The Earthquake Shakes the Land
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| Genre | verse drama play |
|---|---|
| Running time | 90 mins (8:00 pm – 9:30 pm) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Syndicates | ABC |
| Written by | Douglas Stewart |
| Directed by | Frank Cewlow |
| Original release | August 22, 1944 |
The Earthquake Shakes the Land is an Australian radio play in verse by Douglas Stewart. It concerns the Invasion of the Waikato in the New Zealand Wars.[1] It was a companion piece to Stewart's The Golden Lover.[2]
The play was well regarded. The ABC produced it again in 1948.[3]
The Bulletin reviewed it saying the play was "something too big for an hour and a half of radio. It is right that it should be played fast, but haste is different ; and the impression is that this is being hastily done."[4]
Leslie Rees wrote "it had only a half-success when heard on the A.B.C. air."[5] Unlike Stewart's other verse plays performed on radio, The Fire in the Snow, Ned Kelly, Shipwrecked, Fisher's Ghost and The Golden Lover, it was not published in book form.[6]
Premise[edit]
During the New Zealand Wars, a Maori woman, Ngaere, had to choose between two lovers, one a Scottish settler, the other, a Maori.
References[edit]
- ^ "Official Programmes – Maori play by Douglas Stewart", ABC Weekly, 6 (34), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 19 August 1944, retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "Poet who lived in a packing case". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XVI, no. 67. New South Wales, Australia. 9 June 1951. p. 11. Retrieved 18 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Plays of the Week – Maori Heroine of Douglas Stewart Verse-Drama", ABC Weekly, 10 (46), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 13 November 1948, retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "The Red Page – A Broadcast Play", The Bulletin, 65 (3369), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 6 Sep 1944, nla.obj-679364241, retrieved 18 October 2023 – via Trove
- ^ Rees, Leslie (1987). Australian drama, 1970-1985 : a historical and critical survey. p. 227.
- ^ Semmler, Clement (1975). Douglas Stewart. p. 60.