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Errol Bray

ERROL BRAY

  
Nationality:    Australian
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

Errol Bray has worked in theatre for over 30 years in a range of roles - playwright; director; arts administrator; festival director; youth arts worker; lecturer/tutor. He was founding Artistic Director of Shopfront Theatre for Young People, Sydney (1976); of Australian National Young Playwrights Weekend (1978); of World Interplay festival for young playwrights (1984); of Switchboard Arts Co-op Ltd (1987); and of the Emerge Project for development of new playwrights at Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane (2005). He has run major community theatre projects including being Director of the West Gippsland Arts Centre for 3 years and of the 2002 Desert Uplands Festival in Central Queensland (covering 75,000 sq km). He was commissioned to write and direct Playing Federation in 2001, a history of Thuringowa in Northern Queensland, with a cast of over 300 local people. He has supervised the MA (Research) Playwriting at QUT (Brisbane) for the past 6 years. His play The Choir was produced widely in Australia in the 1980s and it has been done in London (2009), Ljubljana (1985) and Washington DC (1981). Other plays have been produced mostly by youth, community and independent companies. His book on group-creation with young people  Playbuilding (Currency Press, 1994) is used nationally as a text for drama teachers. In 2001, he was awarded a PhD for his thesis on international projects in new play development.

Research:    http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/226339

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below is a list of Errol Bray's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Baby Sitters         Childmyth         Choir, The         Fittest, The         Kid Knows Somethin', The         Nijinsky At Twilight         Playground Play, The         Playing Federation         Rhino         Room         Shopfront Show, The         Tale Play, The         Whom         Without Women
Baby Sitters

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach, Nsw     26 Oct 1983

Organisations:
Action Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/90793

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Childmyth

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Shopfront Theatre, Carlton, Nsw     01 Mar 1980

Organisations:
Shopfront Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TIE group devised

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/96128

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Choir, The

Choir, The
The orphanage boys' choir has won the interstate competition 3 years in a row. Miss Lawson (never seen) wants to win it again. She has the boy sopranos castrated so that their voices will remain high, pure and beautiful. The choir boys get an easy life with 7 to a dormitory and they also are passionate in wanting to win. Andrew is the Head Boy in the dormitory of this story. The others idolise him except for Michael who will not speak and sits at his desk cutting out heads from photos in magazines. Underneath the story lies an uneasy and distorted sexuality with Andrew as love-god. During a fight/game/tease Michael reveals that the castration is a mistake because they were done too late. Their voices are still changing. He thinks everyone must know this but the other boys don't. They are extremely disturbed by the revelation. They try to organise an escape. They try to tell the rest of the choir who won't believe them at first and fighting breaks out amongst the different choir rooms. Others try to set the building on fire. In a fight, David (the singer) is injured in the throat. He commits suicide with the help of his best friend, Colin. Andrew tries to bring about calm. But he no longer holds sway over his group. They castrate him so that everyone in their room will be equal.

Notes:
the UK premiere of the controversial Australian play

1st Produced:
Nimrod Upstairs, Surry Hills, Nsw     21 Jan 1981

Organisations:
Shopfront Theatre

1st Published:
http://Australianplays.org/   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
85 min Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/6254

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Fittest, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Stables Theatre, Darlinghurst, Nsw     19 Sep 1980

Organisations:
Shopfront Theatre

1st Published:
Playscript: Errol Bray, The Fittest, Shopfront Theatre, Carlton, New South Wales, Fryer Library, University of Queensland Library, 1980   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/90799

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Kid Knows Somethin', The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Performed As part of A double bill with David McCartney's 'Inmates', Errol Bray's second part of the Kid Cabaret trilogy

1st Produced:
Judith Wright Centre Of Contemporary Arts, 420 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley     2008

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Nijinsky At Twilight

Synopsis:
The play is a dramatic re-telling of the fame and decline into madness of Vaslav Nijinsky, the greatest male dancer in the history of ballet and a genius as a choreographer. Using dance and music to colour the emotional life of the story. It is told from the perspective of the older Nijinsky at 60 and near death. He re-visits his life to try to understand his tragedy. He summons up his own spirit - himself at 29 just before he went mad  to help him. Between them  and with the help of The Woman who is every-woman in his life, from dance partner, to wife, to mother  they play out the central moments and characters of Nijinsky's decade of fame from 19 to 29. Scenes explore his adoration of his mother and contempt for his father; his early fame as a dancer; his artistic and personal liaison with Diaghilev; his controversial choreography for Afternoon of a Faune and Rite of Spring; his marriage; his break with Diaghilev; his decline into a 30-year madness. The three actor/dancers role-play some 16 characters in the telling of the story. The brilliant costumes, music and dance involved in Nijinsky's life are used  mostly suggested in broad strokes - to illustrate the richness of his emotional journey towards the twilight of madness.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
http://Australianplays.org/   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Bioplay with music and dance 100 min Gay/Lesbian, historical characters

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
-

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Playground Play, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Various Nsw Schools, Nsw Region, Nsw     1980

Organisations:
Shopfront Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TIE

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/90813

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Playing Federation

Synopsis:
a history of Thuringowa in Northern Queensland

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     2001

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
community play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  over 300 local people

Further Reference:
-

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Rhino

Synopsis:
Can two straight men be thought of as "a couple"?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama. - - Gay/Lesbian, of interest

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Room

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Shopfront Theatre, Carlton, Nsw     01 Dec 1982

Organisations:
Shopfront Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TYA

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/90814

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Shopfront Show, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Shopfront Theatre, Carlton, Nsw     06 Mar 1981

Organisations:
Shopfront Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TIE group devised

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/96135

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Tale Play, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Schools Tour, Nsw     01 Apr 1980

Organisations:
Shopfront Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TIE group devised

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/96119

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Whom

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
New South Wales, Nsw     01 Jul 1981

Organisations:
Shopfront Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/90815

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Without Women

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Wood Street Theatre, Newcastle, Nsw     11 Mar 1981

Organisations:
Shopfront Theatre

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
piece

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/90816

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