The Break (play)

The Break is a 1962 Australian play by Philip Albright. Albright was an American writer and actor who had moved to Australia. He died in 1959 and the play debuted after his death.[3] It was an early Australian play to depict homosexuality.[4] A manuscript dated from 1950 shows that Albright was working on the play well before it debuted.[5] The play's setting was in Laura Masters flat in Potts Point.[6] In October 1959 the play won equal second prize in Little Theatre Guild competition under the title The Bust. (The winner was Burst of Summer.)[7]

The Break
Written byPhilip Albright
Directed byJohn Tasker[1]
Date premieredFebruary 27, 1962 (1962-02-27)[2]
Place premieredUnion Theatre, Sydney
Original languageEnglish
Subjecthomosexuality, alcoholism
Genredrama
SettingKings Cross, Sydney

The play debuted at the Union Theatre in Sydney[8] in 1962 as part of a series of three new Australian plays under the auspices of the Elizabethan Theatre Trust. The others were Naked Island and Shipwreck.[3]

Critical reception was poor.[9][4] The Bulletin called it "stupid."[10]

Premise

An alcoholic woman lost her husband years ago. He returns to Australia determined to take their teenage son back with him. The husband implies that their son is gay.[4]

Cast of original production

References
  1. "Emptily served melodrama". The Australian Jewish Times. Vol. 69, no. 26. New South Wales, Australia. 9 March 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 18 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Advertisement". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 February 1962. p. 20.
  3. "Australian plays at the Union Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 January 1962. p. 6.
  4. "New play at Union Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 February 1962. p. 4.
  5. Albright, Philip (1950), The break : a play, retrieved 20 July 2023
  6. "The Break: A Modern Drama". AusStage. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  7. "Woman first in £1000 play quest". The Age. 17 October 1959. p. 5.
  8. [Union Theatre (University of Sydney) : programs and related material collected by the National Library of Australia], 1900, retrieved 20 July 2023
  9. "Musicals outshone the plays". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 July 1962. p. 77.
  10. "Theatre an Acting Exercise", The bulletin., John Ryan Comic Collection (Specific issues), Sydney, N.S.W: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 83 (4283), 17 Mar 1962 [1880], ISSN 0007-4039, nla.obj-701133405, retrieved 18 July 2023 – via Trove
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