Pirates at the Barn

Pirates at the Barn is a 1948 Australian stage play for children.[1] It made its debut in 1948 and was very popular, being performed at the Minerva Theatre in 1949.[2] The cast for that production included Grant Taylor and John Meillion.[3]

Pirates at the Barn
Written byEleanor Witcombe
Date premiered1948
Place premieredMosman Children's Theatre
Original languageEnglish
Subjectpirates
Genrechildren's play
SettingMosman Bay 1839

The play was revived a number of times including ones in 1966.[4] A 1979 production on Clark Island in Sydney Harbour was directed by Neil Armfield. The play was also performed in England.

Witcome wrote other plays for children including The Bushrangers and Smugglers Beware.[5][6] Leslie Rees later wrote Witcombe "won unusually widespread popularity with" these plays adding, "Using a simple stage, she has a gift for making a story move, and keep moving, in the most droll or sharply accented way. She knows exactly how to reach the heart of a child audience."[7]

Witcombe adapted the play into a book which was published in 1963.

Premise

In 1839 pirates infest Mosman Bay.

References
  1. "MUSIC AND DRAMA Does The Theatre Matter?". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 34, 619. New South Wales, Australia. 4 December 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 24 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "SYDNEY DIARY". The Sun. No. 12, 444. New South Wales, Australia. 15 December 1949. p. 25 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 24 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Mosman Pirates In Play For Children". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 34, 951. New South Wales, Australia. 28 December 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 24 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Bridgework", 105 volumes : illustrations (chiefly coloured), portraits (chiefly coloured) ; 30-40 cm., The bulletin., John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues)., Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 88 (4525), 26 Nov 1966 [1880], ISSN 0007-4039, nla.obj-705229973, retrieved 24 August 2023 – via Trove
  5. Australian Broadcasting Commission. (8 September 1951) [1939], "How To Write Children's Plays", v. : ill. ; 29cm., ABC weekly, Sydney: ABC, 13 (36), nla.obj-1549750917, retrieved 24 August 2023 – via Trove
  6. "A sticky problem for the playwrights". The Canberra Times. Vol. 44, no. 12, 680. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 August 1970. p. 21. Retrieved 24 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. Rees, Leslie (1953). Towards An Australian Drama. p. 125.
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