John Naish Picture Night. [Manuscript] (Unpublished)
Picture Night by John Naish. © Dr. Lee Naish, Digital version 2022.
Copyright protected. Not for download, reuse or distribution.
- Work By
- Author: John Naish
- Item Type
- Manuscript
- Collection
- Library Archives
- Series
- John Naish plays
- Location
- Townsville Campus Library
- Item Code
- JN/1/6
- Related Links
- Subjects
- theatre; plays; drama
Summary
A synopsis by Bianka Vidonja Balanzategui
Picture Night is set in a "decaying" country town called Greenvale. It is a gritty little play about small town prejudices and expectations where the central character Shirley Fuller has to choose between leaving town with the travelling showman Robert Perkins aka Rob Van Rommani or settling down with bank clerk Ben Jenkins, a choice "between the hard life and security". She chooses the latter. The play is a scathing indictment of small-town prejudices, narrowness, fear of the 'other' and complacency "inertia made to look busy". Picture Night and The Factory share a common theme of the duplicity of women and men, and feature women characters who want more but settle for less. The man questions whether he is good enough, or refined enough for the woman he loves while sensing that while he toils daily to provide her "with everything a normal woman could desire" it is not enough.
Additional Information
Bianka Vidonja Balanzategui is an historian and historical consultant. She graduated from James Cook University with an Honours degree and PhD in history and is an Adjunct Lecturer at JCU. She researches the sugar industry and migration history of tropical north Queensland, and her first book, published by JCU, Gentlemen of the Flashing Blade married those two themes. She also has a keen interest in the history of the Herbert River district where she has lived since her marriage. At present she is researching the role of women in various episodes of North Queensland history, while also continuing to research and write about John Naish.
Copyright Information
© Dr. Lee Naish, Digital version 2022.
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