Dimboola (play)

Dimboola is a play by the Australian author Jack Hibberd. It premiered in 1969 at La Mama Theatre under the direction of Graeme Blundell. The whole action of the play supposedly takes place at a real wedding at which the actors represent the families of the bride and groom and the audience are "invited guests". The play is described in the program notes as Rabelaisian and rumbustious.

History

The play grew out of a reading in London of Anton Chekhov's 1889 play The Wedding and Bertolt Brecht's farce A Respectable Wedding. The production at La Mama was supported by a grant of $1 250 from the Australia Council for the Arts (the predecessor to the Australia Council). The second production by the Australian Performing Group at the Pram Factory in 1973 was directed by David Williamson.

More Australians have seen Dimboola than any other stage musical, comedy or straight play,^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]} and hundreds of productions have been mounted across the world.^{[citation needed]} It ran in Sydney for two and a half years until the venue, the Whiskey Au Go Go, burned down.^{[dubious – discuss]} In 1979, a film was made directed by John Duigan. In 1988, Pat Garvey adapted the play for a musical which alone has played over 2 000 performances.^[1] In 2007, it was produced at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, with Max Gillies and directed by Michael Kantor. In March and April 2008 it played at the La Mama Theatre, directed by Robert Chuter.

A novelisation of the same name appeared in 1978, written by Tim Robertson and published by Sun Books, Melbourne.^[2]

Plot

Dimboola is a celebration of the wedding of Morrie McAdam—a Protestant, to Reen Delaney—a Catholic in the Mechanics' Institute Hall in Dimboola, Victoria. No holds are barred as the two families come together for the wedding which Jack Hibberd calls: "the testing of strengths of the newly conjugated tribes". The family members try to preserve social grace and dignity in the face of impending disasters. And disasters there are aplenty! After the drink has flowed a little too freely, mayhem and humour ensues when the families exchange insults and punches, as they resolve to come to terms with the situation.^[3]

Cast

• At the official table:
  • Maureen Delaney (Reen), bride
  • Morrie McAdam (Morrie), groom (Bruce Spence)
  • Darcy Delaney (Darkie), father of the bride
  • April Delaney (June), mother of the bride
  • Angus McAdam (Knocka), father of the groom
  • Florence McAdam (Florrie), mother of the groom
  • Patrick O'Shea, parish priest
  • Daryl Dunn (Dangles), best man
  • Shirl, town bike & bridesmaid
  • Astrid McAdam, flower girl
• Guests (invited)
  • Horace McAdam (Horrie the Horrible), uncle of the groom
  • Mavis McAdam, aunt of the groom
  • Aggie McAdam, spinster cousin to the McAdams
• Guests (uninvited)
  • Bayonet, local wit and drunk (Max Gillies)
  • Mutton, local wit and drunk (Graeme Blundell)
• The Band
  • Lionel Driftwood and His Piledrivers
• Others
  • Leonardo Radish, reporter of the Mildura Trumpet – a caricature of the theatre critic and playwright Leonard Radic

Original actors in brackets; other actors in the premiere production were Lindy Davies and John Romeril.^[4]

Performance practice

The play uses audience participation to a very high degree; audience members are greeted by the father of the bride and the new arrivals are announced to the audience. Glasses of sherry and food are served by the actors, the auditorium is set up with tables and decorated with ballons and streamers. Audience members are assigned characters and actors improvise with them during the play's fights and shenanigans. The alcohol consumed on stage is often real.

References

• Blundell, Graeme (22 March 2008). "Too close to home". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23396029-15089,00.html. Retrieved 25 March 2008. 

1. ^ "Our Services". Pat Garvey Enterprise. http://www.patgarvey.com.au/services.htm. Retrieved 25 March 2008. 
2. ^ Tim Robertson. Dimboola. 1978. Melbourne: Sun Books. ISBN 0-7251-0295-0.
3. ^ from a widely publicised programme note
4. ^ "What's On". Theatre Alive. 2008. http://www.theatrealive.com.au/whatson/807/. Retrieved 25 March 2008.