Burst of Summer

Burst of Summer
Written by	Oriel Gray
Date premiered	2 Feb 1960
Place premiered	Little Theatre, South Yarra, Melbourne
Original language	English
Subject	Race relations

Burst of Summer is a 1959 play by Oriel Gray. It won the 1959 J.C. Williamson's Little Theatre Guild Award, and was later adapted for radio and TV. It was Gray's last produced play.

Plot

In 1955, racial tensions erupt in a small town after a young Aboriginal girl Peggy gains brief notability as a film actress. White townsfolk decide to build houses and move the Aboriginal residents of "The Flats" into them.

Background

Burst of Summer was written by Gray in 1959. The story is based on the story of Ngarla Kunoth, who was cast in the lead of Charles Chauvel's film Jedda and was inspired by Gray's experiences living in Lismore in the 1940s. It won £500 in the Little Theatre Competition. The prize included a try out at the Melburne Little Theatre.

The Bulletin said the production "received the usual treatment accorded Australian art. No mention from TV, or commercial radio, a review from the A.8.C., and the usual back-page notice in the dailies."

Reviewing the production, the theatre critic from The Bulletin said "it is a thousand pities that she [Grey chose such stereotyped characters and situations as vehicles for her often stimulating thoughts on the problem of racial intolerance. Despite the rather fashionable seriousness of its theme, the play is probably more notable for its absence of dull moments, its perky good humor and wit and the author’s efficient handling of dialogue."

Original production

The play was first produced in 1960 at the Little Theatre in Melbourne. The cast included Morris Brown, Max Bruch and Marcella Burgoyne. It was rejected for production by the Melbourne Theatre Company.

1960 radio adaptation

The play was performed on ABC Radio National in Sydney in 1960.

1961 TV adaptation

{{Infobox television | name = Burst of Summer | image = | image_upright = | image_alt = | caption = | creator = | based_on = play by Oriel Gray | writer = Oriel Gray
Rex Rienits | screenplay = | story = | director = William Sterling | starring = | narrated = | music = | country = Australia | language = English | num_episodes = | producer = | editor = | cinematography = | runtime = 54 mins | company = ABC | distributor = ABN-2 | budget = | network = ABC | released = September 1961 (Melbourne)
19 December 1961 (Perth)

Plot

Peggy returns home, where she used to work at a milk bar run by Joe, who employs an aboriginal man, Eddie. She is loved by an aboriginal law clerk, Don, and a white journalist, Clive. A white man, Merv, is unhappy at the idea of aboriginals moving into town and causes trouble. He is encouraged by Sally Blake. It results in Merv cutting Eddie's eyes. Merv is arrested and Peggy leaves town with Clive.

Cast

• Edward Brayshaw as Mervyn Holmes
• Anne Charleston as Sally Blake
• Edward Howell
• Georgia Lee as Peggy Dinjerra
• Joan MacDonald as Mrs Blyth
• Wynn Roberts as Clinton Hunter
• Robert Tudawali as Don Reynolds
• Candy Williams as Eddie
• Mort Hall

Production

Robert Tudawali was flown from Darwin to Melbourne to make his first appearance in a live television drama. He had already been seen in the filmed series Whiplash. He was one of three aboriginal actors in the production, the others being Georgia Lee and Candy Williams. This was in contrast to the radio version which had been done with an all white cast. Gray said "I want to write about a sophisticated aboriginie - the kind of person that aboriginies must look to in the future."

Reception

The TV critic from the Sydney Morning Herald called it a "half-hearted stab" at writing a story on the problems of the aboriginal in a white society, despite some good acting from Georgia Lee and Edward Howell. He added, "One couldn't escape the feeling that the author had dashed it off after seeing too many American movies, rather than making a serious attempt to put the Australian colour problem into its own perspective. It's a pity this missed out, because there is a goldmine of material on the aboriginal waiting for a skilled, sensitive writer to tap it."

The Bulletin called it "a depressingly incompetent technical exercise, and the characterisation was appalling."

Awards

• 1959 J.C. Williamson's Little Theatre Guild Award.

See also

• List of television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1960s)

Notes

• "Australian women playwrights: the sacrifice of Oriel Gray". Monash University. 2017. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Text "Moss" ignored (help); Text "last" ignored (help)

External links

• Burst of Summer at Ausstage
• Play details at AustLit
• 1961 TV adaptation at AustLit
• 1961 TV adaptation at IMDb
• 1961 TV adaptation at National Film and Sound Archive
• Complete TV script at National Archives of Australia