Stampede (radio play)
| Genre | drama play |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Written by | Bernard Cronin |
| Original release | 1934 |
Stampede is a 1934 Australian radio play by Bernard Cronin.[1]
The play was performed on the BBC in 1938 and repeated a number of times.[2] It was the first Australian play to be broadcast in Arabic.[3]
The play was produced again in 1936, 1940, 1941, 1945 and 1951. It was also played on stage.[4]
The play was published in a 1937 collection of one act Australian plays.[5]
According to one review "the nervous tension caused by a prolonged drought is used effectively. The growth of suspicion, the smouldering 3isagreements bursting into fierce flame as the drought continues are cleverly drawn, and the climax when the thunder rolls and the rain pours down is worked naturally and successfully."[6] The Bulletin said " It does not carry conviction as an intimate revelation, but it is well made and should play satisfactorily." [7]
Premise
[edit]"The scene is the kitchen-living-room of a selector’s home during a severe drought. George and Mary Painter live here, and the strain of a hard bush life has turned Mary from a fresh young girl into a prematurely middle-aged woman. Why doesn’t it rain? Driven to desperation by the weather, husband and wife are getting on each other’s nerves. Then there is Jim Jackson, thef arm hand. Has Painter any real justification for his suspicions about Jim and Mary?"[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Sally O'Neill, 'Cronin, Bernard Charles (1884–1968)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cronin-bernard-charles-5826/text9893, published first in hardcopy 1981, accessed online 23 January 2024.
- ^ "Australian radio plays". The Canberra Times. 14 August 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 23 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "In town and out". The Herald. 29 June 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 23 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Australasian Radio Relay League. (August 10, 1940), "Playwrights of Australian Bernard Cronin's Big List", The Wireless Weekly: The Hundred per Cent Australian Radio Journal, nla.obj-720025207, retrieved 23 January 2024 – via Trove
- ^ "Our young dramatists". The Argus (Melbourne). 4 September 1937. p. 29 (Week-End Magazine). Retrieved 23 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Book reviews". The Examiner (Tasmania). 11 September 1937. p. 2 (LATE NEWS EDITION and DAILY : SPECIAL WEEK-END SECTION). Retrieved 23 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Australian One-act Plays.", The Bulletin, 15 September 1937, nla.obj-571742666, retrieved 23 January 2024 – via Trove
- ^ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (18 May 1940), "Tuesday —May 21", ABC Weekly, nla.obj-1370446072, retrieved 23 January 2024 – via Trove
External links
[edit]- Stampede at Ausstage