Shipwreck: A Drama in Four Acts
Dublin Core
Title
Shipwreck: A Drama in Four Acts
Subject
Bush Life
Crime
Crime
Description
Length: Four Acts: Six Scenes
Synopsis: The play is set on the lonely Gippsland coast in the late 19th century. Stumpy Johnson lives by the old Cornish trick of luring ships to destruction and collecting and selling the flotsam and jetsam. Martha Kennedy forces her daughter Madge to become Johnson’s second wife. The police catch up with Johnson and he goes to gaol. During his absence his son by his first marriage and Madge fall in love and live together. A child is born. Johnson is released before his full sentence is served, returns and in his vengence kills the baby, shoots his son and chains Madge to the wall of the house. He whips the bullocks with a barb wire lash which flies back and tears his eyes, the bullocks stampede and rush over him and he staggers back to the house, but of course Madge cannot help him, and wouldn't. He dies and Madge is rescued by a passing coastal vessel which calls in, and Johnson’s corpse is taken on board to be tipped over the side when the vessel is at sea.
Setting:
I.i Stumpy's bar-room. A stormy night in winter.
I.ii The same. Two months later.
II On a cliff. Three days later.
III A kitchen and living room. About a year later.
IV.i The same. Three days later.
IV.ii The same. Evening of the same day.
Characters:
"STUMPY" JOHNSON, a shanty-keeper
TOM, his son, a cattleman
CARL, an old Finnish sailor
BEN, his young mate, a sailor
SERGEANT GREGORY
MARTHA KENNEDY
MADGE, her daughter
Synopsis: The play is set on the lonely Gippsland coast in the late 19th century. Stumpy Johnson lives by the old Cornish trick of luring ships to destruction and collecting and selling the flotsam and jetsam. Martha Kennedy forces her daughter Madge to become Johnson’s second wife. The police catch up with Johnson and he goes to gaol. During his absence his son by his first marriage and Madge fall in love and live together. A child is born. Johnson is released before his full sentence is served, returns and in his vengence kills the baby, shoots his son and chains Madge to the wall of the house. He whips the bullocks with a barb wire lash which flies back and tears his eyes, the bullocks stampede and rush over him and he staggers back to the house, but of course Madge cannot help him, and wouldn't. He dies and Madge is rescued by a passing coastal vessel which calls in, and Johnson’s corpse is taken on board to be tipped over the side when the vessel is at sea.
Setting:
I.i Stumpy's bar-room. A stormy night in winter.
I.ii The same. Two months later.
II On a cliff. Three days later.
III A kitchen and living room. About a year later.
IV.i The same. Three days later.
IV.ii The same. Evening of the same day.
Characters:
"STUMPY" JOHNSON, a shanty-keeper
TOM, his son, a cattleman
CARL, an old Finnish sailor
BEN, his young mate, a sailor
SERGEANT GREGORY
MARTHA KENNEDY
MADGE, her daughter
Creator
Esson, Louis
Source
NUNE: Campbell Howard Collection. [Three different versions of this play are held in the Campbell Howard Collection]. ANL holds a collection of Louis Esson papers, MS 3185, and Esson playscripts in the British Drama League (Australia) manuscript collection, MS 5579.
Publisher
Australian Drama 1920-1955, Department of Continuing Education, University of New England, Armidale, 1986
Date
1928 ca
Contributor
University of New England Library, New South Wales, Australia
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
Relation
NUNE: Campbell Howard Collection
Format
PDF 6.88MB
Language
en
Type
Text
Identifier
esson-shipwreck-a4.pdf
Coverage
Australia; 1920-1955
Collection
Citation
Esson, Louis, “Shipwreck: A Drama in Four Acts,” Campbell Howard Project, accessed April 20, 2024, https://campbell-howard-collection.une.edu.au/items/show/1.