It Has Happened Before

Last updated
It Has Happened Before
Genreverse drama
Running time60 mins (10:00 pm – 11:00 pm)
Country of originAustralia
Language(s)English
Home station2FC
SyndicatesABC
Written by Dorothy Blewett
Directed byJohn Cairns
Original releaseJuly 29, 1943 (1943-07-29) [1]

It Has Happened Before is a 1943 Australian verse drama written for radio by Dorothy Blewett. It aired in July and was repeated in September. [2]

The play was one of a number of verse dramas produced for ABC radio that came out of a competition for verse drama, won by The Golden Lover . [3]

ABC Weekly called it "an arresting document of our times. It tells of the love story of an Australian girl who meets a distinguished German-Jewish thinker in Europe and falls in love with him." [4]

According to Austlit the play:

Is one of Dorothy Blewett’s lesser known yet insightfully poignant pieces... It draws on the experiences of WWII and the collateral damage it inflicted upon British (and Australian) society at the time... [it] focusses on the Jewish refugee crisis as it unfolded in the pre-war years, yet it also addresses the experiences of women embroiled in the conflict and the sentiments of the broader public at home. It explores the relationship that Australia, a federated yet still psychologically dependant nation, had with the war and its victims, exploring how a far off member of the British Commonwealth was affected by the state of European turmoil. The title, It Has Happened Before, is a reminder of the continuing historical discrimination that Jewish people faced in the lead up to and during WWII and the recurring cultural tensions and bigotry Blewett presents in the play. [5]

Related Research Articles

The Illusionists is a 1955 stage play by Morris West about an advertising agent who longs to paint. It was a verse drama, like his later play The Heretic.

Stockade is a 1942 radio play by Richard Lane who regarded it as one of his most significant works. It is a verse drama about the Eureka Rebellion. It tells the story though Bridget Shannahan who was on Bakery during the Stockade period. She was a real person, grandmother to Lane's then-wife.

<i>The Fortunes of Richard Mahony</i> (radio play) 1949 Australian radio play

The Fortunes of Richard Mahony is a 1949 Australian radio drama by Edmund Barclay. It was adapted from the novel of the same name and ran for almost a year as a daily serial.

<i>Spoiled Darlings</i> Australian romantic comedy radio play

Spoiled Darlings is a 1940 Australian romantic comedy radio play by Edmund Barclay that was broadcast nationally on the ABC.

The Sundowner is an Australian radio series starring Chips Rafferty as a swagman.

Early in the Morning is a 1946 Australian radio feature by Ruth Park about Abel Tasman.

<i>Soldiers Three</i> (radio serial) 1943 Australian radio drama by Edmund Barclay

Soldiers Three is a 1943 Australian radio serial by Edmund Barclay. It was commissioned for the Australian war effort to emphasise the contribution of Australian soldiers.

<i>The Mysterious Mr. Lynch</i> 1930 Australian radio drama

The Mysterious Mr. Lynch is a 1939 Australian radio serial by Max Afford. It starred Peter Finch as its detective hero, Jeffrey Blackburn.

Space Explorers is a 1942 Australian radio serial by Max Afford. It was a science fiction serial for children. The serial was the first radio role for Madge Ryan.

The Faithful Heart is a 1948 Australian radio serial by Edmund Barclay. It was set during the War of the Roses.

Small Town is a 1946 Australian radio play by Kathleen Carroll. It won a £50 prize as one of the two runners-up in the Lux Radio Theatre Play Competition. She was inspired to write it after visiting an old mining town.

Spiegel the Cat is a 1952 Australian radio play by David Martin. It was adapted from Spiegel the Cat, a story from the Swiss writer Gottfried Keller.

The Earthquake Shakes the Land is an Australian radio play in verse by Douglas Stewart. It concerns the Invasion of the Waikato in the New Zealand Wars. It was a companion piece to Stewart's The Golden Lover.

The Gate of the Sea is a 1948 Australian radio play by Coral Lansbury.

The Golden Lover is a 1943 Australian verse drama by Douglas Stewart. It was based on an ancient Maori legend. Stewart was from New Zealand.

The Unmapped Land is a 1943 Australian verse drama play for radio by Elisabeth Lambert. It was entered in a verse drama competition and did not win but was purchased and produced by the ABC.

Glencoe is a 1947 narrative poem by Douglas Stewart about the Massacre of Glencoe. In sixteen parts, it ranks among Stewart's best known works.

<i>I Am Albert Jones</i>

I Am Albert Jones is a 1940 Australian radio drama by Max Afford.

Deadline is an Australian radio drama anthology series from the 1950s, featuring episodes with a duration of 30 minutes each.

The First Gentleman is a 1945 Australian radio play by Betty Roland about Benjamin Boyd. It was one of Roland's most notable works.

References

  1. ↑ "ABC Programmes - Sunday Jan 24", ABC Weekly, Sydney, 5 (4), 23 January 1943, retrieved 23 October 2023– via Trove
  2. ↑ "Wednesday, Sept. 8", ABC Weekly, Sydney, 5 (36), 4 September 1943, retrieved 23 October 2023– via Trove
  3. ↑ "Ten new verse plays", ABC Weekly, Sydney, 5 (12), 20 March 1943, retrieved 23 October 2023– via Trove
  4. ↑ "Coming on the air", ABC Weekly, Sydney, 5 (30), 24 July 1943, nla.obj-1315256080, retrieved 23 October 2023– via Trove
  5. ↑ It Has Happened Here at AustLit
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.