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Stephen Sewell

STEPHEN SEWELL  (1953 - )

 Nationality:    Australian
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Currency Press, Australia  


Well-known for his film and theatre work, including his AFI Award winning script of 'The Boys' as well as plays such as 'The Blind Giant is Dancing', 'The Secret Death of Salvador Dali' (Best Show of the Adelaide Fringe, 2001) and 'myth Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America - A Drama in 30 Scenes' (Playbox Theatre, State Theatre Company of South Australia, June-July 2003; The Orange Tree Theatre, London 2004), Sewell is one of the most celebrated and experienced writers in Australia. Sewell chaired the Australian National Playwrights Centre for a number of years and is the recipient of numerous awards, including a two year Australian Council Literary Fellowship and the prestigious ANPC Award for Significant Contribution to Australian Theatre (2004) His first major musical piece, Three Furies - Scenes from the Life of Francis Bacon opened to enormous acclaim as one of the featured productions of the Sydney Arts Festival and continues to tour internationally. His play, Myth, Propaganda and Disaster was awarded both the 2004 Green Room Award, both the New South Wales and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, and the Australian Writers Guild Award for Best Play, making it the most awarded play in Australian history. His subsequent two plays, 'It Just Stopped' and 'The Gates of Egypt' are now in production. AWARDS: Australian National Playwrights Award Significant Contribution to Australian Theatre (Lifetime Award, 2004). Australian Writers' Guild Award for Best Play (Myth, propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America - A Drama in 30 Scenes, 2004). Victorian Premier's Award for Literature (Myth, propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America - A Drama in 30 Scene, 2004). New South Wales Premier's Award for Literature (Myth, propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America - A Drama in 30 Scene, 2004). Victorian Green Room Award for Best New Play, (Myth, propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America - A Drama in 30 Scene 2004). Adelaide Fringe Arts Festival Award for Best Show (The Secret Death of Salvador Dali, 2003). New South Wales Film and Television Office Writers' Fellowship (1 YEAR). Australian Arts Council Literary Fellowship (2002-2004). Victorian Green Room Award for Best Production (Dreams In An Empty City, 1990). Victorian Green Room Award for Best New Australian Play, 1989 (Hate, 1989). Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award for Best Screenplay from an Adapted Source (The Boys, 1998). Film Critics Circle Award (The Boys, 1998). New South Wales Premier's Literary Award (The Blind Giant Is Dancing, 1985). Australian Writers Guild Award (The Blind Giant Is Dancing, 1985)

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

 Anger's Love         Blind Giant is Dancing, The         Boys, The         Burn Victim         Dreams in an Empty City         Dust         Father We Loved On a Beach By the Sea, The         Garden of Granddaughters, The         Gates of Egypt         Hate         Identity By Helen Demidenko         In the City Of Grand-Daughters         Isabelle Eberhardt         It Just Stopped         King Golgrutha         Miranda         Myth, Propaganda & Disaster In Nazi Germany & Contemporary America         Secret Death Of Salvador Dali, The         Sick Room, The         Sisters         Three Furies         Traitors         United States of Nothing, The         Welcome the Bright World         Why We Hate You

Anger's Love

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Genre:
Political satire musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Blind Giant is Dancing, The

Stephen Sewell
Sewell's passionate examination of the way political power can corrupt the individual and society at large is now published in a radically revised edition following its revival at Belvoir Street Theatre in Sydney in 1995.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Adelaide, Australia    1983

Company:
-

1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney, 1983   978-0868194929

Music:
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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Boys, The

Synopsis:
Based on the controversial stage playby Gordon Graham, The Boys is an unflinching analysis of the violence that lurks in Australian society. Returning home from prison, Brett sets about re-establishing control over his wayward brothers as he searches for an act the three brothers can participate in jointly, and thereby violate norms.

Notes:
The play of TheBoys is Also Available

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1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney, 1998   -

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Genre:
Screenplay

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Burn Victim

Synopsis:
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Notes:
written with others

1st Produced:
Sydney    1983

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Genre:
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Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Dreams in an Empty City

Synopsis:
Examines the nature of human corruption against the background of international high finance

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1st Produced:
Adelaide, Australia    1986

Company:
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1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney, 1983   -

Music:
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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

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Genre:
Urban Tragedy

Parts:
Male:  23            Female:  11            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Dust

Synopsis:
A man and his daughter, grappling with grief, guilt and a desire for a better world, search their dreams for one another in the debris of a broken civilisation

Notes:
part of trilogy the "Garden of Fartkhly Delights"

1st Produced:
Adelaide, Australia    1993

Company:
-

1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney,    -

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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  11            Female:  9            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Father We Loved On a Beach By the Sea, The

Synopsis:
a powerfully felt study of an ordinary family caught up in the sudden depression of the late 1950s; and of the effects of that experience upon the children

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Brisbane    1978

Company:
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1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney, 1976   -

Music:
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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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Garden of Granddaughters, The

Synopsis:
Max, a world-renowned Australian conductor, returns unexpectedly to Melbourne with his wife Moriley for a family reunion. Their three daughters are in various stages of decline, success and reproduction; their granddaughters are full of hope and dreams. Most of life's questions are evaded, avoided and ignored in this compassionate comedy.

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  7            Other:  -

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Gates of Egypt

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1st Produced:
Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney    2007

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1st Published:
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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

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Genre:
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Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Hate

Synopsis:
One of Australia's richest men and a political force of the far right believes in a leaner, harder Australia.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Sydney    1988

Company:
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1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney,    -

Music:
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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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Identity By Helen Demidenko

Synopsis:
an old fashioned revue on the theme of human identity

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Junction Theatre, Adelaide    1996

Company:
Ace Productions

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In the City Of Grand-Daughters

Synopsis:
Comparisons between the generations

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Melbourne    1993

Company:
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1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney,    -

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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Isabelle Eberhardt

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1st Produced:
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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

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Genre:
Screenplay

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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It Just Stopped

Stephen Sewell
This savage comedy of manners explores our relationship to art, globalisation, death, technology, America, Campari, cardboard boxes and slavery. Sewell's play is funny and shocking in turn. It holds the mirror up to the things we value today and asks the questions - what will we value the day the world just stops, and what would we be willing to trade for our own survival?

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1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia >>>, 2007   978-0868198170

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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

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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King Golgrutha

Synopsis:
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Notes:
part of trilogy the "Garden of Fartkhly Delights"

1st Produced:
Adelaide, Australia    1991

Company:
-

1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney,    -

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

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Genre:
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Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Miranda

Synopsis:
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1st Produced:
Brisbane    1989

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1st Published:
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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

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Myth, Propaganda & Disaster In Nazi Germany & Contemporary America

Stephen Sewell
This tough political thriller, based in the Liberal Arts department of New York University, is no play for the timid. But its violent language and extreme brutality, brilliantly choreographed, are essential elements for an enthralling study of a polarised world turned backto-front - a Kafka-esque nightmare of state terrorism condoned by liberty lovers in defence of the Land of the Free.

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1st Produced:

Company:
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1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia >>>, 2003   978-0868197050

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

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Genre:
Political Thriller

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Secret Death Of Salvador Dali, The

Synopsis:
14/888

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Edinburgh Fringe    2002

Company:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  musician

Further Reference:
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Sick Room, The

Stephen Sewell
brings together three generations of a family under the one roof to care for a terminally ill teenager. As she faces impending death, the other family members find themselves confronting their own lives

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Company:
Malthouse Theatre

1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney,    978-0868195855

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

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Sisters

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Melbourne    1991

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1st Published:
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Music:
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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

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Three Furies

Synopsis:
It's just before the Paris retrospective that would anoint the celebrated Anglo-Irish artist Francis Bacon as the greatest figurative painter of the twentieth century. On the eve of the exhibition Bacon's model, muse and lover, George Dyer, commits suicide. An exploration of the sexy, stormy and dangerous relationship between the couple, using drama, dark poetry and satire.

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1st Produced:
Sydney Opera House    2005

Company:
-

1st Published:
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Music:
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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

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Genre:
Play with songs Play with Music

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Traitors

Synopsis:
Set in Russia in 1927 against the background of unrest at the dawn of Stalinism, Traitors charts the triumph of paranoia and betrayal over truth and innocence, as it simultaneously examines conflicts between the personal and the political.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Melbourne    1979

Company:
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1st Published:
Alternative Publishing Co-operative, Sydney, 1983   -

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

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Genre:
Historical Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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United States of Nothing, The

Synopsis:
Part satire, part biting political critique, this Katrina-inspired play focuses on a small white family left behind in the rush to leave Louisiana ahead of a hurricane. Set in a Superdome, the play takes an irreverent look at an America knee deep in trouble as it tries to bring democracy to the Arabs when it can't even evacuate hospital patients from a storm. Playwright Sewell peels away layers from initial caricatures to reveal humanity beneath Chip and Jackie and their children, Randy and Ashley.

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1st Produced:
Stables Theatre, Sydney    2006

Company:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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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

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Genre:
Play One Act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Welcome the Bright World

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    -

Company:
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1st Published:
Alternative Publishing Co-operative, Sydney,    -

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

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Why We Hate You

Synopsis:
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Notes:
Originally performed As part of "All Of Which Are American Dreams"

1st Produced:
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Company:
Theatre In Decay

1st Published:
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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

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Genre:
Short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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