The Break
Written byPhilip Albright
Directed byJohn Tasker[1]
Date premieredFebruary 27, 1962 (1962-02-27)[2]
Place premieredUnion Theatre, Sydney
Original languageEnglish
Subjecthomosexuality, alcoholism
Genredrama
SettingKings Cross, Sydney

The Break is a 1962 Australian play by Philip Albright. Albright was an American writer and actor who had moved to Australia. He died in 1959 and the play debuted after his death.[3] It was an early Australian play to depict homosexuality.[4] A manuscript dated from 1950 shows that Albright was working on the play well before it debuted.[5] The play's setting was in Laura Masters flat in Potts Point.[6] In October 1959 the play won equal second prize in Little Theatre Guild competition under the title The Bust. (The winner was Burst of Summer.)[7]

The play debuted at the Union Theatre in Sydney[8] in 1962 as part of a series of three new Australian plays under the auspices of the Elizabethan Theatre Trust. The others were Naked Island and Shipwreck.[3]

Critical reception was poor.[9][4] The Bulletin called it "stupid."[10]

Premise

An alcoholic woman lost her husband years ago. He returns to Australia determined to take their teenage son back with him. The husband implies that their son is gay.[4]

Cast of original production

References

  1. ^ "Emptily served melodrama". The Australian Jewish Times. Vol. 69, no. 26. New South Wales, Australia. 9 March 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 18 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "Advertisement". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 February 1962. p. 20.
  3. ^ a b "Australian plays at the Union Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 January 1962. p. 6.
  4. ^ a b c "New play at Union Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 February 1962. p. 4.
  5. ^ Albright, Philip (1950), The break : a play, retrieved 20 July 2023
  6. ^ "The Break: A Modern Drama". AusStage. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  7. ^ "Woman first in £1000 play quest". The Age. 17 October 1959. p. 5.
  8. ^ [Union Theatre (University of Sydney) : programs and related material collected by the National Library of Australia], 1900, retrieved 20 July 2023
  9. ^ "Musicals outshone the plays". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 July 1962. p. 77.
  10. ^ "Theatre an Acting Exercise", The bulletin., John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 83 (4283), 17 Mar 1962 [1880], ISSN 0007-4039, nla.obj-701133405, retrieved 18 July 2023 – via Trove
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