A girl can still make something of herself in Paris, instead of trailing round the countryside, being half a sister act. I don’t know where you’d be in Paris, Emilie, but I’d get along all right.
Emilie (wardrobe mistress): You would. You wouldn’t mind seeing French boys herded on trains to work in Germany – you wouldn’t mind seeing French women queuing up for bread – you’d step off the footpath when the Germans passed you, and speak nicely if they spoke to you first. Oh, you’d get along all right!
Source : http://newtheatrehistory.org.au/wiki/index.php/The_1940s_-_War
Affiliation Notes
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Selected for the Australian Drama Archive for digitisation and publication in 2017.
Production Details
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1944 : Performed in New Zealand by Unity Theatre, Wellington with the assistance of Oriel and John Gray (A Popular Vision : The Arts and the Left in New Zealand 1930-1950)
1945: New Theatre, Sydney; 11 August [premiere]
- Director Jerold Wells
- Sur Le Pont was presented as part of an evening on one-act plays. The other works staged were: Geneva (Act I) by Bernard Shaw, and The Valiant by Holworthy Hall and Robert Middlemass.
1959: Independent Theatre, Sydney; 21 December
- Producer Edward Hepple
- Cast incl. Janice Copland, Sheila Kennelly
- Presented as part of a musical theatre revue.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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At Sydney Theatres "Sur Le Pont"
i
"Thirty-four music hall items have been polished into a revue now being staged at the Independent Theatre for a season of Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.",
1960
single work
review
— Appears in: Le Courrier Australien , 1 January 1960; (p. 5)
— Review of Sur Le Pont 1945 single work drama
-
At Sydney Theatres "Sur Le Pont"
i
"Thirty-four music hall items have been polished into a revue now being staged at the Independent Theatre for a season of Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.",
1960
single work
review
— Appears in: Le Courrier Australien , 1 January 1960; (p. 5)
— Review of Sur Le Pont 1945 single work drama
-
Arles,
cFrance,cWestern Europe, Europe,
- 1944
