The Little Sheep Run Fast

Last updated
The Little Sheep Run Fast
Written by Sumner Locke Elliott
Directed byRichard Parry
Date premiered18 May 1940 [1]
Place premiered Independent Theatre, Sydney
Original languageEnglish
Genremelodrama

The Little Sheep Run Fast is a 1940 Australian play by Sumner Locke Elliott. Being a drama, it was a change of pace from his first two stage plays which were both comedies. [2]

Contents

Elliott later said the play "was my first attempt to write significant drama and contained, as I remember, a profusion of disgracefully baroque metaphor and the fact that it was a disaster was plainly evident in the waxen smiles of those few friends who came back after the first night. To this day I cannot remember what the title had to do with the play and I suspect nothing." [3]

The Sydney Morning Herald called it one of the best plays staged by" the Independent Theatre. "Tense dramatic moments clever dialogue and comedy incidents kept the interest of the large audience throughout... It has an Australian setting, but it not in any way typically Australian." [4]

The Daily Telegraph thought "Locke-Elliott confirms his early promise in this somewhat more mature work. He has exchanged "smart" comedy for drama, and the change, considered generally, is a big improvement. Unquestionably he Is one of Australia's most competent playwrights." [5]

The Bulletin called it "a good piece of work" but felt the author "would do better to make comedy his best girl." [6]

The Wireless Weekly said "although it was a good effort I found it by no means exceptional. The first act is well written. Scene two of act two dragged badly and act three was dreary. Chief fault was the wordy dialogue... Other faults were the too frequent references to art, politics, and literature, some of which seemed to be made just to show the author’s extensive knowledge." [7]

Elliott later reflected, "I liked The Little Sheep, but it was a very bad play. I'd become involved in symbolism. The play was about everything. But it was my first play with an Australian setting. I was growing up and becoming conscious of my own country." [8]

Premise

A girl, Kare, has only just been married when she goes to a farm for a holiday. She meets and falls in love with Rudd Barton, whose mother Amy runs the farm. Amy is jealous of her son's attraction for anyone other than herself. Horrified that Rudd may run off with a married woman, Amy takes extreme action. [9]

Related Research Articles

Edmund Piers Barclay was an English-Australian writer known for his work in radio drama. Radio historian Richard Lane called him "Australian radio's first great writer and, many would say, Australian radio's greatest playwright ever." Frank Clelow, director of ABC Drama, called him "one of the outstanding radio dramatists of the world, with a remarkable technical skill and ability to use the fade-back without confusing the audience."

Joseph George McParlane, known as Joe Valli, was a Scottish-Australian actor who worked in vaudeville and films. He had a long-running vaudeville partnership with Pat Hanna as "Chic and Joe".

<i>The Fire on the Snow</i> Play written by Douglas Stewart

The Fire on the Snow is a 1941 Australian verse play by Douglas Stewart about the Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica by Robert Falcon Scott. It premiered on ABC radio on 6 June 1941 to great acclaim and inspired a series of Australian verse dramas on ABC radio.

<i>Lady in Danger</i> (play) 1942 play by Max Afford and 1959 television film directed by Colin Dean

Lady in Danger was a play by Australian writer Max Afford. It was one of the few Australian plays to be produced on Broadway. It was also adapted for radio and television.

<i>Buy Me Blue Ribbons</i> Play by Sumner Locke Elliott

Buy Me Blue Ribbons was a 1951 play by Australian writer Sumner Locke Elliott. It was one of the few Broadway plays to be written by an Australian.

The Cow Jumped Over the Moon is a 1937 Australian stage play by Sumner Locke Elliott. It was the first stage play by Elliott who was only twenty years old when it debuted.

<i>The Invisible Circus</i> (play) Play by Sumner Locke Elliott

The Invisible Circus is a 1946 Australian stage play by Sumner Locke Elliott set in the world of commercial radio drama, a field that Elliott knew well from many years writing for George Edwards. Elliott is represented in two characters, the idealistic Brad and the more jaded Mark.

Goodbye to the Music is a 1942 Australian stage play by Sumner Locke Elliott.

Ned Kelly is a 1942 radio play by Douglas Stewart about the outlaw Ned Kelly.

<i>As Ye Sow</i> 1937 radio serial

As Ye Sow is a 1937 Australian radio serial by Edmund Barclay. It told the story of six generations of Australians in early colonial Australia.

Awake My Love is a 1947 Australian stage play by Max Afford.

Red Sky at Morning is a 1935 Australian stage play by Dymphna Cusack. The play helped launch Cusack's writing career and was filmed in 1943.

Wives Have Their Uses is a 1938 Australian stage play by Gwen Meredith. It is a comedy.

Maurice Francis was an Australian radio writer. He was one of the most prolific writers of radio dramas in the 1930s until the 1950s and was noted for his association with George Edwards.

<i>A Rum Affair</i> 1940 Australian radio play by Alec Coppel

A Rum Affair is a 1940 Australian radio play by Alec Coppel.

Ask No Questions is a 1940 Australian stage play by Gwen Meredith. It had an all-female cast. Meredith wrote it at the request of Doris Fitton who wanted some plays without no men, because male actors were hard to get with the war on.

A Sirius Cove is a 1935 Australian comedy play by Lionel Shave.

Tradesman's Entrance is a 1941 Australian radio serial created by Sumner Locke Elliott for the George Edwards Company. It played three times a week.

Grand City is a 1942 Australian radio serial by Sumner Locke Elliott for the George Edwards Players. Episodes went for 15 minutes.

Mother's Day is a 1940 Australian play by Leslie Rees. It received a number of amateur productions.

References

  1. ↑ "INDEPENDENT THEATRE". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 18 May 1940. p. 9. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Australasian Radio Relay League. (June 1, 1940), "Playwrights Of Australia WON SUCCESS IN HOLLYWOOD", The Wireless Weekly: The Hundred per Cent Australian Radio Journal, 35 (22), Sydney: Wireless Press, nla.obj-718466260, retrieved 5 September 2023– via Trove
  3. ↑ Rees, Leslie (1987). Australian drama, 1970-1985 : a historical and critical survey. Angus & Robertson. p. 183. ISBN   978-0-207-15354-9.
  4. ↑ "INDEPENDENT THEATRE". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 31, 946. New South Wales, Australia. 20 May 1940. p. 5. Retrieved 5 September 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "SUCCESS FOR LOCAL DRAMA". The Daily Telegraph . Vol. V, no. 50. New South Wales, Australia. 20 May 1940. p. 8. Retrieved 5 September 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "A WOMAN'S LETTER", The Bulletin, 61 (3146), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 29 May 1940, nla.obj-592929839, retrieved 5 September 2023– via Trove
  7. ↑ "THE LITTLE THEATRE", The Wireless Weekly: The Hundred per Cent Australian Radio Journal, 35 (23), Sydney: Wireless Press, June 8, 1940, nla.obj-718483991, retrieved 5 September 2023– via Trove
  8. ↑ "A business-minded young author". The Daily Telegraph . Vol. XV, no. 93. New South Wales, Australia. 8 July 1950. p. 23. Retrieved 5 September 2023– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ↑ "New Show At Independent". Daily News . Vol. 2, no. 458. New South Wales, Australia. 18 May 1940. p. 9. Retrieved 5 September 2023– via National Library of Australia.
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.