The First Night (of The One Day of the Year)

Image (above): playwright Stephen Vagg, with Griffen Walsh and Gregory Wilken

Alan Bennett once said “Don’t let the facts get in the way of the truth” – and that is the creative approach that Stephen Vagg has taken to bring to life his story about the opening night of Alan Seymour’s famously controversial play, The One Day of the Year. Seymour’s play was banned from the first Adelaide Festival for being ‘un-Australian’ due to its use of Anzac Day to address a widening gap between the generations and the social classes. So, amid bomb threats and anti-Communist investigations from ASIO operatives, an amateur theatrics group decides to brave the storm and adhere to their mantra: The Show Must Go On!

The rehearsed reading took place in Ad Astra’s latest new space, Cosmos, a relaxed setting in which to welcome this fresh work. The play is set backstage, in tension-filled real time, as the crowds pack into Willard Hall in Adelaide, and the clock ticks down to ‘curtain up’. The behind-the-scenes setting and hit-the-ground-running humour could bring to mind a farce such as Michael Frayn’s Noises Off. The surreal comedy and theatrical in-jokes were immediate and lapped up by a cast of some of Brisbane’s finest performers. Leading the troupe was Bronwyn Nayler as Jean Marshall, the producer (Bronwyn’s experience and pitch perfect vocals lent a calm and controlled presence); Janaki Gerard as the pre-Feminist leading lady (Janaki’s stage presence and comic timing are forces to be reckoned with); Willem Whitfield as leading man and wannabe writer, Terry (Willem lends a confident tone and emotional light and shade to the overall flavour of the piece, which is crucial); Griffin Walsh as Ogie (a nervey, props-obsessed actor adding a naïve comic tension to the air); and Gregory J Wilken, having serious fun playing a series of memorable roles, from an ASIO spy, to the objectionable cultural gatekeeper, Neil Hutchison, formerly of ABC Drama and now Head of the Elizabethan Theatre Trust, someone who is NOT a fan of Australian content at all.

Brisbane-based Stephen Vagg knows a bit about being an Australian writer. He is an author (Rod Taylor: An Aussie in Hollywood), playwright (Dirty Caff, Friday Night Drinks), screenwriter (All My Friends are Leaving Brisbane), TV scriptwriter (Neighbours, Home and Away), and features writer (Film Ink). He is also a researcher with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Australian theatrical and film history. His passion for the subject of Australian content was obvious in this new work – and it is a timely reminder (as we stream more and more overseas content online) of a time when Australian cultural leaders were actively opposed to putting Australian characters and themes on stage. It’s a fascinating topic and one that Stephen Vagg has investigated over the past few years. While the audience may need a little more background information on the 1960’s setting, the script scatters enough clues as the play progresses. Stephen’s solid research foundation provides crucial, but only because he casts it aside to let his imagination catch fire – it was this surreal and wildly funny tone that the play reading audience loved. Because the action happens in real time (70 minutes to show time) – there is no room for complete character arcs for all the cast. Those that do have relationships or inner journeys are neatly brought full circle, and those supporting characters are taken care of with humour-filled narration. It works given the overall comic edge.

This world-premiere reading was part of Ad Astra’s Astra Nova programme which supports emerging and established professionals in getting their work in front of an audience. Stephen Vagg is very well established on the Australian writing landscape, but I’m sure it was valuable to hear a live audience reaction to his freshly-inked characters last night. I hope we can look forward to a fully-fledged production in the future.

Find out more about Astra Nova: www.adastracreativity.com/astranova

Beth Keehn

Photographs courtesy of Ad Astra