I just can't get this topic out of my head ...

"In Australia, theatre and the performing arts are in their infancy- Austarlia as a settlement of the British Empire has had only a little over 200 years to develop a unique arts industry. As a result, popular entertainment is often imported from overseas by enterpreneurs who give little thought to the quality or suitability of the material for the local audience."


Discuss the above statement. You may agree or disagree with the statement and must refer to events from before the First World War. Your discussion may refer to any of the styles we discussed in class including colonial theatre, vaudeville, melodrama, variety, the so- called golden- age, early cinema or even Aboriginal performance.


I disagree with the statement generally, but it was true up until the end of WW1. Not just in entertainment, but it most products. It took Australia a long time to trust anything that wasn't imported.

For a start, I doubt that there was any "Aboriginal" performance prior to WW1 or even WW2 ... that sort of thing was too far out.

A site for you to visit that covers Australian theatre and variety history briefly ... including the so-called "Golden Age" ... is:

www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/theatre/

Randall