''Manning Clark's History of Australia – The Musical'' is an Australian musical by Tim Robertson and

Don Watson Don Watson (born 1949) is an Australian author, screenwriter, former political adviser, and speechwriter. Early life Watson was born in 1949 at Warragul in the Gippsland region of Victoria, and grew up on a farm in nearby Korumburra. Academia ...

with

John Romeril John Henry Romeril (born 1945) is an Australian playwright and teacher. He has written around 60 plays for theatre, film, radio, and television, and is known for his 1975 play ''The Floating World''. Early life and education John Henry Romeril ...

with music by

Martin Armiger John Martin Armiger (10 June 1949 – 27 November 2019) was an Australian musician, record producer and composer. He was one of the singer-songwriters and guitarists with Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from August 1978 to late 1981, which ...

and

George Dreyfus George Dreyfus AM (born 22 July 1928) is an Australian contemporary classical, film and television composer. Early life and orchestral career Dreyfus was born to a Jewish family in Elberfeld, Wuppertal, Germany. He was the younger of two sons ...

with David King. Written to coincide with the

Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. History The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships ...

, the musical interweaves the life of historian

Manning Clark Charles Manning Hope Clark, (3 March 1915 – 23 May 1991) was an Australian historian and the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume ''A History of Australia'', published between 1962 and 1987. He has been descri ...

from 1915 to 1988 with Australian history from 1788 to 1915, utilising drama, melodrama, music, song, comedy and circus.

Development

Watson, Robertson and Romeril began working on a stage adaptation of Clark's (then) five volume ''A History of Australia'' in 1983.

Production history

The original production opened at Melbourne's Princess Theatre on 16 January 1988, produced by

John Timlin John Timlin is a theatre producer, literary agent and was the administrator of the Australian Performing Group in Melbourne. At the time Timlin was requested to invest in the APG, he ran a business in North Melbourne manufacturing weighbridges.Blu ...

with investors including the Hoyts Corporation and

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

, as part of

celebrations. It was directed by John Bell with choreography by Mark Daly and musical direction by David King. Negative initial reviews and poor ticket sales resulted in the musical facing closure after three weeks. In an effort to continue, the cast agreed to forgo wages, the theatre owner waived the rent and Hoyts provided free publicity. ''History of Australia'' finally closed in late February 1988, well short of initial expectations and without proceeding to a national tour. A cast recording was released by

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

in 1988.CastAlbums. (1988)
''Manning Clark's History of Australia: The Musical > Original Australian Cast''
/ref>''Manning Clark's History of Australia – The Musical''

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Cast

* Terry Bader as de Quiros, Jack Ketch, Captain Gilbert, Jesus, Quong Tart, Bold Jack Donohue, Tom Roberts. * Jonathan Biggins as Sir Joseph Banks, Captain Arthur Phillip, D'Arcy, WC and Billy Wentworth,

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime ministe ...

, the Unknown Soldier. * Terry Brady as Ensemble, chorus and understudy. *

Tina Bursill Tina Bursill (born 24 July 1951) is an Australian actress. She played Louise Carter on the television series '' Skyways'' (1979–1981) and Sonia Stevens on ''Prisoner'' (1983–1984). She played Meryl Knight in the Nine Network drama series ...

Elizabeth Macarthur Elizabeth Macarthur (14 August 1766 – 9 February 1850) was an Anglo-Australian pastoralist and merchant, and wife of John Macarthur. Early life Elizabeth Macarthur was born in Bridgerule, Devon, England, the daughter of provincial farmers, ...

, St Peter,

Caroline Chisholm Caroline Chisholm (born Caroline Jones; 30 May 1808 – 25 March 1877) was a 19th-century English humanitarian known mostly for her support of immigrant female and family welfare in Australia. She is commemorated on 16 May in the calendar of s ...

, Kate Kelly, Lady Carrington. * Darryl Emerson as Ned Ludd, Wharfie,

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton, (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician and judge who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903, holding office as the leader of the Protectionist Party. He resigned to ...

, understudy. *

Michele Fawdon Michele Fawdon (1947–2011) was an English-born Australian actress and singer. She is known for her roles in TV serials ''Matlock Police'' (1971–1974), ''The Unisexers'' (1975) and ''A Country Practice'' (1980, 1985, 1992). In 1979 she won t ...

Dymphna Clark Hilma Dymphna Clark (née Lodewyckx; 18 December 1916 – 12 May 2000), was an Australian linguist and educator. She was married to the historian Manning Clark. Born in Melbourne of Swedish and Flemish ancestry, Clark was educated at Mont Albe ...

, Rose, Miss Macarthur. *

Bob Hornery Robert James Hornery (28 May 1931 – 26 May 2015) was an Australian actor. He won both the Helpmann Awards and the Equity Awards lifetime achievement award, with a career spanning 60 years, in both Britain and Australia. He was well known for ...

as Cheng Ho,

Frank the Poet Francis MacNamara (ca. 1810 - 28 August 1861), known as Frank the Poet, was an Irish writer, a convict, transported to the Colony of New South Wales, Australia from Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland, he composed improvised verse expressing the ...

, Bishop Broughton,

Lord Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secret ...

Archbishop Mannix Daniel Patrick Mannix (4 March 1864 – 6 November 1963) was an Irish-born Catholic bishop. Mannix was the Archbishop of Melbourne for 46 years and one of the most influential public figures in 20th-century Australia. Early years and Maynoo ...

. * Geoffrey Jenkins as Lenny the Spoons,

Joe Byrne Joseph Byrne (21 November 1856 – 28 June 1880) was an Australian bushranger of Irish descent. A friend of Ned Kelly, he was a member of the "Kelly Gang" who were declared outlaws after the murder of three policemen at Stringybark Creek. Des ...

Billy Hughes William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...

. *

Ivar Kants Ivar Kants (born 19 July 1949) (commonly credited as ''Ivor'' Kants or Ivar Kanz) is an Australian actor of Latvian descent who has played numerous roles in soap operas including ''A Country Practice'', '' G.P.'', '' All Saints'', '' Water Rats ...

Reverend Marsden Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden was a prom ...

, Judge Barry. *

John McTernan John McTernan (born 1959) is a British political strategist and commentator. He has been a political adviser to the Labour Party. McTernan was Prime Minister Tony Blair's Director of Political Operations from 2005 to 2007. He then worked on ...

as Captain Cook, Peter the Possum, William Bligh, Henry Parkes. * Linda Nagle as Nance the Ferret, Mrs Wentworth,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. * Helen Noonan as Lara, Mrs Cooper, Nellie Melba. * Ingrid Silveus as Ensemble, chorus and understudy. *

Greg Stone Gregory "Greg" Jonathon Stone (born 23 June 1961 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian actor who has appeared in films, television and on stage. Early life Stone was born in Perth, Western Australia to parents Roy and Jennifer Stone ...

as Isaac, the Judge, John Macarthur,

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

, Roper, Charles Sturt, Henry Lawson. * Carmen Tanti as Hicks, Luddite, Sheila bandicoot, Barmaid and understudy. * Jenny Vuletic as Chartist,

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

Louisa Lawson Louisa Lawson (née Albury) (17 February 1848 – 12 August 1920) was an Australian poet, writer, publisher, suffragist, and feminist. She was the mother of the poet and author Henry Lawson. Early life Louisa Albury was born on 17 February 1 ...

, Mrs Parkes. * Ross Williams as Abel Tasman,

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, Marine,

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...

, Wharfie, Ned Kelly, George Reid.

Critical reception

The musical received a mixed critical reaction. In Melbourne newspaper ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', theatre critic Leonard Radic said the musical gave an overall impression of "patchiness and a failure of imagination". Playwright

Jack Hibberd John Charles Hibberd (born 12 April 1940 in Warracknabeal, Victoria) is an Australian playwright and physician. Biography Hibberd studied medicine at the University of Melbourne and resided in Newman College. He worked as a registrar in th ...

called Radic's review "disrespectful, captious and harsh" and "choked with terrible misjudgements".

Musical numbers

*"One Story" *"We Are They" *"Sons of Enlightenment" *"Nance the Ferret" *"The Wentworth Samba" *"The Cricket Song" *"There Is No Love" (inc. "Inaugural Orgy of NSW") *"We in the Shadows" *"Spirit of the Place" *"Gold" *"Parp Parp" *"The Kelly Gang Song" *"Reedy River" *"Louisa's Song" *"Tailoresses" (inc. "Faces in the Street") *"The Unknown Soldier" *"Gallipolli" *"Louisa Underscore" *"Song of the Republic" Musical numbers taken from the cast recording. Orchestrations:

, Sharon Calcraft, Duncan Cameron, Ashley Irwin, David King, Derek Williams. In addition to a

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...

, the lineup included two

Kurzweil K250 The Kurzweil K250, manufactured by Kurzweil Music Systems, was an early electronic musical instrument which produced sound from sampled sounds compressed in ROM, faster than common mass storage such as a disk drive. Acoustic sounds from bras ...

s that replaced the different orchestral sections with sampled sounds.

References

External links

''Manning Clark's History of Australia''
at AusStage
"We in the Shadows" from ''History of Australia'' performed by Geraldine Turner on YouTube"The Unknown Soldier" from ''History of Australia'' performed by Philip Quast on YouTubeA History of Australia The Musical, A History
(website by Tim Robertson about the musical including the libretto) {{DEFAULTSORT:Manning Clark's History of Australia - The Musical Australian musicals 1988 musicals Musicals set in Australia