The Torrents

The Torrents is a 1955 Australian play by Oriel Gray, set in the late 19th century, about the arrival of a female journalist in an all-male newspaper office, and an attempt to develop irrigation-based agriculture in a former gold mining town.

The Torrents
Written byOriel Gray
Date premiered1957
Original languageEnglish
Genrecomedy

In 1955 it was voted best play that year by the Playwrights' Advisory Board, alongside Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll,[1][2][3][4] winning a prize of £100 for its author.[5] This has been called "one of the great “compare and contrast” moments in the history of female Australian playwriting."[6]

Theme

The play is set in the second half of the 19th century,[2][5][7][8] in the newspaper office of a country town[2][3][5] built around gold-mining.[2][7][8][9] The gold is running out,[2][8][9] and a young engineer suggests developing agriculture, supported by irrigation, as an alternative.[2][7][8][9] A new recruit to the newspaper, one J.G. Milthorpe, arrives – and turns out to be a woman named Jenny.[8][9] The play explores tensions between the all-male workforce of the newspaper and the new female reporter; between those who want to see mining continue and those who support agriculture; and the different stances of the newspaper editor and his son.[2][8][9]

Stage performances

The Torrents had its stage premiere in 1957 at the New Theatre, Stow Hall, Adelaide,[7][10] produced by Mary Miller, one of the founders of that theatre.[8] It was performed in Melbourne the following year, at the New Theatre,[2][11] and in Sydney in 1962 at Norman McVicker's Pocket Playhouse in Sydenham.[12][13] The cast included John Cooper, Beverley Harte and Lionel Mann, and it was produced by Robert Findlay.[13]

Its next stage productions were not until 1995 and 1996. A reading of the play was performed at the Victorian Arts Centre in March 1995.[2][14] In 1996, the State Theatre Company of South Australia dedicated its program at The Playhouse theatre to works by Australian authors, including some which had been neglected.[2][15] Its production of The Torrents was directed by Marion Potts, with set design by Mary Moore.[11][16] Paula Arundell played Jenny, and John Adam played the son.[11][16]

Adaptations

1956 radio adaptation

It was adapted into a one-hour radio play by Joy Hollyer[17] for the ABC in 1956.[3][4][18] Three performances were broadcast, one in March 1956, with Beverley Dunn as J.G. Milford,[17] another in November 1956, with Margo Lee as J.G. Milford, Kevin Brennan as the editor, Ben Gabriel as the son, and Keith Buckley as the young engineer.[19] and the third in December 1956, in which Gwen Clarke played Jenny Milford, and Donald McTaggart played the son; also in the cast was Rodney Hall.[20]

Another production aired in 1966, with Nonie Stewart and John Nash in major roles.[21]

1969 TV adaptation

The play was adapted for Australian TV in 1969.[9] Filmink said this adaptation "seemed forgotten in newspaper reports about the recent STC/Black Swan revival of that play."[6]

Musical adaptation

It was also adapted into the musical A Bit o' Petticoat.[22]

Publication

The Torrents was not published until 1988,[23] when Penguin released it as part of their Australian playhouse series, and it was also included in Dale Spender's The Penguin Anthology of Australian Women's Writing.[2][24] It was then re-issued by Currency Press in 1996 and 2016.

References
  1. David Fiorovanti, "Oriel Gray, 'playwright of ideas', dies aged 83", The Age, 3 July 2003, accessed 24 January 2013
  2. Arrow, Michelle (9 December 1995). "The play that time forgot". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. pp. 275, 277–278. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  3. Maginnis, Molly (24 March 1956). "Women in the Theatre: Playwright". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. p. 7. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  4. "Housewife's Prize Play On The Air". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales. 8 March 1956. p. 5. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. "Australian Play Competition". The A.B.C. Weekly. 17 (37): 4. 17 September 1955.
  6. Vagg, Stephen (15 November 2020). "The Flawed Landmark: Burst of Summer". Filmink.
  7. "Australian play for Adelaide". Tribune. No. 1009. New South Wales, Australia. 31 July 1957. p. 2. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. E.J. (18 September 1957). "Adelaide NTL presents Prize-Winning Play". Tribune. No. 1016. New South Wales, Australia. p. 6. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. Kelly, Frances (11 December 1969). "Television. A play at last!". The Canberra Times. Canberra, ACT, Australia. p. 33. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  10. Lyons, Jill (6 November 1957). "The Doll and the Umbrella". The Bulletin. 78 (4056): 26, 49. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  11. "The Torrents". AusStage – The Australian Live Performance Database. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  12. "Ensemble Theatre Plans New Career". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 7 March 1962. p. 13. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  13. R.C. (10 August 1962). ""Torrents" At The Pocket Playhouse". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. p. 9. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  14. Mangan, John (3 March 1995). "Torrents of feeling from stage left resonate anew". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. p. 18. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  15. "National playhouse plan announced". The Canberra Times. Vol. 71, no. 22, 116. 5 November 1995. p. 20. Retrieved 11 August 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. Bramwell, Murray (1 September 1996). "Pressing Issues". The Adelaide Review. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  17. "A.B.C. Radio Plays. The Torrents". The A.B.C. Weekly. 18 (10): 20. 10 March 1956. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  18. "Worth Reporting". The Australian Women's Weekly. 22 February 1956. p. 31. Retrieved 24 January 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "A.B.C. Radio Plays. The Torrents". The A.B.C. Weekly. 18 (44): 20. 3 November 1956. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  20. "A.B.C. Radio Plays. The Torrents". The A.B.C. Weekly. 18 (52): 20. 29 December 1956. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  21. "Drama on radio". The Age TV-Radio Guide. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 7 July 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  22. "A Bit o' Petticoat at Australianmusicals.com accessed 24 January 2013
  23. Farfalla, Valerie Colyer (25 November 1987). "Making a living out of 200 years of neglect". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria. p. 27. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  24. Pierce, Peter (24 September 1988). "Women's battle for literary credentials". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales. p. 79. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
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