Peach Productions presents eight short plays “Women In Australia: Stories Of Courage” as part of Sydney Fringe Festival 2018. Written and directed by women of diverse backgrounds, a brilliant journey to celebrate women’s past struggles for identity, independence and their fighting for the right to own property and the right to vote. Dramatic life stories, starting from early European settlement in Australia, through to present day struggles.
(1) “Nurse Peggy” was written and directed by Margaret Fitzgerald, About a notorious convict nurse, transported for life from England to Australia. In the Governor Bligh era, We meet the minister’s wife and an orphan in her charge. They discuss, Nurse Peggy who is in now in her six year of her sentence, and remains resolutely determined to return home an unmarried free woman. Surprisingly they all “read the newspapers” to keep fully abreast of the political issues of the day, including over-fishing, catching 4000 harbour fish in the one day.
(2) “Eliza” written by playwright Colleen Henry and expertly directed by Maggy Franklin, is an epic story of a pioneer family building a home in the Hunter Valley, farming in the bush in drought-prone Singleton in the 1870s. Wife Eliza has a farmer husband, who gambles successfully by always loosing heavily. He sells the farm to move to Narrabri, but his school-teacher wife, needs to find an excuse to not move away from her school. A married woman, still being eligible to be employed, is highly unusual for that era.
(3) “There’s Always Blessings” a monologue short play, was written by Elizabeth Routledge and directed by Victoria Rowland, about a pioneer farming family living in Bellingen from 1860. Northern Rivers NSW, constant flooding, bush-fires, many perished and many starved. Sixteen year old Mary Bradley, marries farmer Bradley who uses his axe to prevent the land from being taken back, and in her long life has six daughters and five sons.
(4) “Do Ability Divas” cleverly devised by Holly Craig, Madeleine Stewart and Uma Kali Shakti. The question is not how do we thrive, by living with our unique disabilities, but rather, how do we live with yours? Celebrate these three women, their resilience and their courage. Super encouraging dialogue, that delivers an important message about unwanted and uncomfortable invasive personal questions. The quality of empathy, the need to be respectful to everyone, and that no-one needs/wants pity.
(5) “Coming to Dinner” written by Elaine Laforteza and directed by Meili Bookluck, huge comedy delight when dinner for three is served, but also the quick reveal of unspoken family secrets, between a Filipino-Australian mother and her rainbow-scarfed son. Clever delicious marriage-equality dialogue, complete with a marriage proposal.
(6) “Island Journey” dramatic monologue written and deliciously directed by Uma Kali Shakti. Fiercely independent young woman, dressed in white funeral sari, attempts to gain closure, before spreading the ashes of her loved one. A young woman wanting to completely avoid her family insistence, that she marry a man, and to have children.
(7) “Got You” written by Kel Vance and directed by Katharine Babatzanis. We meet these two long-time bogan friends, facing up to their biggest challenge, as one woman is now dying of cancer, and she wants to defraud the insurance company, by appearing to die accidentally. Just like the many Darwin Award Winners, her best friend needs to work through all the “dumb ways to die”, to find a stupid but believable accidental cause of death. Brilliant but twisted ending.
(8) “Louisa, The Dawn and the Vote” written and directed by Margaret Fitzgerald, Son Henry Lawson, and his mother Mrs. Louisa Lawson leads the suffragette campaign in NSW to obtain voting rights for women, the right to work, the right to divorce, from 1888 with her newspaper “The Dawn”. Especially threatened with men protesting/fighting to prevent women from having employment in male-only occupations. Women doing devils work as typesetters, working in a deadly job that would cause women to fall ill.
Wednesday 12th September 2018 until Saturday 22nd September 2018.
7:00pm to 8:30pm plus Saturday Matinees 2:00pm to 3:30pm.
Pitt Street Uniting Church, 264 Pitt Street (near Park Street) Sydney, NSW.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Women-in-Australia-Stories-of-Courage-299936110572160/
https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/venues/pitt-street-uniting-church