The Playmaker

This article is about a novel. For other uses, see Playmaker (disambiguation).

The Playmaker is a 1987 novel based in Australia written by the Australian author Thomas Keneally.

The Playmaker

First edition
Author	Thomas Keneally
Language	English
Genre	Theatre-fiction
Publisher	Hodder and Stoughton, England and Australia
Publication date	1987
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	310 pp
ISBN	0-340-34154-8
OCLC	28997213
Preceded by	A Family Madness
Followed by	Act of Grace

Synopsis

In 1789 in Sydney Cove, the remotest penal colony of the British Empire, a group of convicts and one of their captors unite to stage a play. Governor Arthur Phillip presides over the colony, where 1st Lt. Ralph Clark, sadistic Major Robert Ross (Royal Marines officer), and Midshipman Harry Brewer have a curious effect on the goings-on of the new Australian colony. As felons, perjurers, thieves, and whores rehearse, their playmaker, Ralph Clark, is derided by authority. He also becomes strangely seduced. For the play's power is mirrored in the rich, varied life of this primitive land, and, not least, in the convict and actress Mary Brenham.

The play that they plan to stage is The Recruiting Officer, a 1706 play by the Irish writer George Farquhar, which follows the social and sexual exploits of two officers, the womanising Plume and the cowardly Brazen, in the town of Shrewsbury to recruit soldiers. Many arguments are made over naturalism vs. presentationalism in acting style, and in the merits of the theatre itself.

Dedication

"To Arabanoo and his brethren, still dispossessed."

Notes

The novel was adapted into a play in 1988 by British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, called Our Country's Good.

See also

• 1987 in Australian literature