Julian Meyrick in conversation with Justin Macdonnell
6pm - 7:30pm Thursday 28 July 2022
National Library of Australia
Parkes Place, Canberra ACT
In a discussion facilitated by Justin Macdonnell, Julian Meyrick will be talking about his latest book, Australia in 50 Plays, with reference to our current exhibition, On Stage: Spotlight on Our Performing Arts.
Australia in 50 Plays is Meyrick's account of the remarkable relationship between our national drama and our national life, examining 50 outstanding plays of diverse content and style that have appeared in the 120 years since Federation.
Copies of the book can be purchased on the night from the National Library Bookshop and, following the discussion in the Theatre, Julian Meyrick will be available for book signings in the Foyer.
This event is free to attend but bookings are essential.
Bookplate Cafe will remain open until the event starts at 6pm, for those who wish to purchase refreshments prior to the event.
For those unable to make it to Canberra for the talk, it will be livestreamed online via the Library's Facebook page. No bookings are required to watch the online stream.
Australia in 50 Plays is Julian Meyrick‘s lively and accessible account of the remarkable relationship between our national drama and our national life, examining 50 outstanding plays of diverse content and style that have appeared in the 120 years since Federation.
Energetic, entertaining and original, Meyrick shows the key contribution drama has made to the development of modern Australia through its role in the major issues of the 20th and 21st centuries: the impact of 2 world wars, the ravages of the Great Depression, the changing role of women, the gradual acknowledgement of First Nation’s culture, the social liberation of the 1970s, and the economic rationalism of the 1990s.
It argues for an expansive idea of ‘nationhood’ as a key driver of debate in the political, social and cultural challenges that face contemporary Australia, while exploring the surprising links between our drama, our history and our collective life.
Venue
Parkes Place
National Library of Australia