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Set in the home of Simon Martel at Hobart Town in 1830, the action of the play runs from early spring to Christmas eve. There are 18 characters.
Caroline and Jeanne Martel, the daughters of the harsh dictatorial Christian, Simon Martel, have returned to Hobart after six years in England. En route, Jeanne has fallen in love with Francis Gillan—a liberal reformer who is opposed to the convict system. The harsh treatment accorded to two good-type convicts causes Gillan to plan an escape from the island. Jeanne accompanies the party, but it is interrupted in flight and Gillan is shot. Rufus Bellamy the convict kills Mr Martel in revenge, but the passionate intensity of Jeanne's pleading persuades Caroline to agree to conceal the truth—for Francis's sake.
Abstract adapted from The Campbell Howard Annotated Index of Australian Plays 1920-1955.
DAYBREAK was first produced by Olive Wilton for the Hobart Repertory Theatre Society, at the Theatre Royal, on Saturday, 30 July, 1938, with the following cast:
SIMON MARTEL: James Pratt
CAROLINE MARTEL: Peggy Waterworth
JEANNE MARTEL: Junee Cornell
FRANCIS GILLAN: Henry Moore
MRS. CARMICHAEL: Pearl Burbury
PHOEBE MOON: Beatrice Jordan
RUFUS BELLAMY: Mervyn Wiss
CAPTAIN NORTH: K. W. Nicholson
CAPTAIN BLAINEY: Jack Mitchell
LIEUTENANT PRIDEAUX: Noel Richard
MRS. MOSS: Audrey St. Hill
LAURA MOSS: Erica Gilbert
MRS. TURNER: Dulce Haddon-Cave
SARAH TURNER: Nancy Chapman
LUCY TURNER: Phyl Bailey
ELLEN: Mrs. W. F. Hinman
BEAM: Don Sutherland
MRS. BEAM: Mrs. Alan Burn
Decor and costumes by Robert Montgomery
Adaptations
-
form
y
Daybreak
1938
9750037
1938
single work
radio play
Characters
SIMON MARTEL
CAROLINE MARTEL
JEANNE MARTEL
FRANCIS GILLAN
MRS. CARMICHAEL
PHOEBE MOON
RUFUS BELLAMY
CAPTAIN NORTH
CAPTAIN BLAINEY
LIEUTENANT PRIDEAUX
MRS. MOSS
LAURA MOSS
MRS. TURNER
SARAH TURNER
LUCY TURNER
ELLEN
BEAM
MRS. BEAM
Notes
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Daybreak, Catherine's first three-act stage play, ...was tremendously popular....It was hailed at the time as a noteworthy Australian drama because of its theme of rebellion against authority and authoritarianism. Following stage productions in various cities and towns in Australia, Daybreak was presented on radio. ('Catherine Shepherd, 1902-1976' in Tasmanian Literary Landmarks, pp. 63-164).
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Leslie Rees comments: 'Olive Wilton directed the production at the Theatre Royal in 1938 with James Pratt as a young idealist in reckless rebellion against 'the system' in early Hobart, and Junee Cornell as a middle-class girl co-operating spiritedly with him until a tragic outcome. Critics approved of the play's period colour, compassionate feeling and rejection of smug authority.' (Companion to Theatre in Australia, p.528).
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Perhaps Daybreak lacked the scope of a 'full-length' play and had a certain starchiness, along with its fine feeling, but it was a worthy conception, a criticism of smug inflexible authority rather than of deliberate tyranny. On the stage, the military uniforms and early nineteenth-century women's dresses helped to give it colour and style.(Leslie Rees The Making of Australian Drama, p.191)
Production Details
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1938 : Theatre Royal, Hobart Repertory Theatre Society, 23 July.
- Prod. Olive Wilton.
- Cast: James Pratt (Simon Martel), Peggy Waterworth (Caroline Martel), Junee Cornell (Jeanne Martel), Henry Moore (Frances Gillan), Pearl Burbury (Mrs Carmichael), Beatrice Jordan (Phoebe Moon), Mervyn Wise (Rufus Bellamy), K.W. Nicholson (Captain North), Jack Mitchell (Captain Blainey), Noel Richard (Lieutenant Prideaux), Audrey St Hill (Mrs Ross), Erica Gilbert (Laura Ross), Dulcie Haddon Cave (Mrs Turner), Nancy Chapman (Sarah Turner), Phyl Bailey (Lucy Turner), Don Sutherland (Beam), Mrs Alan Burn (Mrs Beam), Mrs W.F Hinman (Ellen), and Edna Upchurch and Sylvia Sturges (Servants).
1939 : Club Rooms of the Independent Theatre, Sydney, August.
1941 : National Theatre Movement of Australia, 26-29 April.
- Prod. William P. Carr.
1941 : Sydney Players' Club, Radiotorium, 2-3 December.
- Prod. Winchester Ford.
1954 : Hobart Repertory Society, the Playhouse, 13-21 February.
- Prod. Jane Hannay
- Cast: Henry Finlay (Simon Martell), Mary White (Jeanne), Lucy Henty (Caroline), Edward Strudwicke (Rufus Bellamy), John Loy (Capt. Blainey), Lewis Saunders (Francis Gillan), Alan Lovell (officer), Leo Hargreaves (officer), Mary Ristow (Ellen).
Numerous other productions.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Catherine Shepherd (1912-1976)
Margaret Giordano
,
Don Norman
,
1984
single work
biography
— Appears in: Tasmanian Literary Landmarks 1984; (p. 161-165) -
Play on Tasmania Well Received
1954
single work
review
— Appears in: The Mercury , 15 February vol. 174 no. 25942 1954; (p. 6)
— Review of Daybreak : A Play in Three Acts 1938 single work drama -
Recent Australian Drama in Print
1946
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Focus , December-January vol. 1 no. 11 1946-1947; (p. 31-33) -
To-Day on the British Stage
1943
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 20 February. 1943; (p. 74)
— Review of Daybreak : A Play in Three Acts 1938 single work drama -
Four Plays by Australians
1942
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Quarterly , vol. 14 no. 4 1942; (p. 110-111)
— Review of Red Sky at Morning : A Play in Three Acts 1935 single work drama ; Daybreak : A Play in Three Acts 1938 single work drama ; Interval : A Play in Three Acts 1942 single work drama ; The Touch of Silk 1928 single work drama
-
Six Plays
1942
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 23 September vol. 63 no. 3267 1942; (p. 2)
— Review of Daybreak : A Play in Three Acts 1938 single work drama -
To-Day on the British Stage
1943
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 20 February. 1943; (p. 74)
— Review of Daybreak : A Play in Three Acts 1938 single work drama -
Four Plays by Australians
1942
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Quarterly , vol. 14 no. 4 1942; (p. 110-111)
— Review of Red Sky at Morning : A Play in Three Acts 1935 single work drama ; Daybreak : A Play in Three Acts 1938 single work drama ; Interval : A Play in Three Acts 1942 single work drama ; The Touch of Silk 1928 single work drama -
'Daybreak': Tasmanian Writer's Work
1939
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 28 August no. 31718 1939; (p. 5)
— Review of Daybreak : A Play in Three Acts 1938 single work drama -
Theatrical Notes
1939
single work
review
— Appears in: The Telegraph , 2 September 1939; (p. 26)
— Review of Daybreak : A Play in Three Acts 1938 single work drama -
The Drama
1939
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Quarterly , vol. 11 no. 4 1939; (p. 116-118) -
Recent Australian Drama in Print
1946
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Focus , December-January vol. 1 no. 11 1946-1947; (p. 31-33) -
Catherine Shepherd (1912-1976)
Margaret Giordano
,
Don Norman
,
1984
single work
biography
— Appears in: Tasmanian Literary Landmarks 1984; (p. 161-165) -
The Drama in Australia: A Crop of New Young Writers
1939
single work
column
— Appears in: The West Australian , 22 July vol. 55 no. 16553 1939; (p. 5)
Awards
- Hobart City, Central Hobart, Hobart, Southeast Tasmania, Tasmania,
- 1830