Synopsis
Michael Gow’s Away is a play that focuses on
three Australian families in the 1960s. These
families are embarking on their end of year
summer holidays. The three families represent a
cross-section of the Australian community of the
time. Each family has different life experiences,
expectations, values and attitudes and these
affect their relationships with each other.
The Play Form
Remember that Away is a stage drama. This
means that when we read it we need to be aware
of the theatre setting. The stage setting in Away
is minimalistic so that the focus is predominantly
on the characters. The contextual setting is the
late 1960s Australia when the war in Vietnam
was causing political and social unrest and
dissent.
Structure
Away is structured into 5 Acts:
Overture
Conflict
Resolution
Personal Journeys
Away begins during the Christmas season. Each
character goes on a personal journey of
transformation during the play. They face
challenges as they interact in unfamiliar
situations and environments, changing in the
process
Some Dramatic Features
Stereotypical characters: archetypes, foils etc
A play within a play
Soliloquy
Juxtaposition
Imagery
Some Language Features
Shakespearian allusion
Colloquial language
Sarcasm
Irony
Metaphor
Repetition
Some Themes
Family
Life and death
The power of nature to heal
Shakespearian thematic links
Some Symbolism
Christmas present
The beach
The shells
The bonfire
The storm
Brief Character Synopsis
Vic- shows strength of character in the face of
her son’s illness. She’s very practical but also a
supporting and loving person
Harry- a practical minded husband and father
who is also supporting and who loves his son
Tom- a young budding actor, he has cancer and
this impacts his life, values and attitudes.
Brief Character Synopsis
Gwen- he experience of being poor has severely
impacted her outlook on life. She is bitter,
hardened and very class conscious
Jim- can come across as submissive and
passive but this is not the case. Instead he is
stoic and patient, playing peacekeeper to keep
his family together
Brief Character Synopsis
Coral- is emotionally disconnected. She has not
reconciled the death of her son and is struggling
to accept this
Roy- is a school Principal. He is very concerned
with appearances and his position within society
Meg- is strong willed and opinionated. She has a
quick temper and is reactive in regards to others
Links
To see Away in a school theatre performancehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xQmUkq15e
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