# The Torrents > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Torrents > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_Torrents.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Torrents > Source revision: 1348991386 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Play by Oriel Gray}} {{Infobox play | name = The Torrents | image = | image_size = | caption = | writer = [Oriel Gray](/source/Oriel_Gray) | characters = | setting = | premiere = 1957 | place = | orig_lang = English | subject = | genre = comedy }} '''''The Torrents''''' is a 1955 Australian play by [Oriel Gray](/source/Oriel_Gray), set in the late 19th century, about the arrival of a female journalist in an all-male newspaper office, and an attempt to develop irrigation-based agriculture in a former gold mining town. In 1955 it was voted best play that year by the Playwrights' Advisory Board, alongside [Ray Lawler](/source/Ray_Lawler)'s ''[Summer of the Seventeenth Doll](/source/Summer_of_the_Seventeenth_Doll)'',[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/02/1056825441987.html David Fiorovanti, "Oriel Gray, 'playwright of ideas', dies aged 83"], ''The Age'', 3 July 2003, accessed 24 January 2013{{cite news |last1=Arrow |first1=Michelle |title=The play that time forgot |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/120340518/ |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=9 December 1995 |location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |pages=275, 277–278}} winning a prize of £100 for its author.{{cite journal |title=Australian Play Competition |journal=The A.B.C. Weekly |date=17 September 1955 |volume=17 |issue=37 |page=4 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1423166618/view?sectionId=nla.obj-1540599251&searchTerm=%22The+Torrents%22+play+Gray&partId=nla.obj-1423463855#page/n3/mode/1up/search/%22The+Torrents%22+play+Gray}} This has been called "one of the great “compare and contrast” moments in the history of female Australian playwriting."{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/the-flawed-landmark-burst-of-summer/|title=The Flawed Landmark: Burst of Summer|date=15 November 2020}} == Theme == The play is set in the second half of the 19th century, in the newspaper office of a country town built around gold-mining. The gold is running out, and a young engineer suggests developing agriculture, supported by irrigation, as an alternative. A new recruit to the newspaper, one J.G. Millford, arrives – and turns out to be a woman named Jenny. The play explores tensions between the all-male workforce of the newspaper and the new female reporter; between those who want to see mining continue and those who support agriculture; and the different stances of the newspaper editor and his son. == Stage performances == ''The Torrents'' had its stage premiere in 1957 at the New Theatre, Stow Hall, [Adelaide](/source/Adelaide),{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236326329 |title=Australian play for Adelaide |newspaper=[Tribune](/source/Tribune_(Australian_newspaper)) |issue=1009 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=31 July 1957 |accessdate=11 August 2019 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite journal |last1=Lyons |first1=Jill |title=The Doll and the Umbrella |journal=The Bulletin |date=6 November 1957 |volume=78 |issue=4056 |pages=26, 49 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-681770383/view?sectionId=nla.obj-697595417&searchTerm=%22The+Torrents%22+play+Gray&partId=nla.obj-681853082#page/n24/mode/1up |accessdate=11 August 2019}} produced by Mary Miller, one of the founders of that theatre.{{cite news |last=E.J. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236329475 |title=Adelaide NTL presents Prize-Winning Play |newspaper=[Tribune](/source/Tribune_(Australian_newspaper)) |issue=1016 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=18 September 1957 |accessdate=11 August 2019 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}} It was performed in Melbourne the following year, at the New Theatre,{{cite web |title=The Torrents |url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/work/8541 |website=AusStage – The Australian Live Performance Database |accessdate=11 August 2019}} and in Sydney in 1962 at Norman McVicker's Pocket Playhouse in [Sydenham](/source/Sydenham%2C_New_South_Wales).{{cite news |title=Ensemble Theatre Plans New Career |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121268456/?terms=%22The%2BTorrents%22%2Bplay%2BGray |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=7 March 1962 |location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |page=13}}{{cite news |last=R.C. |title="Torrents" At The Pocket Playhouse |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121523644/?terms=%22The%2BTorrents%22%2Bplay%2BGray |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=10 August 1962 |location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |page=9}} The cast included John Cooper, Beverley Harte and Lionel Mann, and it was produced by Robert Findlay. Its next stage productions were not until 1995 and 1996. A reading of the play was performed at the [Victorian Arts Centre](/source/Victorian_Arts_Centre) in March 1995.{{cite news |last1=Mangan |first1=John |title=Torrents of feeling from stage left resonate anew |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/123049604/?terms=%22The%2BTorrents%22%2Bplay%2BGray |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=The Age |date=3 March 1995 |location=Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |page=18}} In 1996, the [State Theatre Company of South Australia](/source/State_Theatre_Company_of_South_Australia) dedicated its program at [The Playhouse](/source/Dunstan_Playhouse) theatre to works by Australian authors, including some which had been neglected.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130568464 |title=National playhouse plan announced |newspaper=[The Canberra Times](/source/The_Canberra_Times) |volume=71 |issue=22,116 |date=5 November 1995 |accessdate=11 August 2019 |page=20 |via=National Library of Australia}} Its production of ''The Torrents'' was directed by [Marion Potts](/source/Marion_Potts), with set design by Mary Moore.{{cite journal |last1=Bramwell |first1=Murray |title=Pressing Issues |journal=The Adelaide Review |date=1 September 1996 |url=https://murraybramwell.com/?p=2101 |accessdate=11 August 2019}} [Paula Arundell](/source/Paula_Arundell) played Jenny, and [John Adam](/source/John_Adam_(actor)) played the son. ==Adaptations== ===1956 radio adaptation=== It was adapted into a one-hour radio play by [Joy Hollyer](/source/Joy_Hollyer) for the ABC in 1956.{{cite news |last1=Maginnis |first1=Molly |title=Women in the Theatre: Playwright |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121338761/?terms=%22The%2BTorrents%22%2Bplay%2BGray |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=The Age |date=24 March 1956 |location=Melbourne, Victoria |page=7}}{{cite news |title=Housewife's Prize Play On The Air |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/125989584/?terms=%22The%2BTorrents%22%2Bplay%2BGray |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=8 March 1956 |location=Sydney, New South Wales |page=5}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51939174 |title=Worth Reporting. |newspaper=[The Australian Women's Weekly](/source/The_Australian_Women's_Weekly) | date=22 February 1956 |accessdate=24 January 2013 |page=31 |via=National Library of Australia}} Three performances were broadcast, one in March 1956, with [Beverley Dunn](/source/Beverley_Dunn) as J.G. Milford,{{cite journal |title=A.B.C. Radio Plays. The Torrents |journal=The A.B.C. Weekly |date=10 March 1956 |volume=18 |issue=10 |page=20 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1356931636/view?sectionId=nla.obj-1427509910&searchTerm=%22The+Torrents%22+play+Gray&partId=nla.obj-1357284453#page/n19/mode/1up/search/%22The+Torrents%22+play+Gray |accessdate=13 August 2019}} another in November 1956, with [Margo Lee](/source/Margo_Lee) as J.G. Milford, [Kevin Brennan](/source/Kevin_Brennan_(actor)) as the editor, [Ben Gabriel](/source/Ben_Gabriel) as the son, and [Keith Buckley](/source/Keith_Alexander_(actor)) as the young engineer.{{cite journal |title=A.B.C. Radio Plays. The Torrents |journal=The A.B.C. Weekly |date=3 November 1956 |volume=18 |issue=44 |page=20 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1245438484/view?sectionId=nla.obj-1321208550&searchTerm=%22The+Torrents%22+play+Gray&partId=nla.obj-1245483561#page/n19/mode/1up/search/%22The+Torrents%22+play+Gray |accessdate=13 August 2019}} and the third in December 1956, in which Gwen Clarke played Jenny Milford, and Donald McTaggart played the son; also in the cast was [Rodney Hall](/source/Rodney_Hall_(writer)).{{cite journal |title=A.B.C. Radio Plays. The Torrents |journal=The A.B.C. Weekly |date=29 December 1956 |volume=18 |issue=52 |page=20 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1245527407/view?sectionId=nla.obj-1321903227&searchTerm=%22The+Torrents%22+play+Gray&partId=nla.obj-1245590637#page/n19/mode/1up/search/%22The+Torrents%22+play+Gray |accessdate=11 August 2019}} Another production aired in 1966, with Nonie Stewart and John Nash in major roles.{{cite news |title=Drama on radio |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122535001/?terms=%22The%2BTorrents%22%2Bplay%2BGray |accessdate=12 August 2019 |work=The Age TV-Radio Guide |date=7 July 1966 |location=Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |page=3}} ===1969 TV adaptation=== The play was [adapted for Australian TV in 1969](/source/The_Torrents_(film)).{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Frances |title=Television. A play at last! |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/11674867 |accessdate=11 August 2019 |work=The Canberra Times |date=11 December 1969 |location=Canberra, ACT, Australia |page=33}} ''Filmink'' said this adaptation "seemed forgotten in newspaper reports about the recent STC/Black Swan revival of that play." ===Musical adaptation=== It was also adapted into the musical ''A Bit o' Petticoat''.[http://www.australianmusicals.com/abitopetticoat.htm "A Bit o' Petticoat" at Australianmusicals.com] accessed 24 January 2013 == Publication == ''The Torrents'' was not published until 1988,{{cite news |last1=Farfalla |first1=Valerie Colyer |title=Making a living out of 200 years of neglect |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122225070/?terms=%22The%2BTorrents%22%2Bplay%2BGray |accessdate=13 August 2019 |work=The Age |date=25 November 1987 |location=Melbourne, Victoria |page=27}} when [Penguin](/source/Penguin_Books) released it as part of their Australian playhouse series, and it was also included in [Dale Spender](/source/Dale_Spender)'s ''The Penguin Anthology of Australian Women's Writing''.{{cite news |last1=Pierce |first1=Peter |title=Women's battle for literary credentials |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/120722905/?terms=%22The%2BTorrents%22%2Bplay%2BGray |accessdate=13 August 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=24 September 1988 |location=Sydney, New South Wales |page=79}} It was then reissued by [Currency Press](/source/Currency_Press) in 1996 and 2016. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[https://www-austlit-edu-au.ezproxy.sl.nsw.gov.au/austlit/page/C30348 ''The Torrents''] at [AustLit](/source/AustLit) {{DEFAULTSORT:Torrents, The}} Category:1955 plays Category:1950s Australian plays Category:1969 television plays Category:1955 Australian radio dramas Category:1960s Australian radio dramas Category:Plays by Oriel Gray Category:Australian plays adapted for radio Category:Australian plays adapted for television Category:Plays set in Australia Category:Australian theatre controversies --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Torrents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Torrents) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Torrents?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.