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George Landen Dann

GEORGE LANDEN DANN  (1904 - 1977)

 Nationality:    Australian
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a


George Landen Dann was born on January 1st 1904 in Brisbane. He started work in 1920 at the Queensland Land Department where he trained as a draughtsman. Dann had to take care of his widowed mother and invalid sister - something he resented doing. He never married. Dann was described as being: "keen-eyed, clean-limbedand good looking Australian, such as grace our beaches, tennis courtsand playing fields". He began writing plays - to begin with for amateur companies. In 1931 there was controversy over his play "In Beauty It Is Finished" because it depicted an inter-racial affair. There was an attempt to get it banned - but the Archbishop Brisbane Gerald Sharp supported it and it was put on with some minor script changes. He carried on with his job as a draughtsman (apart from a spell when he was called up in World War Two) and wrote in his spare time. He retired in December 1954 and moved to a remote area on the Sunshine Coast where he continued to write. He died on June 6th 1977

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below is a list of George Landen Dann's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

 Caroline Chisholm         Fountains Beyond         Green Trees, The         In Beauty It Is Finished         No Incense Rising         Orange Grove, The         Resurection At Mathewtown         Ring Out Wild Bells

Caroline Chisholm

Synopsis:
Subject: Chisholm, Caroline, 1808-1877 -- Drama.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Independent Theatre, Sydney    11 Aug 1946

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Sydney : Mulga Publications, 1943   -

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:
Biographical

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Fountains Beyond

George Landen Dann
Celebrated English travel writer Miss Gertrude Harnett has arrived in Kooreelba. Mayoral candidate Mr Watson, determined to offer Ms Harnett an authentic' Aboriginal experience sets out to organise a corroboree, with all money raised to go towards a new children's playground. The proposed playground site however, is the site of Koorelba's indigenous settlement and home to, amongst others, Vic and Peggy Filmer. Will the Aboriginal population be forced to move? Or can a compromise be reached? In Fountains Beyond, Dann highlights the complexity of the relationship between Indigenous and white Australians, explores the politics and practicalities of dispossession, and challenges the idea of Indigenous homogeneity. He demands that audiences consider the assumptions behind and ethics of Aboriginal welfare and Assimilation policies.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Workers Art Club, Sydney    28 Jan 1942

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playlab   978 1 921390 30 2

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

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Green Trees, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Brisbane Repertory Theatre, Brisbane, QLD    15 Sep 1941

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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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In Beauty It Is Finished

George Landen Dann
After spending five years in Brisbane, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper returns home to a small island off the coast of Queensland. Besides her parents the island is home to only an aboriginal mission and a fisherman who lives alone. On the surface life here is simple, quiet and repetitive, but the residents of this island have their secrets and they can't remain submerged forever. In Beauty It is Finished is a challenging story of identity, social acceptance and isolation. It shows that while life in the city can be difficult, the simple life can be just as complicated.

Notes:
Prior to opening, In Beauty it is Finished sparked public controversy when a local publication claimed that the play contained 'sordid' content. Church leaders preached from the pulpit against the play and condemned it in their newsletters, fanning a growing sense of moral outrage. After this sensationalist build-up, the production to played to packed houses, with audience members surprised that the play proceeded uninterrupted and with minimal censorship.

1st Produced:
His Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane    1931

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playlab   978 1 921390 23 4

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 90 min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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No Incense Rising

George Landen Dann
A life of one's own at the expense of one's family? Or a life of familial obligation? This is the choice faced by Ada Bergmann. Trapped on a remote island, accessible only by boat, the youthful Ada is burdened by the demands of her widowed mother, the expectations of her ever-patient fiancée Carl Nilssen, and haunted by the prospect of a different life. Infused with a spirit of tragedy, No Incense Rising is brimming with melodrama and a sense of the gothic: the landscape dominates, wild weather shapes the action, and a sense of menace and looming catastrophe persist throughout. This early example of Dann's work sits strongly within the sizeable canon of gothic Australian, and particularly Queensland theatre and literature.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
State Conservatorium of Music, Sydney    Nov 1937

Organisations:
Independent Theatre of Sydney

1st Published:
Playlab   978 1 921390 24 1

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

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Orange Grove, The

George Landen Dann
Carrie lives alone on her impoverished river-flats farm. Isolated and forgotten by the world, she relies on the company of the birds and trees. With her parents long gone, and her neighbour's constant excuses not to visit her, she ekes out an existence from her old orange grove tree. But her solitude is shattered when David, a dark, handsome stranger appears, resembling her past lover. While David draws up his proposal for the development of a new road and bridge, Carrie's grip on reality begins to slide as she mixes recollection of a past betrayal with David's new one  the possible resumption of her land. Exploring classic themes of love, betrayal and revenge, The Orange Grove is unique in its form. Combining naturalistic dialogue and poetic descriptions, the heightened and distorted version of Carries reality comes to life in this play that is truly ahead of its time.

Notes:
The Orange Grove originated as a radio play and was broadcast from 1958  1963. Alrene Sykes later mounted a new radio production of The Orange Grove, which included emerging Brisbane performers such as Jennifer Blocksidge and David Clendinning as the narrators. Jennifer later featured in a stage reading of the work in the early 1990s, which was directed by Richard Fotheringham at the time of establishment of the George Landen Dann Award.

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playlab   -

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:
New Vintage, Drama 60 min

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Resurection At Mathewtown

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Adelaide Festival of Arts    1962

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ring Out Wild Bells

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    Jun 1958

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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