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on the wreck of the "Batavia", now in the Fremantle Maritime Museum

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I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

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Play/Drama

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3 actors

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Synopsis: the dramatized true story of the wreck of the Dutch ship "Batavia" on the Abrohlos atolls off the coast of Western Australia in 1628. In this dramatic and entertaining play, hailed by one reviewer as his "play of the year", events unfold against a background of religious millenarianism, or "end of the world" fervor. Three hundred men, women and children were marooned. In the absence of their commander, thirty men belonging to a Christian cult men took control and massacred a hundred and twenty five others. The remaining women were taken as concubines. These events are seen through the eyes of a young Dutch woman who was forced to "wed" the charismatic leader of the mutineers. Her experiences lead her to lose all belief in God and any human purpose other than survival. The play is of great relevance to audiences at the end of the twentieth century. It is also presented with considerable dark humour and is a testament to the stubborn persistence of the irrepressible human spirit.

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Currency Press, Sydney

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

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Adaptation

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Notes: autobiography by Emma Ciccotosto

Synopsis: based on the story of Emma Ciccotosto, who migrates from an impoverished Italian rural village to Western Australia at the age of 13. The play opens with Emma, now older cooking for a wedding feast for her family as she regales the audience with tales of her feckless husband and venomous mother-in-law. "My own life has been a list of battles. If you want to survive you must fight. If you want not to be poor you fight. And if you want a good marriage. . . then don't fight.I always gave into my husband. . .. for a little while. Maybe two or three days . You can always get what you want if you have love. . . and a brain. Always pick the right time. And never waste money. Bank notes are like teeth. They're painful to get, but more painful to part with." Emma's dialogue is juxtaposed with beautiful singing from a community choir.

Drum Theatre, Dandenong, Victoria

2008

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I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

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Synopsis: An edited dramatisation of the interrogation of Dr. Mohamed Haneef, the Indian born doctor, who was the first person to be arrested under Australia's new anti-terrorism laws. -

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I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page

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Synopsis: An old Australian soldier has been taken off an airplane returning to Australia. Now, on the eleventh of November, he is in a hospital with a second and possibly fatal attack of dengue fever. Cranky and acerbic, he remembers his experiences in East Timor. He fought there against the Japanese during the second World War. He also formed a close friendship with a young Timorese "criado" or helper and guide. In the play, with a cast of two, we delve into the old soldier's conscience for he believes he betrayed his criado at the end when the Australian guerrillas were withdrawn. In his fevered imagination, his male nurse becomes his criado as well as other characters important in his memory. The play, full of wry humour and political comment about Australia and East Timor, is a tribute to the East Timorese and to Australian war veterans.