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Event

The Recruiting Officer

Venue

Playhouse, Melbourne, VIC

First Date

11 May 1989

Opening Date

13 May 1989

Last Date

8 July 1989

Dates Estimated

Yes

Status

Professional

World Premiere

Description

Two recruiting officers compete for recruits in the same locale. Recruiting in those years (early 1700s) required more than patriotism and the lure of glory: it relied on bribery, alcohol, and the whole armory of deceit. Farquhar's play makes connections explicit, further setting off their dramatic power by linking recruiting tactics to the rites of courtship.

Description Source

Other

Primary Genre

Theatre - Spoken Word

Secondary Genre

Comedy
Satire

Subjects

Romance
War

Organisations

Melbourne Theatre Company, Production Company
Melbourne Theatre Company, Presenting Company
Australia Council for the Arts, Grant Body
The Victorian Ministry for the Arts, Grant Body
The University of Melbourne, Sponsor

Contributors

Name	Function	Notes
Dennis Coard	Actor	Bullock/Drummer/Poacher
Sally Cooper	Actor	Servant /Rose
Paul English	Actor	Costar pearmain/Constable
Neil Fitzpatrick	Actor	Mr Balance
Kurt Geyer	Actor	Thomas Appletree/Smith
Philip Holder	Actor	Mr Worthy
Bob Hornery	Actor	Captain Brazen
Tom E Lewis	Actor	Servant
Robert Menzies	Actor	Captain Plume
Helen Morse	Actor	Melinda
Richard Piper	Actor	Kite
David Roberts	Actor	Costar Pearman/Smith/Constable (did not do full season)
Kim Trengove	Actor	Lucy
Nicki Wendt	Actor	Silvia
Ian Maxwell	Assistant Director
Nina Logan	Assistant Stage Manager
Tony Tripp	Designer
Kim Durban	Director
Alan Fletcher	Fight Director
Jamieson Lewis	Lighting Designer
Jean McQuarrie	Musical Director
George Farquhar	Playwright
Peter Roehlen	Production Coordinator
Ian Cookesley	Production Manager
Kerry Saxby	Sound Designer
Andrew Moon	Stage Manager

Resources

Programme: The Recruiting Officer / Our Country's Good, The University of Adelaide, Library Special Collections, 11 May 1989
Review: Alison Croggon, The Bulletin, 30 May 1989
Review: Chris Boyd, Melbourne Times, 17 May 1989
Review: Geoffrey Milne, The Herald, 5 May 1989
Review: Hilary Glow, James McCaughey, Russell Walsh, Round Up, New Theatre Australia, 11, July 1989, 31
Review: Hugo Leschen, Melbourne Report, 1 July 1989
Review: Leonard Radic, The Age, 16 May 1989
Review: Rosemary Neill, The Australian, 15 May 1989
Review: [The Recruiting Officer], Inpress, 24 May 1989

Works

The Recruiting Officer

Text Nationality

England

Production Nationality

Australia

Further Information

David Roberts became ill during the course of the production and his roles were divided between Kurt Geyer and Paul English. This production played in repertory - on the same set and with the same cast - with Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good from about 1 June (previews)

Event Status

Completed

Data Source

Source	Description
Australian & New Zealand Theatre Record	June 1989
Programme	MTC season

Data Reviewed By

RobertTaylor on 19 November 2024

Event Identifier

1832

Dataset

AusStage