AustLit logo

AustLit

image of person or book cover 5605600924561433373.png
Program of the 1959 London production.
y separately published work icon The Shifting Heart single work   drama   - Three acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1957... 1957 The Shifting Heart
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

The Shifting Heart is set in the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood on Christmas eve, 1956. It explores the tensions between three sets of neighbours: the Bianchis, the Pratts, and the Fowlers, who represent different aspects of Australian culture of the time. Racism and the changes brought by immigration are the central themes of the play.

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon The Shifting Heart United Kingdom (UK) : ITV , 1962 8110145 1962 single work film/TV

Little is known about this version of The Shifting Heart beyond its airdate.
form y separately published work icon The Shifting Heart Australia : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1968 8110639 1968 single work film/TV

Production Details

  • First produced at the Elizabethan Theatre, Sydney, 4 October 1957. The play has been produced widely since then.

    The play debuted at the Golders Green Hippodrome, London on 31 August 1959. Directed by Leo McKern. In association with the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. 

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: 1957
Notes:
Also published in Braille and as a sound recording. Sound recording of the Old Tote Theatre Co. production also available.
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

Forgotten Australian TV Plays : The Shifting Heart Stephen Vagg , 2021 single work essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 7 June 2021;
An Aspect of Valtellinese Diaspora : Lombardy to Western Australia (1895-1960) - 'The Entombed Miner, Easter 1907' Glen Phillips , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: Diaspora : The Australasian Experience 2005; (p. 410-423)
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 71 no. 1 2011; (p. 180-196) This work is a 'ficto-critical look at an unusual example of diaspora where over a period of more than 100 years a small but continuous stream of Valtellinesi working men (from Lombardy valley in north Italy) and their wives and families - the latter following the breadwinner years later in most cases - migrated from what was in those days one of the poorest areas in the Italian Alps to find a new life. They began working at first in the gold-mining industry in Western Australia.' (Source: Author's introduction, Southerly, 2011)
Gifted Dramatist Played Many Roles Philip Jones , 1999 single work obituary (for Richard Beynon )
— Appears in: The Australian , 18 March 1999; (p. 14)
Untitled Avalong Sperring , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: dB Magazine , 17 July 1996;
— Review of The Shifting Heart Richard Beynon , 1957 single work drama
Theatre Peter Ward , 1996 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 19 July 1996; (p. 16)
— Review of The Shifting Heart Richard Beynon , 1957 single work drama
Untitled Marguerite I. Birch , 1957 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Quarterly , December vol. 29 no. 4 1957; (p. 132-133)
— Review of The Shifting Heart Richard Beynon , 1957 single work drama
Beynon's Shifting Subject Brek , 1958 single work review
— Appears in: Nation , 25 October 1958; (p. 22)
— Review of The Shifting Heart Richard Beynon , 1957 single work drama
Heart Revisited James Merralls , 1962 single work review
— Appears in: Nation , 19 May 1962; (p. 19)
— Review of The Shifting Heart Richard Beynon , 1957 single work drama
Untitled Richard Fotheringham , 1977 single work review
— Appears in: Theatre Australia , August vol. 2 no. 4 1977; (p. 45-46)
— Review of The Shifting Heart Richard Beynon , 1957 single work drama
Untitled M. Buhagiar , 1978 single work review
— Appears in: Artlook , March vol. 4 no. 2 1978; (p. 18)
— Review of The Shifting Heart Richard Beynon , 1957 single work drama
An Aspect of Valtellinese Diaspora : Lombardy to Western Australia (1895-1960) - 'The Entombed Miner, Easter 1907' Glen Phillips , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: Diaspora : The Australasian Experience 2005; (p. 410-423)
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 71 no. 1 2011; (p. 180-196) This work is a 'ficto-critical look at an unusual example of diaspora where over a period of more than 100 years a small but continuous stream of Valtellinesi working men (from Lombardy valley in north Italy) and their wives and families - the latter following the breadwinner years later in most cases - migrated from what was in those days one of the poorest areas in the Italian Alps to find a new life. They began working at first in the gold-mining industry in Western Australia.' (Source: Author's introduction, Southerly, 2011)
Towards a National Theatre Leonard Radic , 1958 single work criticism
— Appears in: Prospect , October vol. [1] no. 2 1958; (p. 27-28)
Gifted Dramatist Played Many Roles Philip Jones , 1999 single work obituary (for Richard Beynon )
— Appears in: The Australian , 18 March 1999; (p. 14)
Some Recent Australian Plays R. F. Brissenden , 1962 single work criticism
— Appears in: Texas Quarterly , Summer vol. 5 no. 2 1962; (p. 185-192)
Change of Heart Sarah Thomas , 1996 single work column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 6 July 1996; (p. 12)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (38)

Awards

VIEW ALL AWARDS (2)
Last amended 31 Oct 2019 12:38:49
Subjects:
  • Melbourne, Victoria,
Settings:
  • 1950s
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X