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Mervyn Thompson

MERVYN THOMPSON  (1936 - 1992)

 Nationality:    New Zealander
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a


Mervyn Thompson was born in Kaitangata in 1936 and spent most of his early life on the West Coast. He left school at 15 and worked at various jobs, including five years down a coalmine. In 1960 he entered the University of Canterbury and graduated with an MA in 1964. In 1965 he became a university lecturer. Mervyn was a co-founder of the Court Theatre and from 1971-74 was co-director of the Court. In 1975-76 he was artistic director of Downstage and during this time he wrote his first plays. Mervyn was appointed senior lecturer in Drama at Auckland University and during this time continued to work as a playwright and director. A controversial figure in both theatre and academia, he was passionately committed to NZ drama. In both 1980 and 1982 he was Director of the Playmarket national Playwrights Workshops and in 1981- 82 was both an advisor and a director at the Mercury Theatre. During his last years he resided in Christchurch, where he died from cancer at age 56.

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

 Children Of The Poor         Coaltown Blues         First Return         Great New Zealand Truth Show, The         Jean & Richard         Lovebirds         New Zealand Childhood         Night At the Races, A         O Temperance!         Passing Through         Poems For a New Zealand Theatre         Rise and Fall Of King Dimplecheek, The         Songs To the Judges         Songs To Uncle Scrim

Children Of The Poor

Synopsis:
this musical play is set in Presbyterian Dunedin around 1900 and follows the formative experiences of Porcello from birth to age 14.

Notes:
Based on the novel by John A Lee

1st Produced:
-    1988

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, Wellington   -

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 play

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Coaltown Blues

Synopsis:
An intensely personal play by one of New Zealand's most significant and controversial playwrights, Coaltown Blues depicts the tragedy and comedy of poverty and politics and the struggles throughout Mervyn's childhood in a West Coast mining town. It is both a celebration and a lament for the working class roots from which he sprang. Coaltown Blues captures significant historical moments with relevance not only to West Coasters but to New Zealand as a whole: the Depression and election of the first Labour Government, victory over Japan, the Waterfront Strike and the shutting down of coal mines

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Auckland, New Zealand    1984

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Victoria University Press, Wellington, 1986   -

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:
social drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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First Return

Synopsis:
A semi-autobiographical play about the central character's attempts to come to terms with himself, his past and his identity as a New Zealander. The style is expressionistic.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Christchurch, New Zealand    1974

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Christchurch Theatre Trust, Christchurch, 1974   -

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:  4            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Great New Zealand Truth Show, The

Synopsis:
Co-written with Auckland University students in 1980, this play covers fifty years of NZ history (1931-81) as it has appeared in our most sensationalised weekly. Satirical and savage, the show includes songs and has a particular emphasis on racism in NZ.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Auckland    1982

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in the anthology Passing Through, Playmarket, Wellington   -

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:  5            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Jean & Richard

Synopsis:
A fantasy romance between Richard Pearce, a Timaru inventor, possibly of the aeroplane, and round-the world aviatrix, Jean Batten.
Playmarket News

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Court Theatre, Christchurch    1990

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, Wellington   -

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:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lovebirds

Synopsis:
The obsessive relationship between Judith and David played out against a background of Tristan and Isolde.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, Wellington   -

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:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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New Zealand Childhood

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1979

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Night At the Races, A

Synopsis:
A co-written entertainment with songs, in which the audience is invited to have a wager along with the cast. The play focusses on the comedy and pathos of 'Murph the Serf of the Turf', with some serious (and by no means negative) things to say about gamblers and gambling.

Notes:
written with Yvonne Blennerhassett Edwards, music by Andrew Glover

1st Produced:
Auckland    1977

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, Wellington, 1981   -

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 with music

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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O Temperance!

Synopsis:
A history of the Temperance movement in NZ, with songs. It is particularly suitable for amateur and school performance.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Christchurch    1972

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Christchurch Theatre Trust, Christchurch, 1974   -

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 with songs

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  10            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Passing Through

Synopsis:
An autobiographical show telling the author's experiences in New Zealand theatre. The story starts with the Reefton Drama Club, and moves through Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington. Major events from the playwright's life are touched upon and many people recalled : Ngaio Marsh, Bruce Mason, Jerzy Grotowski, Greg McGee, Merata Mita and others. With music.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Court II, Christchurch    1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, Wellington   -

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:
Monologue play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Poems For a New Zealand Theatre

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Auckland    1981

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Rise and Fall Of King Dimplecheek, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1981

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:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Songs To the Judges

Synopsis:
This is a savage, satirical and moving drama about the effects of the law courts of NZ on the Maori people.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Auckland    1980

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, Wellington, 1983   -

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 with songs

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Songs To Uncle Scrim

Synopsis:
a musical impression of the Depression in New Zealand

Notes:
original music by Stephen McCurdy

1st Produced:
Downstage Theatre, Wellington    11 Mar 1976

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Playmarket, Wellington, 1983   -

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

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  pianist

Further Reference:
-

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