A Spring Song

A Spring Song is a 1958 drama play by Australian author Ray Mathew.

A Spring Song
Written by	Ray Mathew
Date premiered	March 1958
Place premiered	Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Original language	English
Genre	Drama

Synopsis

The play tells the story of a farming family consisting of a father and his three daughters, Margaret, Kerry and Helen. Margaret is dying and falls in love with their boarder. Helen moves to Sydney. Kerry is in love with Geoff, a grazier's son, but is trapped into staying at home.

Performances

The play was given a reading by the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1957. The Age called the script "moving".^[1] It played at Gowrie Hall in Brisbane, followed by the Sydney Pocket Theatre in 1958 and the Sydney Morning Herald said it was "not a success".^[2] It was performed at Willard Hall in Adelaide in 1963.

The play was successfully presented at the Edinburgh Festival in 1964^[3] and transferred to the West End that year.^[4] The Evening Standard called it a "mellow, sentimental melodrama".^[5]

Since then, the play has been presented in various Australian locations, including The Playhouse, Broken Hill (1967), Taylor Street, Brisbane (1980), Stables Theatre, Sydney (1983), Studio Theatre, Melbourne (1985), Cremorne Theatre, Brisbane (1988) Newtown Theatre, Sydney (1993) and Acton Street Theatre, Canberra (1994). A 1977 NIDA production starred Annie Byron, Wayne Jarratt and Debra Lawrance and was directed by Robert Menzies.^[6]

Television adaptation

The play was broadcast in Canada on the CBC Television anthology series Festival on 12 May 1965 (1965-05-12)^[7] with the story relocated to the Canadian prairies.^[8] A Spring Song in Six Scenes starred Zoe Caldwell as Margaret and special guest star Paul Massie as Peter with Martha Henry (Kerry), Sharon Acker (Helen), Michael Sarrazin (Jeff), and playing Mr. and Mrs. Dennison, John Drainie and Amelia Hall.^[9]