A Spring Song
{{Short description|1958 Australian play by Ray Mathew}}
{{Infobox play
| name = A Spring Song
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| writer = Ray Mathew
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| premiere = March 1958
| place = Brisbane
| orig_lang = English
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| genre = drama
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A Spring Song is a 1958 Australian play by Ray Mathew.
Synopsis
The play tells the story of a farming family consisting of a father and his three daughters, Margaret, Kerry and Helen. Margaret is dying and falls in love with their boarder. Helen moves to Sydney. Kerry is in love with Geoff, a grazier's son, but is trapped into staying at home.
Performances
The play was given a reading by the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1957. The Age called the script "moving".{{cite news|first=Bruce|last=Grant|newspaper=The Age|date=31 August 1957|page= 19|title=A source of great richness}} It played at Gowrie Hall in Brisbane, followed by the Sydney Pocket Theatre in 1958 and the Sydney Morning Herald said it was "not a success".{{cite news|title=New play by Ray Mathew|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=8 August 1958|page= 4}} It was performed at Willard Hall in Adelaide in 1963.
The play was successfully presented at the Edinburgh Festival in 1964{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48565767 |title=Spring Song of Outback in London |newspaper=The Australian Women's Weekly |volume=32 |issue=25 |location=Australia, Australia |date=18 November 1964 |accessdate=26 July 2023 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}} and transferred to the West End that year.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131751879 |title=Sydney Playwright's London Opening – A spring song fell with a thud |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=39 |issue=10,964 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=30 September 1964 |accessdate=26 July 2023 |page=21 |via=National Library of Australia}} The Evening Standard called it a "mellow, sentimental melodrama".{{cite news|newspaper=Evening Standard|date=29 September 1964|page= 4|title=This may bring a tear in Sydney}}
Since then, the play has been presented in various Australian locations, including The Playhouse, Broken Hill (1967), Taylor Street, Brisbane (1980), Stables Theatre, Sydney (1983), Studio Theatre, Melbourne (1985), Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane (1988) Newtown Theatre, Sydney (1993) and Acton Street Theatre, Canberra (1994). A 1977 NIDA production starred Annie Byron, Wayne Jarratt and Debra Lawrance and was directed by Robert Menzies.{{cite web|url= https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/work/1678 |title= A Spring Song |publisher= AusStage}}
Television adaptation
The play was filmed for Canadian television in 1965 with the story relocated to Canada. Zoe Caldwell starred.{{cite news|title=Festival presents a spring song|newspaper=The Ottawa Citizen|date=8 May 1965|page= 114}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-335953576/findingaid Ray Mathew Papers]
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1482294/ Spring Song] at IMDB
- [https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/work/1678 Spring Song] at Ausstage
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Category:1950s Australian plays