The Bastard Country
The Bastard Country is a 1959 Australian play by Anthony Coburn. It was also known as Fire on the Wind.
It was performed by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust.[1][2] Grant Taylor played the key role.[3]
It was adapted for radio in 1960.[4]
Plot
John Willy is a violent man who owns a farm in northern Victoria and has a mistress, Connie. He is visited by Greek Nick Diargos, who intends to kill John raping and murdering Nick's wife in Greece with John was a soldier.
However he falls for John's daughter Mary.
Original Cast
- Neva Carr Glyn as Connie Naismith
- Patricia Conolly as May Willy
- Neil Fitzpatrick as Possum Willy
- Ron Haddrick as Doctor Gorman
- Rodney Milgate as Billy Willy
- Desmond Rolfe as Jim Richards
- Grant Taylor as Nick Diargos
- Frank Waters as John Willy
Reception
The Sydney Tribune said the 1959 production featured "one of the finest performances that this reviewer has seen on the Elizabethan stage— that of Grant Taylor's portrayal of Nick Diargos, the. vengeance-seeking Greek. He invests Diargos with an awe-inspiring strength and yet with gentleness and dignity and his performance is one of the main reasons for the play's great impact on the audience."[5]
References
- http://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/features/performing-arts/richard-watts/ten-overlooked-australian-plays-and-why-theyre-important-247601
- "Elizabethans had to buy first show". The Canberra Times. 22 June 1965. p. 19. Retrieved 24 May 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- "Bastard country". Tribune. New South Wales, Australia. 20 May 1959. p. 7. Retrieved 22 April 2020 – via Trove.
- https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19600505&id=G2sRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xsUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7012,702981&hl=en
- "Bastard country". Tribune. New South Wales, Australia. 20 May 1959. p. 7. Retrieved 22 April 2020 – via Trove.
External links
- Production details at AusStage
- Play information at AustLit
- Original program at the Trust