Julia Britton (27 June 1914 - 5 November 2012) was an Australian playwright. Britton was perhaps best known for her literary adaptations and biographical plays.

Life

Julia Britton was born Hilda Hartt in

Romiley Romiley is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it borders Marple, Bredbury and Woodley. At the 2011 census, the Romiley ward, which includes Compstall, Bredbury Green an ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

in 1914, the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Hartt . She attended

Withington Girls' School Withington Girls' School is an independent day school in Fallowfield, Manchester, United Kingdom, providing education for girls between the ages of seven and eighteen. Withington is a member of the Girls' Schools Association and the Headmasters ...

and later, the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1930. She moved to South Africa six years later, where she worked as a journalist. It was during these years that she began to experiment with writing for the theatre, beginning with her un-produced play ''The Jacky Hangman''. In 1939 she married musician/composer Philip Britton in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

before they emigrated to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia with their three children in 1967 when he was appointed to the Elder Conservatorium,

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, as the Lecturer in Music Education. She died in Adelaide on 5 November 2012.

Plays

In 1984 she was appointed Playwright-in-Residence at the Stage Company in Adelaide, where her acclaimed play, ''Miles Franklin and the Rainbow's End'', was developed and produced at The Space. The play was a critical and commercial success and was later invited for a season at the San Antonio Festival in Texas. It was produced again in Melbourne at the Playbox Theatre and subsequently as part of "A Short Season of Women Writers at

La Mama La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...

" (1992). It was again revived at Theatreworks by Fly-On-The-Wall Theatre in 2000 and transferred to Perth's The Blue Room as part of the inaugural WA Fringe Festival. Through friend actor/director Malcolm Robertson, Britton was introduced to director

Robert Chuter Robert Chuter is an Australian theatre director, film director, producer, writer, and actor. Early life Robert John Chuter was born on 23 April 1964 in Carlton, Victoria, Australia, the only son of Rita Spalding and British emigrant Harry Chute ...

in 1988, with whom she would later form a long-lasting partnership. In 1991 she was commissioned to write ''Loving Friends'' which was produced site-specific at the National Trust of Australia property Rippon Lea in Elsternwick, Melbourne. The play, that was based on the life of arts patron Lady Ottoline and the

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

set, was a sell out success and followed with a revival the following year. The sequel to ''Loving Friends'' was ''An Indian Summer'', which proved equally as popular. In 1995 they made national headlines with their notorious adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's ''

Lady Chatterley's Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the last novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, w ...

'', produced as a site-specific adaption by Peter Holmes à Court (Back Row Productions), Foster Gracie and EHW Productions. The play became a succès de scandal thanks to its daring frankness and faithfulness to the source novels and was so popular that it received seven seasons across Australia in Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney and eventually in Perth, where it was met with opposition when the Christian Democrats attempted to have the production closed down. Her collaborations with Chuter continued with biographical productions of ''The Object of Desire'' (about

Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a British painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major ...

), ''The Lost'' (about

Christopher Isherwood Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...

), ''The White Rose and the Blue'' (about

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...

), ''I've Danced With A Girl Who Danced With The Prince Of Wales'' (about Prince Edward) and ''The Yellow Book'' (about

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Woodblock printing in Japan, Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He ...

). Literary adaptations include ''

Little Lord Fauntleroy ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was published as a serial in '' St. Nicholas Magazine'' from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's (the publisher of ''St. Nicholas'') in 1886. The ill ...

'', ''

Women In Love ''Women in Love'' (1920) is a novel by English author D. H. Lawrence. It is a sequel to his earlier novel ''The Rainbow'' (1915) and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an artist, ...

'', ''

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

'', ''Good Morning, Midnight!'' and ''

Seven Little Australians ''Seven Little Australians'' is a classic Australian children's literature novel by Ethel Turner, published in 1894. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father ...

''. Other productions produced include "The Singing Forest", "Sunset Children", "Five Minute Call", "The Dream Children", "A Singular Man" and others. Her other productions include ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...

'', ''Space Travel Unlimited'', ''Erotica in Black and White'' and ''Mrs. Bloem''. Her plays have been produced in Melbourne at La Mama, Carlton Courthouse,

Melbourne Town Hall Melbourne Town Hall is the central city town hall of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and is a historic building in the state of Victoria since 1867. Located in the central business district on the northeast corner of the intersection between S ...

, The Butterfly Club, Theatreworks,

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre compa ...

, Playbox Theatre, fortyfivedownstairs,

St Martins Theatre St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of ''The Mousetrap'' since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world. The theatre is located in West Street, near Shaftesbury Avenue, in t ...

, Chapel Off Chapel. In Sydney at Griffin Theatre, Parnassus' Den, North West Theatre Company, New Theatre. In Adelaide at Theatre 62, Stage Company, Budgie Lung,

State Theatre Company of South Australia The State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), branded State Theatre Company South Australia, formerly the South Australian Theatre Company (SATC), is South Australia's leading professional theatre company, and a statutory corporation. It ...

, Lion Arts Centre. In Perth at The Blue Room and in Hong Kong: Hong Kong Fringe Festival plus numerous others. Britton's ''Oblomov's Dream'' and ''Fresh Pleasures'' were both staged in London. The staging of ''Fresh Pleasures'' along with her life and career, was the subject of the documentary ''Fearless"'.

Radio plays

''A Cage in the Country'' (produced by ABC) and ''Ritual Killing'' (produced by 5UV).

Music theatre

Britton collaborated with daughter, musician, Louise Woodcock, who initiated and directed ''Music of Milhaud'' (1995), ''Faith, Folk & Fun: A Music Theatre-Patchwork'' (1997), ''Lord Byron: Child of Scotland'' (1998) and ''Robert Burns: Lov'd at Home, Rever'd Abroad'' (1998).

Screenplays

In 2009 her stage play and original screenplay ''The Dream Children'' was adapted by Angus Brown. The feature film ''The Dream Children'' was produced by Fat Kid Films and is set for 2014 theatrical release. Britton served as the executive producer on the picture. Her other screenplays include adaptations of Henry Handel Richardson's ''Maurice Guest'' and

Ann Bridge Ann Bridge (11 September 1889 – 9 March 1974) is the pseudonym of Mary Ann Dolling (Sanders), Lady O'Malley, also known as Cottie Sanders. Bridge wrote 14 novels, mostly based on her experiences living in foreign countries, one book of short ...

's ''Peking Picnic''. The staged rehearsed reading of 'Maurice Guest', directed by Jackson Raine and produced by Chuter was presented at Chapel Off Chapel in January 2013.

Awards

AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

Monte Miller Memorial Award, 1982 for ''Exits and Entrances''. * Winner of section three of McGregor Literary Competition for ''A Cage in the Country'', later produced by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

radio.

References

* Leonard Radic (2006) "Contemporary Australian Drama" page 285 published 2006 Branl & Schlesinger * Melborn08's "Playspotting" first published in 2008 by Melbourne Writers' Theatre. "Space Travel Unlimited" page 39–47