The Brave and The Blind

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Event The Brave and The Blind
Venue St James' Hall (1887-1961), Sydney, NSW
First Date 23 February 1938
Opening Date 23 February 1938
Last Date 24 February 1938
Dates Estimated No
Status Pro-Am
World Premiere No
Description By Michael Blankfort. This play was performed alongside Where's That Bomb?. See Event 22722 for further detail.
"The Brave and the Blind is based generally on the siege of Alcazar in the city of Toledo by the Government forces of Spain during the late summer and fall of 1936. There is nothing in the play, execution, radio appeals, etc. which has not been corroborated by newspaper dispatches. Without having to exalt the democratic forces of Spain, Michael Blankfort indicts Fascism, and belittles the cause of Franco by showing how morale breaks down in his ranks because the people therein have nothing worth dying for.
Place: A fascist-held fortress in Spain which is now besieged by the Democratic forces.
Time: Late summer, 1936
Repeat performance: 27 March 1938
Description Source Programme
Primary Genre Theatre - Spoken Word
Secondary Genre Drama
Subjects Fascism
Organisations
Contributors
Name Function Notes
Edmund Allison Actor Esteban Toro (civil guardsman)
Victor Arnold Actor Fernando Diaz (journalist)
Michael Ashton Actor Squad
Jack Barker Actor Jose Dominguez (a simple religious man)
George Bouffler Actor Father Carlos
Alma Broadfoot Actor Euphemia Martinez (Aurelio's wife)
Frank Callanan Actor Pedro De Lucca (civil guardsman)
John Cameron Actor Pablo Barrios (a cadet)
Hugh Carlsson Actor Juan Castro (a gentleman farmer)
Elsie Dick Actor Cocktail (streetwalker)
Jack Fegan Actor Squad
Joseph Gubbay Actor Corporal Gonsalez ("Polio")
Ernest Guthrie Actor Don Antonio Gomez (a wealthy landowner)
Henry Howlett Actor Colonel Sanchez (commandant of the fortress)
Cecil Knowland Actor Lieutenant Lara (aide to Sanchez)
Freda Lewis Actor Dolores (Lorenzana's daughter)
Grant Lonsdale Actor Squad
Kenyon McCarron Actor Father Manuel
Tim McGill Actor Squad
Robert Mitchell Actor Aurelio Martinez (an inkeeper)
Dennis Nash Actor Jesus Garcia (a pickpocket)
John Reed Actor Doctor Alvarez
Gordon Roberts Actor Squad
Brian Rogers Actor Bernardo (the Castro's son)
Leila Rogers Actor Dominica Castro (Juan's wife)
James Ryan Actor Squad
John Sherman Actor Lorenzana (bricklayer)
Frank Swonnell Actor Officer
Desmond Rowan Lighting Designer
Michael Blankfort Playwright
Jerold Wells Producer
Edmund Allison Stage Manager
Richard Errey
Resources
Further Information All information for this production was taken from The New Years, 1932 - The Plays, People and Events of Six Decades of Sydney's Radical New Theatre, New Theatre, 1992. Update: Cast and crew list, and production description found in programme -- Records of the Sydney New Theatre 1932-1990 ML MSS 6244, SLNSW.
Event Status Completed
Data Source
Source Description
Programme Records of the Sydney New Theatre 1932-1990 ML MSS 6244, SLNSW
Data Set AusStage
Event Identifier 22718