Naked Possum
1956 play by Barbara Vernon
| Naked Possum | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Barbara Vernon |
| Directed by | Noel Rubie |
| Date premiered | September 13, 1956 (1956-09-13) |
| Place premiered | Independent Theatre, Sydney |
| Original language | Australia |
| Subject | Malayan Emergency |
| Genre | drama |
| Setting | Malaya |
Naked Possum is a 1956 Australian play by Barbara Vernon. It was her first play performed in Sydney and is one of the few Australian plays to examine the Malayan Emergency.[1]
Reception
Leslie Rees described it as "something of a damp squib."[2]
The Sydney Morning Herald called it "ripe old melodrama" with "stale situations and limping cliches".[3]
However The Bulletin said "it has a remarkably attractive set.. and a most impressive performance by Owen Weingott, while the plot has sufficient intricacy and suspense to keep one guessing."[4]
Premise
During the Malayan Emergency, Australian troops looking for Communists arrive at a temple in the jungle. They meet the widow of a murdered planter who tries to seduce the soldiers.
Original cast
- Margaret Roberts
- Owen Weingott
- Jerold Wells
- Derek Stanley
References
- ^ Jane Connors, 'Vernon, Barbara Mary (1916–1978)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/vernon-barbara-mary-11922/text21359, published first in hardcopy 2002, accessed online 29 July 2023.
- ^ Rees, Leslie (1987). Australian drama, 1970-1985 : a historical and critical survey. p. 289.
- ^ "Aust Play at the Independent". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 September 1956. p. 7.
- ^ "Women's Letters – Sydney", The Bulletin, John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues), 77 (3997), Sydney, N.S.W.: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald: 18, 19 September 1956, ISSN 0007-4039, nla.obj-694447958, retrieved 30 July 2023 – via Trove
External links
- Naked Possum at Ausstage
