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Debra Oswald

DEBRA OSWALD  

 Nationality:    Australian
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    RGM Artist Group  

Debra Oswald is a Sydney-based playwright and author. She began writing as a teenager and her first play was workshopped at the Australian National Playwrights Conference when she was 17, and it was later broadcast on ABC Radio. Since then she has made her living as a writer for film, television, stage and radio as well as publishing a number of novels for children. Debra has written extensively for the stage and is best known for her play Dags, which has had many productions both in Australia and overseas. Her other plays include Sweet Road, Gary's House, Mr Bailey's Minder and Peach Season. Her prize-winning youth Theatre play Skate toured to Belfast in 2005. Her television credits include Palace of Dreams, Bananas in Pyjamas, Police Rescue, the Secret Life of Us and various Dramas for ABC TV Education. Debra is also the author of the children's novels Me and Barry Terrific, the Return of the Baked Bean, the Redback Leftovers and the Fifth Quest as well three Aussie Bites - Nathan and the Ice Rockets, Frank and the Emergency Joke and Frank and the Secret Club.

Research:    http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/836

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below is a list of Debra Oswald's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Balaklava High School         Breast Wishes         Confidentially Yours         Dags         Gary's House         Going Under         House On Fire         Lumps         Mr Bailey's Minder         Our Hopeful Youth         Peach Season, The         Skate         Stories In the Dark         Sweet Road         Two-Way Mirror, The

Balaklava High School

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Balaklava Town Hall, Balaklava, SA    04 Sep 2006

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/69743

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Breast Wishes

Synopsis:
Breast Wishes is an all Australian musical about love, life, loss and silicon; a witty and heart-warming journey of courage and determination through laughter to triumph.

Notes:
written by Merridy Eastman, Jonathan Gavin, Richard Glover, Wendy Harmer, Sheridan Jobbins, James Millar, Debra Oswald. Lyrics by Bruce brown

1st Produced:
Everest Theatre, Chippendale, NSW    15 Apr 2009

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
musical theatre

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/97905

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Confidentially Yours

Synopsis:
A rich tapestry of laughter, tears amd irony. A collection of short works by some of Australia's best-known Dramatists,written specifically for actor Deidre Rubenstein.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong, NSW    31 Oct 2002

Organisations:
Merrigong Fringe 2007

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
collection of short plays

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/17537

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Dags

Dags
Gillian is sixteen, suffers from the occasional ack-attack', and is worried about not having a boyfriend. She loves chocolate and is infatuated with the best-looking boy in school. A funny and compassionate look at adolescence.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Seymour Centre, Chippendale, NSW    09 May 1985

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Sydney : Currency Press, 1987    086-8191809

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play 60 min

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  6            Other:  with players and doubling

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/65987

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Gary's House

Gary's House
Gary has failed in everything he has attempted. But now he has inherited a block of land and with Sue-Anne, his angry and pregnant girlfriend, he gets an urge to build a nest. Satire becomes Drama as the battlers reach for their dreams.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Q Theatre, Penrith, NSW    06 Mar 1996

Organisations:
Railway St Theatre Company & Playbox Theatre Company

1st Published:
Currency Press, Sydney,    978-0-86819-607-7

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/27176

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Going Under

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Nimrod Downstairs, Surry Hills, NSW    29 Oct 1982

Organisations:
Women and Arts Festival

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/95084

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House On Fire

House On Fire
Things aren't going well for the Conway sisters. Dad's just married the Geography teacher, oldest sister Bec's been evicted and Evie's suffering serious issues with her new besties. Michaela has twenty-four hours to solve her sisters' problems before she sits the most important exams of her life. What else could go wrong?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Parade playhouse, NISA, Sydney    10 Jun 2009

Organisations:
SCEGGS Darlinghurst

1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia (2011) >>>    978-0-86819-888-0

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  11            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lumps

Synopsis:
Sophie and Stuart are made for each other: he's a doctor and she's a part time actress and full time hypochondriac. Love, fame, happiness and success await Sophie if only she can see beyond her medical encyclopaedia

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Q Theatre, Penrith, NSW    19 Nov 1993

Organisations:
Q Theatre Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/23055

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Mr Bailey's Minder

Mr Bailey's Minder
Leo Bailey is one of Australia's greatest living artists, whose genius battles to survive the effects of alcohol, cynicism and self-loathing. Only one of his many children, his daughter Margo, is prepared to help, but she does so at arm's length. Margo finds a willing but surly live-in-minder, therese who is fresh out of prison and desperate for a home. then along comes Karl, a handyman who has the job of removing a valuable mural but who keeps returning with offers of practical friendship. A funny and deeply moving play about friendship, ego, art and the secret longing for a better life.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Stables Theatre, Darlinghurst, NSW    29 Jul 2004

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia >>>,    978-0-86819-761-6

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/64220

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Our Hopeful Youth

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Radio Play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
Script in the Hanger Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, Australia. http://www.austlit.edu.au, http://www.austlit.edu.au >>>,

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Peach Season, The

Peach Season, The
After the murder of her husband, Celia has shut herself and her 16-year-old daughter Zoe away, toiling on a peach farm in the middle of nowhere. the arrival of two young people to help during picking season heralds the beginning of the end for Celia's safe existence. Her daughter falls in love with enigmatic, erratic Kieran, but when the relationship is threatened, they run away together. the safe, perhaps smothering, world that Celia has created unravels; her paranoia and insecurities amplified to full volume. Playing out alongside her fear, we see the increasingly degrading and dangerous lifestyle that the two elopers have fallen into. Peach Season is a powerful, salutary tale showing what it's like to be a young person desperate for independence, but also, crucially, what it's like to be a parent during the painful process of letting children fly the nest.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Stables Theatre, Darlinghurst, NSW    10 Mar 2006

Organisations:
Griffin Theatre Company 2006

1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia >>>,    978-0-86819-805-7

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/68427

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Skate

Skate
Inspired by true events, Skate is about a group of kids battling with their local council to get a skate park. When tragedy strikes, the battle grows into a struggle for acceptance and unity. A turbo-charged, moving and funny account of the mates, mothers, tricks and traumas of a group of young skaters. Enhanced by live skateboarding, the play is full of the emotional awkwardness of adolescence, its adrenalin, compassion and humour.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
ATYP Studio, Walsh Bay, NSW    15 Apr 2003

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Currency Press, Australia >>>,    978-0-86819-727-2

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Youth Audience

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/23078

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Stories In the Dark

Stories In the Dark
A terrified 12-year-old boy finds himself separated from his family in the unfamiliar streets of a war torn city. He takes refuge in a bombed-out house and in the total blackness his bravado crumbles into tears. Into his life steps Anna - older, street smart and scornful of his crying. As a way of shutting the boy up, she starts to tell him a story that she vaguely remembers from her own childhood. And so begins a journey into the shifting, shimmering world of ogres, princes, singing bones, foolish lads and wolf-mothers. Stories in the Dark explores the power of storytelling, mingling the magic and earthy wisdom of folk tales with the hard-edged story of violence, conflict and the struggle to survive

Notes:
Winner of the 2008 NSW Premier's Literary Awards

1st Produced:
Lennox Theatre, Parramatta, NSW    30 Apr 2007

Organisations:
Australian Theatre for Young People (atyp) and Riverside Theatres

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
TYA

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  4            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/71036

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Sweet Road

Synopsis:
This road movie for the stage comprises a series of cleverly interwoven narratives in which the peculiar mateship of the road brings together an assortment of travellers who don't initially realise how much they need each other. Jo spots her husband through a traffic jam; he's kissing another woman. She floors the accelerator and heads west, in a frenzy of grief and tears. She meets the young hitchhiker Yasmin, and is later rescued from a car crash in the outback by Michael, driving a truck to try to get over a tragedy of his own. Carla and Andy have all their worldly possessions in their car; including the kids and the dog. they've thrown their life into the boot and hope they're driving towards a better future. At a caravan park they meet Frank, who has set off on his big trip without his wife. She died before they could embark on their adventure. When rainstorms hit the dead flat plains they are travelling over, the voyagers all have their plans and lives disrupted in various ways. Each one of them is affe

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Playbox Theatre, Southbank, VIC    02 Aug 2000

Organisations:
Playbox/STC of SA co production

1st Published:

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 Acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  4            Other:  play can be performed with 6 or 7, using doubling

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/72644

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Two-Way Mirror, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Balgowlah Uniting Church, Balgowlah Heights, NSW    20 Jul 1977

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/88775
Script in the Hanger Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, Australia. http://www.austlit.edu.au, http://www.austlit.edu.au >>>,

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