Wednesday, March 8, 2017

DRAMATIC EPISODES IN AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

A  scandal  involving   a  Premier  and  a  sleepy  widow ;  the  butler who urged  a  Liberal  Prime Minister  , with  a   daughter standing for  election in the  seat of   Wombat , the  electorate said  to  be  named  after  a local  bird ,  to  call  out  the   military  to  shoot  agitators.

 Australian  playwrights   have lost  the  art of  penning  ripping  shows about  the local  political scene . Early in  the   20th century , Louis Esson -dubbed the father of  Australian drama - and  Kiwi   reporter,  poet and novelist   Arthur Adams  served  up  some   unusual   political  entertainment .


In  1914 , Adams     wrote  Mrs  Pretty and the  Premier ,  which even  got  a  run  in London's West End  ,  about a  bachelor Labour Premier  of  New South Wales . An anti-Labour  reporter , on the eve  of an election , threatens to  embarrass    him  by revealing   he  had  a young woman , " Mrs Pretty " , in  his office at 2am . Imagine  how the tabloids  would  treat  this   situation  today .   
 
Turns out  she  had  forced entry into the  office  to protest about  a land  resumption  bill  and  fell asleep in his armchair. Hmmm . The plot thickened when  the  premier   decided  he  must   woo and  marry sleepy Mrs Pretty, within  three days ,   to  avoid  losing  the  election  due  to  the scandal .

There is  a  teensy weensy  problem - Mrs  Pretty is  engaged   to  the Leader of the  Opposition .  Over  three  acts , this " saucy and spry " play   covered  elections  and  the  influence of  the  Press , a  premier so  busy with  his  career  that  he  had neglected women  and  was susceptible to  the coquetry of Mrs  Pretty .   

With a BA , Adams  studied law for a time in New Zealand  before  coming to Sydney in 1898. In  1900 he  covered the Boxer Rebellion in China , spent time in London ,  became  editor of the Sydney Bulletin's  famous Red Page and also ran a similar literary section in Lone Hand .  His influence on matters theatrical   grew when he  became  private  secretary  and  adviser  to  J. C. Williamson  the American  actor  who became  the foremost  theatrical manager  in  Australasia .
 
Louis  Esson , poet, critic and playwright,  born  in  Edinburgh , was  brought to Melbourne at the age of  three . One of his successful  plays was   the 1912   political  comedy   , The Time is Not Yet Ripe, a variation  obviously  used   successfully  by   Gough Whitlam  in  1972.  In  the  play  the  knighted    Liberal  Prime Minister, a former real estate agent ,   has  a  Pommie  butler  who  one  suspects   secretly  guzzles the  best imported  French  wine  kept  in  the  cellar.
 
 The PM's naïve  daughter  , Doris, intends to  stand  for  the wowserish  women's league and   has  a  socialist  fiancé  who  is  also  standing  for  election . Her knowledge of  politics  is vague and she asks   what is the meaning of a  referendum -a  subject  of deep discussion  recently  in the Turnbull amateur  hour  playhouse.  

When told   to  read  Hansard , dear Doris responds  by saying she had been  informed  that  it  would  spoil   her style .  
 
When daddy is re-elected  , the  jubilant   butler , speaking as an Englishman,  not  only suggests  the PM  seize the opportunity  to  call  out  the military and  shoot    paid  agitators , he asks for permission  to invite  the  servants  to  drink   to  his  health  in   ghastly  Australian  wine .