The Day Before Tomorrow
Written byRic Throssell
Date premiered6 April 1956 (1956-04-06)[1]
Place premieredCanberra
Original languageEnglish
Subjectnuclear war

The Day Before Tomorrow is a 1956 Australian play by Ric Throssell. It debuted at the Canberra Repertory Company in 1956 with Throssell appearing in a lead role. The Canberra Times called it "absorbing".[2] The Bulletin called it "a very good play".[3] Leslie Rees wrote "This nightmarish vision of what might challenge humanity at any moment was projected with grim directness and without relieving humour or even bitter wit. The world of the 1950s, daily warned of the bomb, readily absorbed the lesson."[4]

The play was performed in amateur theatres through Australia. It was performed in Melbourne during the Olympic Drama Festival in 1956 with two other Australian plays, Under the Coolibah Tree and Pacific Paradise. [5] It was also performed in London and at the Edinburgh Festival.

The play was published several times and was adapted twice for radio by the ABC, in 1956 and 1959.[6] The 1956 production was criticised by The Age as "just about as dull and pointless as any play could be."[7] The 1956 ABC production was, like Pacific Paradise, criticised as containing "subtle Communist propaganda" in part because it was recommended to be read by a Communist newspaper. This allegation was refuted by Neil Hutchison of the ABC who called the criticism "baffling".[8]

Reviewing the published 1969 edition the Sydney Morning Herald called it "a taut and workmanlike play."[9]

Premise

The Jackson family struggle to survive after a nuclear war. Father Alan wants to grow food. The mother Mary is dying of radiation. Their son has died. The daughter Carolyn prostitutes herself to men so the family can eat. The neighbour, Rawlins, is a chemist who has gone insane.

References

  1. ↑ "What People Are Doing". The Canberra Times. Vol. 30, no. 8, 800. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 20 March 1956. p. 4. Retrieved 13 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Absorbing Play Set In Future Probes Human Conflicts". The Canberra Times. Vol. 30, no. 8, 815. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 April 1956. p. 2. Retrieved 13 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ Review of play at the Bulletin
  4. ↑ Rees, Leslie (1987). Australian drama, 1970-1985 : a historical and critical survey. p. 375.
  5. ↑ "Ric. TSirossell's Play To Be Taken To Paris". The Canberra Times. Vol. 31, no. 9, 193. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 12 June 1957. p. 5. Retrieved 13 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Down and out in Sydney and Melbourne". The Canberra Times. Vol. 44, no. 12, 451. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 25 October 1969. p. 17. Retrieved 13 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "Ariel" (30 June 1956). "Choosing drama for broadcating". The Age. p. 18.
  8. ↑ "Propaganda Plays?". ABC Weekly. 18 August 1956. p. 2.
  9. ↑ "After the blast". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 September 1969. p. 16.
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