A Cheery Soul is a 1963 play by Australian writer Patrick White[1] set in the fictional Sydney suburb of Sarsaparilla at the end of the 1950s. White described it as being about "the destructive power of good."[2][3]

Productions

A Cheery Soul premiered at the Union Theatre Repertory Company in Melbourne in November 1963 directed by John Sumner, with Nita Pannell as the 'cheery soul' Miss Docker.[4]

Other major productions have included:[5]

In popular culture

The play's chief character Miss Docker, as portrayed in 2018 by Sarah Peirse, was the subject of a portrait by Jude Rae, entered into the 2019 Archibald Prize. The artist had many sittings with the actor and has said of it: "Miss Docker's moments of isolation on stage also suggested a formal structure [for the painting] based on a famous 17th century portrait by Diego Velásquez of the actor Pablo de Valladolid, a buffoon in the court of King Phillip IV of Spain."[7] The artist also said: "perhaps this painting is something of an anti-portrait, a reminder that we are to some degree actors, projecting various versions of ourselves..."[7]

1966 TV adaptation

It was adapted for British TV in 1966 on the BBC.[8][9] The Daily Mirror called it tedious.[10]

References

  1. ^ Meyrick, Julian. "The great Australian plays: A Cheery Soul gave us a supreme theatrical monster". The Conversation. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  2. ^ ""I stopped being flattered a long time ago": Jim Sharman". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 46, no. 34. Australia. 24 January 1979. p. 9. Retrieved 16 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Profound experience at 'A Cheery Soul'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 53, no. 15, 852. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 February 1979. p. 5 (TV RADIO GUIDE). Retrieved 16 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Armstrong, Madeleine (7 December 1963), "Reviews – Theatre – The Powers of Darkness Patrick White's evil "do-gooder"", The Bulletin, John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 85 (4373): 39, ISSN 0007-4039
  5. ^ "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Sydney Theatre Company - A Cheery Soul by Patrick White". Sydney Theatre Company. 2018.
  7. ^ a b Rae, Jude (September–October 2019). "Stage of life". Look Magazine (Art Gallery Society of New South Wales): 59.
  8. ^ 1966 TV Version at IMDb
  9. ^ A Cheery Soul at BFI
  10. ^ "White Play Attacked". Sydney Morning Herald. 30 April 1966. p. 11.

External links

Works by Patrick White
Categories