The Torrents

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The Torrents
Written by Oriel Gray
Date premiered1957
Original languageEnglish
Genrecomedy

The Torrents is a 1955 Australian play by Oriel Gray, set in the late 19th century, about the arrival of a female journalist in an all-male newspaper office, and an attempt to develop irrigation-based agriculture in a former gold mining town.

Contents

In 1955 it was voted best play that year by the Playwrights' Advisory Board, alongside Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll , [1] [2] [3] [4] winning a prize of £100 for its author. [5] This has been called "one of the great “compare and contrast” moments in the history of female Australian playwriting." [6]

Theme

The play is set in the second half of the 19th century, [2] [5] [7] [8] in the newspaper office of a country town [2] [3] [5] built around gold-mining. [2] [7] [8] [9] The gold is running out, [2] [8] [9] and a young engineer suggests developing agriculture, supported by irrigation, as an alternative. [2] [7] [8] [9] A new recruit to the newspaper, one J.G. Milthorpe, arrives – and turns out to be a woman named Jenny. [8] [9] The play explores tensions between the all-male workforce of the newspaper and the new female reporter; between those who want to see mining continue and those who support agriculture; and the different stances of the newspaper editor and his son. [2] [8] [9]

Stage performances

The Torrents had its stage premiere in 1957 at the New Theatre, Stow Hall, Adelaide, [7] [10] produced by Mary Miller, one of the founders of that theatre. [8] It was performed in Melbourne the following year, at the New Theatre, [2] [11] and in Sydney in 1962 at Norman McVicker's Pocket Playhouse in Sydenham. [12] [13] The cast included John Cooper, Beverley Harte and Lionel Mann, and it was produced by Robert Findlay. [13]

Its next stage productions were not until 1995 and 1996. A reading of the play was performed at the Victorian Arts Centre in March 1995. [2] [14] In 1996, the State Theatre Company of South Australia dedicated its program at The Playhouse theatre to works by Australian authors, including some which had been neglected. [2] [15] Its production of The Torrents was directed by Marion Potts, with set design by Mary Moore. [11] [16] Paula Arundell played Jenny, and John Adam played the son. [11] [16]

Adaptations

1956 radio adaptation

It was adapted into a one-hour radio play by Joy Hollyer [17] for the ABC in 1956. [3] [4] [18] Three performances were broadcast, one in March 1956, with Beverley Dunn as J.G. Milford, [17] another in November 1956, with Margo Lee as J.G. Milford, Kevin Brennan as the editor, Ben Gabriel as the son, and Keith Buckley as the young engineer. [19] and the third in December 1956, in which Gwen Clarke played Jenny Milford, and Donald McTaggart played the son; also in the cast was Rodney Hall. [20]

Another production aired in 1966, with Nonie Stewart and John Nash in major roles. [21]

1969 TV adaptation

The play was adapted for Australian TV in 1969. [9] Filmink said this adaptation "seemed forgotten in newspaper reports about the recent STC/Black Swan revival of that play." [6]

Musical adaptation

It was also adapted into the musical A Bit o' Petticoat. [22]

Publication

The Torrents was not published until 1988, [23] when Penguin released it as part of their Australian playhouse series, and it was also included in Dale Spender's The Penguin Anthology of Australian Women's Writing. [2] [24] It was then re-issued by Currency Press in 1996 and 2016.

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References

  1. ↑ David Fiorovanti, "Oriel Gray, 'playwright of ideas', dies aged 83", The Age, 3 July 2003, accessed 24 January 2013
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Arrow, Michelle (9 December 1995). "The play that time forgot". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. pp. 275, 277–278. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 Maginnis, Molly (24 March 1956). "Women in the Theatre: Playwright". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. p. 7. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Housewife's Prize Play On The Air". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales. 8 March 1956. p. 5. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "Australian Play Competition". The A.B.C. Weekly. 17 (37): 4. 17 September 1955.
  6. 1 2 Vagg, Stephen (15 November 2020). "The Flawed Landmark: Burst of Summer". Filmink.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Australian play for Adelaide". Tribune . No. 1009. New South Wales, Australia. 31 July 1957. p. 2. Retrieved 11 August 2019– via National Library of Australia.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 E.J. (18 September 1957). "Adelaide NTL presents Prize-Winning Play". Tribune . No. 1016. New South Wales, Australia. p. 6. Retrieved 11 August 2019– via National Library of Australia.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kelly, Frances (11 December 1969). "Television. A play at last!". The Canberra Times. Canberra, ACT, Australia. p. 33. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  10. ↑ Lyons, Jill (6 November 1957). "The Doll and the Umbrella". The Bulletin. 78 (4056): 26, 49. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 "The Torrents". AusStage – The Australian Live Performance Database. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  12. ↑ "Ensemble Theatre Plans New Career". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 7 March 1962. p. 13. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  13. 1 2 R.C. (10 August 1962). ""Torrents" At The Pocket Playhouse". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. p. 9. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  14. ↑ Mangan, John (3 March 1995). "Torrents of feeling from stage left resonate anew". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. p. 18. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  15. ↑ "National playhouse plan announced". The Canberra Times . Vol. 71, no. 22, 116. 5 November 1995. p. 20. Retrieved 11 August 2019– via National Library of Australia.
  16. 1 2 Bramwell, Murray (1 September 1996). "Pressing Issues". The Adelaide Review. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  17. 1 2 "A.B.C. Radio Plays. The Torrents". The A.B.C. Weekly. 18 (10): 20. 10 March 1956. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "Worth Reporting". The Australian Women's Weekly . 22 February 1956. p. 31. Retrieved 24 January 2013– via National Library of Australia.
  19. ↑ "A.B.C. Radio Plays. The Torrents". The A.B.C. Weekly. 18 (44): 20. 3 November 1956. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  20. ↑ "A.B.C. Radio Plays. The Torrents". The A.B.C. Weekly. 18 (52): 20. 29 December 1956. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  21. ↑ "Drama on radio". The Age TV-Radio Guide. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 7 July 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  22. ↑ "A Bit o' Petticoat" at Australianmusicals.com accessed 24 January 2013
  23. ↑ Farfalla, Valerie Colyer (25 November 1987). "Making a living out of 200 years of neglect". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. p. 27. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  24. ↑ Pierce, Peter (24 September 1988). "Women's battle for literary credentials". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales. p. 79. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
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