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y separately published work icon Radiance single work   drama   - Two acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1993... 1993 Radiance
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Louis Nowra’s Radiance is an exuberant black sabbath for three great Indigenous dames. It begins conventionally enough: Mae, Nona and Cressy gather at the old Queenslander in the tropics for Mum’s funeral. But these three sisters are forces of nature, and they haven’t been in the same room for years, and years. It isn’t long before that old house can’t contain the joy and pain of them all being together again…

'Radiance began its life at Belvoir in 1993. After 22 years, Nowra’s feat of playwriting – almost Shakespearean, a Tempest-like packet of lust, rage, grief and high-flying foolery – is ready to be unleashed again. Leah Purcell is the woman for the job.

'Purcell is a powerhouse. She burst onto the national stage nearly two decades ago and is as full of fight and life as she ever was. What better idea than for this all-round theatre elder to direct herself in this mighty little classic?' (2015 Production summary)

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon Radiance Louis Nowra , ( dir. Rachel Perkins ) 1998 Australia : Eclipse Films , 1998 Z866253 1998 single work film/TV (taught in 2 units)
— Appears in: Radiance : The Play + The Screenplay 2000; (p. 67-140)

Radiance tells the story of three women who reunite, after many years apart, for their mother's funeral.

Reading Australia

Reading Australia

This work has Reading Australia teaching resources.

Unit Suitable For

AC: Year 10 (NSW Stage 5). It could be used for possible extension work in Year 9 but be aware of mature themes and references: use with discretion.

Themes

acceptance, family relationships, grief, identity, loss, memory

General Capabilities

Critical and creative thinking, Ethical understanding, Literacy, Personal and social

Notes

  • Dedication: For Gerri Williams

Production Details

  • First produced at the Belvoir Street Theatre, Sydney, 21 September 1993.


    Performed Upstairs at Belvoir : 3 January - 8 February 2015.

    Director: Leah Purcell.

    Set & Costume Designer: Dale Ferguson.

    Lighting Designer: Damien Cooper.

    Cast: Leah Purcell, Shari Sebbens, and Miranda Tapsell.

    Supported by the Balnaves Foundation.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Paddington, Kings Cross area, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales,: Currency Press ; Belvoir Street Theatre , 1993 .
      image of person or book cover 7230035206796346845.png
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 54p.
      Description: illus., port.
      ISBN: 0868193704 (pbk.)
      Series: Current Theatre Series Currency Press (publisher), 1983- series - publisher 'Current Theatre Series consists of Australian plays published with the program inserted and sold during theatre seasons. The aim of the series is to promote and encourage new dramatic writing and make it accessible to theatregoers and the public. The text is presented at the first day of rehearsal and does not contain changes which the author may choose to make after the play has commenced its present season - these will be incorporated into any new edition published by Currency.' Currency Press.
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Radiance : The Play + The Screenplay Louis Nowra , Sydney : Currency Press , 2000 Z668116 2000 selected work drama screenplay (taught in 6 units) Sydney : Currency Press , 2000 pg. 1-66
Alternative title: レイディアンス
Transliterated title: Reidiansu
Language: Japanese

Other Formats

  • Also sound recording.

Works about this Work

Trio Taking to Belvoir Stage for Radiance 2015 single work review
— Appears in: Koori Mail , 28 January no. 593 2015; (p. 22)
Radiance Review – a Trio of Powerful Performances in Belvoir Revival Alexandra Spring , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 2 February 2015;

— Review of Radiance Louis Nowra , 1993 single work drama
Sisters’ Reunion Still Radiates Dramatic Power John McCallum , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 9 January 2015; (p. 12)

— Review of Radiance Louis Nowra , 1993 single work drama
More Polish Needed to Make These Sisters Shine Jason Blake , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9 January 2015; (p. 20)

— Review of Radiance Louis Nowra , 1993 single work drama
Sisters and Secrets Rhoda Roberts , 2015 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 3-4 January 2015; (p. 8-9)

— Review of Radiance Louis Nowra , 1993 single work drama
'Rhoda Roberts looks back on the play that revolutionised indigenous theatre in Australia.'
[Review] Radiance Paul Makeham , 1994 single work review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , October no. 25 1994; (p. 189-193)

— Review of Radiance Louis Nowra , 1993 single work drama
Play Sets Out to Veil and Unveil Truth Alexandra S. Cromwell , 1995 single work review
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 9 no. 2 1995; (p. 166)

— Review of Radiance Louis Nowra , 1993 single work drama
[Review] Radiance Blake Murdoch , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Australian , 24 September 1993; (p. 15)

— Review of Radiance Louis Nowra , 1993 single work drama
Magic Moments Too Far Apart Angela Bennie , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 23 September 1993; (p. 21)

— Review of Radiance Louis Nowra , 1993 single work drama
Humanist v Rationalist Brian Hoad , 1993 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 5 October vol. 115 no. 5890 1993; (p. 101)

— Review of Radiance Louis Nowra , 1993 single work drama ; Brilliant Lies David Williamson , 1993 single work drama
Rethinking Emplacement, Displacement and Indigeneity : Radiance, Auntie Rita and Don't Take Your Love to Town Ceridwen Spark , 2002 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , no. 75 2002; (p. 95-103, notes 191-192)
Identity Performance in Northern Ireland and Australia : The Belle of the Belfast City and Radiance Rebecca Pelan , 2005 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , April no. 46 2005; (p. 70-79)
Discusses some of the dramatic shifts in identity representation and interrogation that have taken place in performance-based texts, focusing on Christine Reid's The Belle of Belfast City (1989) and Louis Nowra's Radiance (1993).
Women come out to Play Catriona Thornton , 1993 single work column
— Appears in: The Australian , 17 September 1993; (p. 11)
Indifference Has Robbed Generations of Our History Louis Nowra , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 27-28 December 2008; (p. 23)
Tropical Gothic : 'Radiance' Revisited Allison Craven , 2008 single work criticism
— Appears in: Etropic : Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics , vol. 7 no. 2008;
'This essay does not attempt to investigate, much less solve the mystery [of where this narrative is set], but instead deepens it by considering aspects of location, setting and narration in the film, which was co-scripted by Perkins and Nowra, as well as the process of transposition from play to film.'
Last amended 28 Feb 2019 11:36:51
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