Image taken from australianplays.org
This is a comedy that was written in 1912 by a talented man by the name of Louis Esson. It was first performed in Melbourne at the Athenaeum Hall, and was well received on its opening night. I came across this play when I was studying it for the Australian Theatre course I am doing at the moment, and I quite enjoyed reading it.
The play details the story of Doris, the daughter of the Prime Minister, an active member of the Liberal Party. Doris is betrothed to a man named Sydney Barrett, a socialist who poses a threat to the Prime Minister's party. At first, her father does not approve of the marriage, but begins to soften in the end after his party wins again in the election.
While the written text does not appear to be comical at first, the comedy becomes more apparent when the play is actually staged. Our class found this out when we performed excerpts from the play in our tutorial class. It is indeed a well-written play, and one that is worth looking into if you are interested in learning about early Australian Theatre.
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