''The Shifting Heart'' is a play written in 1957 in Australia by Richard Beynon, it is an insight to the

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

of racism and its victims. In the background of 1950s Collingwood,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Characters

* Momma Bianchi * Poppa Bianchi * Gino Bianchi * Maria Bianchi (Fowler) * Clarry Fowler * Leila Pratt * Donny Pratt * Detective-Sergeant Lukie

Setting

''The Shifting Heart'' is set in 1956,

Collingwood, Melbourne Collingwood is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 3km north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Yarra Local government areas of Victoria, lo ...

on Christmas Eve. At the time, Collingwood was a poor suburb populated by lower class Australian families and Italian immigrants. The play published in 1960 by Angus & Robertson begins with two pages of stage direction. It describes the home of Italians Mr. & Mrs. Vicenzo Bianchi, the stage is their backyard. On stage left there is a large

garbage can A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...

that is overfilled, the overflow is in a small household bucket. On each side of the stage is the wall of the neighbours. On stage left is the wall between the Pratt family, Leila and Donny. The wall is a fence that relaxes in the wind and shows an air of

dilapidation Dilapidation is a term meaning a destructive event to a building, but more particularly used in the plural in English law for # the waste committed by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical living # the disrepair for which a tenant is usually liab ...

. The boards are able to be pushed apart enough to let the Pratts enter the Bianchis' backyard. On stage right there is a wall described as a formidable barrier, complete with a length of barbed wire across the top. It is low enough for the woman living there to toss garbage over. In the first pages of dialog and notes in the stage direction, it is clear that there is a "war" going on between the family living stage right against the Bianchis because they are Italian. The Pratt family is on the side of the Bianchi family.

Productions

The play came third in a play writing competiton held by London's ''Observer'' newspaper. ''The Shifting Heart'' premiered at the Elizabethan Theatre in Sydney in October 1957, presented by the

Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust is a theatre and performing arts company that was founded in September 1954, with the aim of establishing drama, opera and ballet companies nationally. Founding In 1954 the Australian Elizabethan Theatre T ...

. It toured nationally for a year, including seasons at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in Melbourne and Her Majesty's Theatre in Brisbane. The play debuted in England in 1959 where it played a West End season at the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

. The ABC made a radio version of the play in 1962. It was adapted for Australian television on the ABC in 1968. Notable revivals include those of Melbourne's Union Theatre Repertory Company in 1962, Sydney's Marian Street Theatre in 1981, Sydney's

Phillip Street Theatre The Phillip Street Theatre (succeeded by the Phillip Theatre) was a popular and influential Australian theatre and theatrical company, located in Phillip Street in Sydney that was active from 1954 and 1971 that became well known for its intimate s ...

in 1984, and the

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. I ...

in 1996.

1962 TV adaptation

The play was filmed by British TV in 1962. It screened for the '' General Motors Hour'' in Australia on 1 September 1962.

Cast

* June Brunell as Maria * Lewis Flander as Gino Bianchi * John Lee as Det.-Sgt Lukie *

Reg Lye Reginald Thomas Lye (14 October 1912 – 23 March 1988), was an Australian actor who worked extensively in Australia and England. He was one of the busiest Australian actors of the 1950s, appearing in the majority of locally shot features at th ...

as Donny Pratt *

Keith Michell Keith Joseph Michell (1 December 1926 – 20 November 2015) was an Australian actor who worked primarily in the United Kingdom, and was best known for his television and film portrayals of King Henry VIII. He appeared extensively in Shakespeare ...

as Clarry * Victor Platt as Poppa Bianchi *

Madge Ryan :''She is sometimes confused with American actress Fran Ryan.'' Madge Winifred Ryan (8 January 1919 – 9 January 1994) was an Australian actress, known for her stage and film roles in the United Kingdom, including London stage productions of ' ...

as Leila Pratt * Gillian Webb as Momma Bianchi

1968 TV adaptation

The play was filmed for TV in 1968 and aired on 21 August 1968 (Melbourne) as part of ''

Wednesday Theatre ''Wednesday Theatre'' is a 1960s Australian anthology show which aired on the ABC. Many of the episodes were imported from the BBC. However a number of episodes were made locally. Episodes 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Wednesday Theatre ...

''. It starred Anne Charleston and Tom Oliver, who later worked together on the TV series '' Neighbours''. It also starred Madge Ryan who had appeared in the premiere season of the play, only then she played Leila the neighbour and now she played Momma.

Cast

as Momma * Alan Bickford as Gino *

Tom Oliver Tom Oliver (born 12 June 1938) is a British-born Australian retired actor who started his career in theatre in his native country, before emigrating to Australia. Oliver, a staple of the small screen since the early 1960s, is best known for h ...

as Clarrie *

Anne Charleston Anne Charleston (born 30 December 1942) is an Australian actress, notable for her career locally and in the United Kingdom in theatre and television. Charleston started her career in theatre in the mid 1950's, and has been a staple of the small ...

as Maria *

Syd Conabere Sydney Leicester Conabere (8 July 191815 July 2008) was an Australian actor. He was notable for his work in theatre, film and television drama in a career spanning more than fifty years. In 1962 Conabere won the Logie award for Best Actor, for ...

as Poppa * Penny Shelton as Leila *

Terry Norris Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), Ame ...

as Donny * Blair Edgar as Lukie * Berys Marsh

Reception

The ''Age'' said "the entirety works despite some stray accents."

References

External links

* * (subscription required) *
Original theatre program
at The Trust {{DEFAULTSORT:Shifting Hearts, The 1957 plays 1950s Australian plays Fiction set in 1956 Melbourne in fiction 1968 television plays Angus & Robertson books