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'Australia in 50 Plays is Julian Meyrick‘s lively and accessible account of the remarkable relationship between our national drama and our national life, examining fifty outstanding plays of diverse content and style that have appeared in the 120 years since Federation.
'Energetic, entertaining and original, Meyrick shows the key contribution drama has made to the development of modern Australia through its role in the major issues of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: the impact of two world wars, the ravages of the Great Depression, the changing role of women, the gradual acknowledgement of First Nation’s culture, the social liberation of the 1970s, and the economic rationalism of the 1990s.
'It argues for an expansive idea of ‘nationhood’ as a key driver of debate in the political, social and cultural challenges that face contemporary Australia, while exploring the surprising links between our drama, our history and our collective life.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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(Review) Australia in 50 Plays
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 81 2022; (p. 313-319)
— Review of Australia in 50 Plays 2022 multi chapter work criticism 'Julian Meyrick’s Australia in 50 Plays surveys Australian drama from 1901 to 2020. With Federation and the destabilising Covid-19 years as bookends, Meyrick sets out to describe how plays contribute to ‘nationhood’. He explains, ‘The problem of picking plays from the 40 years after Federation is a problem of discovery. The problem of picking them from the last 40 years is a problem of choice’ (16–17). The book successfully skirts its curatorial challenge, taking a position as a ‘history of the nation seen through the lens of some of its plays’ (17). Inviting readers to engage on these terms, Meyrick calls for a renovation of nationhood as distinct from a deadly nationalism.'(Introduction)
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Nationhood on Stage : Reassessing the Australian Theatrical Repertoire
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 443 2022; (p. 58-59)
— Review of Australia in 50 Plays 2022 multi chapter work criticismFor at least the first half of the twentieth century, Australian playwrights were not held in high regard by their compatriots. Popular opinion was summed up by fictional theatre manager M.J. Field in Frank A. Russell’s novel The Ashes of Achievement (1920):
‘I’ve got a play,’ commenced Philip, plunging.
Field jumped from his chair, hands spread out in defence.
‘Help!’ he yelped. ‘Anything but that. Not a bloody play, I ask you.’
‘What are you frightened of?’ he asked, when Field had resumed his seat.
‘I’ll tell you, Lee, on the understanding it goes no further. Australians can’t write plays; there you have it in a nutshell.’ (Introduction)
-
Nationhood on Stage : Reassessing the Australian Theatrical Repertoire
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 443 2022; (p. 58-59)
— Review of Australia in 50 Plays 2022 multi chapter work criticismFor at least the first half of the twentieth century, Australian playwrights were not held in high regard by their compatriots. Popular opinion was summed up by fictional theatre manager M.J. Field in Frank A. Russell’s novel The Ashes of Achievement (1920):
‘I’ve got a play,’ commenced Philip, plunging.
Field jumped from his chair, hands spread out in defence.
‘Help!’ he yelped. ‘Anything but that. Not a bloody play, I ask you.’
‘What are you frightened of?’ he asked, when Field had resumed his seat.
‘I’ll tell you, Lee, on the understanding it goes no further. Australians can’t write plays; there you have it in a nutshell.’ (Introduction) -
(Review) Australia in 50 Plays
2022
single work
review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 81 2022; (p. 313-319)
— Review of Australia in 50 Plays 2022 multi chapter work criticism 'Julian Meyrick’s Australia in 50 Plays surveys Australian drama from 1901 to 2020. With Federation and the destabilising Covid-19 years as bookends, Meyrick sets out to describe how plays contribute to ‘nationhood’. He explains, ‘The problem of picking plays from the 40 years after Federation is a problem of discovery. The problem of picking them from the last 40 years is a problem of choice’ (16–17). The book successfully skirts its curatorial challenge, taking a position as a ‘history of the nation seen through the lens of some of its plays’ (17). Inviting readers to engage on these terms, Meyrick calls for a renovation of nationhood as distinct from a deadly nationalism.'(Introduction)
