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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Set in the northern Queensland town of Charters Towers the action takes place over one day in 1957 - the day on which the world's first artificial satellite (the Sputnik) and a symbol of the possibilities of the future is to be seen in the sky over the town. It is also the day during which most of the characters will have to deal with significant and sometimes painful change. The main character, Clivvy, is thirty seven years old and is battling with the past and her inability to leave the town. Having won a sponsorship to go overseas to study piano at age nineteen the war intervened. In the following years many other occurrences deny her a life of her own. It is, however, her sense of being a composer - with her music coming 'out of the underbrush' which gives her the strength she needs.
Notes
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Composing Venus incorporates a small amount of live music performance, notably piano playing and singing from the actor playing Clivvy, and singing from several of the other characters.
Production Details
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Commissioned by the Queensland Theatre Company and the Australia Council. First produced by the Queensland Theatre Company at the Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane, 17 February 1994. Director David Berthold. Composer Donald Hall (q.v.).
Contents
- Hearing the Sound of the Southern Sky : Introduction, single work criticism (p. 7-11)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Current Dramas Explore Change
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Antipodes , June vol. 10 no. 1 1996; (p. 62)
— Review of Composing Venus 1995 single work drama ; All Souls 1993 single work drama -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 29 1996; (p. 223-227)
— Review of The Family 1994 single work drama ; Composing Venus 1995 single work drama -
And Two More Plays by Women
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 179 1996; (p. 54)
— Review of The Family 1994 single work drama ; Composing Venus 1995 single work drama -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Imago : New Writing , Summer vol. 8 no. 3 1996; (p. 132-136)
— Review of The Gap 1995 single work drama ; Composing Venus 1995 single work drama ; The Family 1994 single work drama ; The History of Water 1995 single work drama -
Hearing the Sound of the Southern Sky : Introduction
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Composing Venus 1995; (p. 7-11)
-
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Imago : New Writing , Summer vol. 8 no. 3 1996; (p. 132-136)
— Review of The Gap 1995 single work drama ; Composing Venus 1995 single work drama ; The Family 1994 single work drama ; The History of Water 1995 single work drama -
And Two More Plays by Women
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , April no. 179 1996; (p. 54)
— Review of The Family 1994 single work drama ; Composing Venus 1995 single work drama -
Untitled
1996
single work
review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 29 1996; (p. 223-227)
— Review of The Family 1994 single work drama ; Composing Venus 1995 single work drama -
Stunning Visuals but Noisy Tone
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 19 February 1994; (p. 25)
— Review of Composing Venus 1995 single work drama -
New Dramatic Voice from the North
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 8 March vol. 116 no. 5910 1994; (p. 83)
— Review of Composing Venus 1995 single work drama -
Hearing the Sound of the Southern Sky : Introduction
1995
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Composing Venus 1995; (p. 7-11)
Awards
- Charters Towers, Charters Towers area, Far North Queensland, Queensland,
- 1920s
- 1930s
- 1940s
- 1950s