The One Day of the Year (I don't give stars)
Fri, 2 Mar 2007, 02:40 pmstinger1 post in thread
The One Day of the Year (I don't give stars)
Fri, 2 Mar 2007, 02:40 pmThis 40+ year old play is an Aussie 'classic', having been published as a school text along with 'The Tower' and 'Ned Kelly' under the title '3 Australian Plays' since the 60's. It is therefore well-known to most of us who have grown up in Australia post the 'baby-boom'. It also deals with much more fundamental and familiar issues than 'The Doll' - so does not really bear comparison with that other 'classic'.
Of course, the anti-war sentiments of the author were avant-garde at the time. They now seem rather naive, like the lyrics of Eric Bogle's 'And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda'. The generations since have rediscovered Anzac Day (witness the mass pilgrimage to Gallipoli every April) and indeed have embraced the "beery haze" method of celebrating nationhood (witness the Australia Day skyshow). And so the pendulum swings.
Having said that, this is a finely crafted dramatic piece and in this instance, justice is done to it. Perhaps a few more laughs could have been wrung out of the teapot or the king brown and perhaps some more goosebumps could have been raised from the dawning of the "one day" if the 'Last Post' had been followed by a burst of 'Reveille', but perhaps that's just me being picky. Well done, all.
stingerFri, 2 Mar 2007, 02:40 pm
This 40+ year old play is an Aussie 'classic', having been published as a school text along with 'The Tower' and 'Ned Kelly' under the title '3 Australian Plays' since the 60's. It is therefore well-known to most of us who have grown up in Australia post the 'baby-boom'. It also deals with much more fundamental and familiar issues than 'The Doll' - so does not really bear comparison with that other 'classic'.
Of course, the anti-war sentiments of the author were avant-garde at the time. They now seem rather naive, like the lyrics of Eric Bogle's 'And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda'. The generations since have rediscovered Anzac Day (witness the mass pilgrimage to Gallipoli every April) and indeed have embraced the "beery haze" method of celebrating nationhood (witness the Australia Day skyshow). And so the pendulum swings.
Having said that, this is a finely crafted dramatic piece and in this instance, justice is done to it. Perhaps a few more laughs could have been wrung out of the teapot or the king brown and perhaps some more goosebumps could have been raised from the dawning of the "one day" if the 'Last Post' had been followed by a burst of 'Reveille', but perhaps that's just me being picky. Well done, all.