The Observer Plays

The Observer Plays

Editor	Kenneth Tynan
Author	Various
Language	English
Genre	theatre
Publisher	Faber
Publication date	1958
Pages	475

The Observer Plays is a 1958 collection of seven plays edited by Kenneth Tynan. The plays were commended in the famous 1957 playwriting competition organised by Tynan when at the Observer newspaper. ^{[1] [2]}

The plays were:

• Moon on a Rainbow Shawl by Errol John
• Sit on the Earth by Gurney Campbell and Daphne Athas
• The Sport of My Mad Mother by Ann Jellicoe
• A Resounding Tinkle by N.F. Simpson
• The Shifting Heart by Richard Beynon
• All My Own Work by Romilly Cavan
• Four Men by Andre Davis

Background

In 1956 the London Observer newspaper held a competition for the best new stage play with a prize of 500 pounds. The competition was held in part to respond to allegations there were no new exciting plays in British theatre, and was run by Kenneth Tynan, the newspaper's drama critic. There were over 2,000 entries. According to Tynan, the submitted plays fell into six main groups: the H bomb, the Hungarian Uprising, Australia, the "colour problem", "angry young men" and poetry. The competition's support of Australian playwriting was notable at a time when very few Australian written plays were professionally produced on stage. ^[3]

The judges were Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, Peter Hall, and Michael Barry. ^[4]

Competition winners

The winner of the competition (prize £500) was Moon on a Rainbow Shawl by Errol John. ^[3] Second prize (£200) went to Sit on the Earth by Gurney Campbell and Daphne Athas.

Third prize (£100 each) went to:

• The Sport of My Mad Mother by Ann Jellicoe
• A Resounding Tinkle by N.F. Simpson
• The Shifting Heart by Richard Beynon.

Honourable mentions (£50 each):

• All My Own Work by Romilly Cavan
• Four Men by Andre Davis

Other plays that made the final twenty five finalists included:

• Angel in My Eye by David Shelley Nicol
• The Bastard Country by Anthony Coburn
• Boy with a Meataxe by Ray Rigby
• The Breaking Wave by Joseph Taylor
• Brixton 55 by R.A. Taylor Cole
• The Edge by R. Dellar
• The Life of the Party by Ray Mathew
• The Lilywhite Boys by Harry Cookson
• Marriage a la Carte by Ronald Duncan
• The Palace of Art by Mary Rose Duncan
• Swamp Creatures by Alan Seymour ^[5]
• The Wounded Boy by Jeremy Kingston
• Yesterday's Children by George Crowther

References

1. "The Red Page The Observer Plays", The Bulletin, John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues), 79 (4116), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 31 December 1958 [1880], ISSN   0007-4039, nla.obj-702922803, retrieved 27 July 2023– via Trove
2. "Puzzling Prospect For Modern Playwrights". The Canberra Times . Vol. 33, no. 9, 285. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 9 May 1959. p. 11. Retrieved 27 July 2023– via National Library of Australia.
3. Tynan, Kenneth (18 August 1957). "The play competition". The Observer. p. 11.
4. "Prize-winning modern plays". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 January 1959. p. 12.
5. Vagg, Stephen (13 December 2025). "Forgotten Australian Television Plays: Swamp Creatures". Filmink. Retrieved 14 December 2025.