Commonwealth Jubilee play competition
The Commonwealth Jubilee play competiton was a 1951 Australian play competition held to celebrate Australia's Jubilee Year. The competition was for the best plays dealing with the Australian life or an Australian character.[1]
The competition encouraged Australian playwriting at a time when few Australian plays were presented on stage and was organised by the Jubilee Federal Arts Sub-Committee.[2][3]
Over 230 plays were entered. Judges were Professor Keith Macartney, of Melbourne University, Lindsey Browne, The Sydney Morning Herald drama critic, and Frank Harvey, senior drama producer for the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Winners
- First prize (£500)- Tether a Dragon by Kylie Tennant - about Alfred Deakin
- Second prize (£200) - The House that Jack Built by George Farwell - about the Rum Rebellion
- Special mention - Granite Peak by Betty Roland, Sing for St. Ned by Ray Mathew, and History of Burke and Wills by John Sandford[4]
Legacy
None of the plays were picked up by commercial theatre managements in Australia. However, several of them were adapted for ABC radio.[5]
References
- ^ "JUBILEE PLAY COMPETITION". Daily Mirror. No. 3105. New South Wales, Australia. 16 May 1951. p. 4 (Late Final Extra 3). Retrieved 10 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Prize play on Deakin". The Courier-mail. No. 4665. Queensland, Australia. 9 November 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 10 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "A Bun for the Playwrights.", The bulletin. (Vol. 72 No. 3744 (14 Nov 1951)), nla.obj-526419636, retrieved 10 January 2024 – via Trove
{{citation}}:|issue=has extra text (help) - ^ "PRIZES FOR PLAYS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 533. New South Wales, Australia. 9 November 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 10 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Letters to the Editor JUBILEE PLAYS", ABC weekly (Vol. 14 No. 28 (12 July 1952)), nla.obj-1379598092, retrieved 10 January 2024 – via Trove
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