Download 2017 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist: Additional resources

2017 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies
Playlist: Additional resources
Unit 3 Theatre Studies: The Yellow Wave by Jane Miller
Study of this playscript will require discussion about the concept of ‘stereotypes’ and how
stereotyping can be used as a theatrical device. This discussion will also focus on attitudes to
cultural diversity in 19th-century Australia, perhaps comparing these views to those held by
contemporary Australians. Students will also need to learn about populist ‘invasion’ conspiracy
theories that circulated in 19th-century Australia. Students need to understand that these
characters and the way that the actors realise them in performance are not ‘real’; they are
constructed to communicate ideas and messages through the use of acting skills and the
application of stagecraft.
The Macquarie Dictionary defines stereotype as ‘a set form; convention; standardised idea or
concept’.
As students undertake study of the playscript and its interpretation in performance, classroom
discussion will focus on a range of issues, including attitudes expressed by characters in the play
that are regarded as xenophobic in contemporary Australia. The following information is provided
to assist teachers to ensure that the issues are discussed in a balanced manner.
‘Stereotyping’ as a theatrical device or convention
Stereotyping is a device used by writers, theatre makers and others to create a representation of a
scene, an idea, a person or a group of people that, essentially, is a caricature. A stereotypical
representation usually exaggerates characteristics popularly thought to be typical of a person or
group of people. Stereotyping can be manipulated to communicate racial prejudice or other forms
of xenophobia, or to create satire or other forms of comedy.
Class discussion might focus on the stereotypical characters that feature in The Yellow Wave, for
example, identifying these characters and describing the representation they communicate. When
students evaluate the performance they can explore how the stereotype was created and
enhanced through application of stagecraft or use of performance and expressive skills.
‘Invasion’ fiction and related conspiracy theories in 19th-century Australia
The Yellow Wave is an adaptation of a 19th-century novel by Kenneth Mackay. Subtitled ‘a
romance of the Asiatic Invasion of Australia’, Mackay’s book tells the story of the invasion of
Australia, by a Russian-led Mongol force, and is a forgotten piece of Australian fiction.
The novel on which the show is based is of significance in its own right as an early Australian
example of a literary genre referred to as ‘invasion fiction’. One of the defining features of ‘invasion
fiction’ is a narrative that articulates a fear of attack by a foreign or alien power. This genre was
established in the 19th century and remained prevalent up to the First World War. A distinctive
current of xenophobia runs through Mackay’s novel and its title, The Yellow Wave, has clear
associations with the phrase ‘yellow peril’ also thought to have been coined in the 19th century as
propaganda to characterise the perceived threat to European countries by the economic and
military growth of China and Japan.
© VCAA
2017 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist: Additional resources
Discussion may also focus on contemporary ‘invasion’ theories and commentary. The perspectives
of different commentators should be identified and compared to historical views.
Resources

Lewis, L 2007, Cross-racial casting: changing the face of Australian theatre, Currency House,
Strawberry Hills.
In 2007 Lee Lewis’ seminal Platform Paper on cross-racial casting brought to the fore the lack of
representation of Asian actors on Australian stages, and one of the drivers for the creation of The
Yellow Wave was the lack of opportunities to showcase the work of Asian-Australian artists. The
Yellow Wave achieves this aim in the context of a production that deals with ideas of
representation and race while also questioning the place of gender and type in relation to
performance. The casting also underpins much of the subtext and subversion in the show and
leaves the script free of didacticism making the show both entertaining and multifaceted.

MacCallum, D 1864, The Alleged Russian Plans for the Invasion of Australia,
<http://openjournals.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/ART/article/viewFile/5473/6108> accessed
18 October, 2016.
Duncan MacCallum provides an overview of the news that reached the Australian colonies via
newspapers carried by the Alexandra which arrived in Sydney in November 1864. The article
refers to many of the characters in the playscript and summarises an article in the Times:
Russia was prepared, as The Times put it, to make a swoop even though she knew that her
fleet might not long keep the seas against English and French forces. According to The
Times, instructions had been issued to the Russian admirals on the American Californian
coast, directing them to leave their ports to rendezvous and to be ready in the event of a
war with England to bear down on the Australian colonies, first on Melbourne, then on
Hobart, then on Adelaide, Sydney and New Zealand.
The circumstances in which Russia and England might have been at war in I864
comprised, of course, the Polish Insurrection …

Mackay, K 1895, The yellow wave: A romance of the Asiatic invasion of Australia, Richard
Bentley, London.
Further Reading
Boyce, D 2015, Invasion of Sydney: fears and counter-measures of an isolated colony, Ultimo,
NSW : Halstead Press.
Burke, A 2008, Fear of security : Australia's invasion anxiety, Cambridge University Press, rev. ed.,
Port Melbourne.
Clarke, PA 2007, ‘Indigenous spirit and ghost folklore of ‘settled’ Australia’, Folklore, 118(2),
pp.141-161.
Holden, R & Holden, N, 2001, Bunyips: Australia's folklore of fear, National Library Australia.
Irving, T & Cahill, R 2010, Radical Sydney: Places, Portraits and Unruly Episodes, UNSW Press,
Sydney.
Oliver, P 2001, ‘Interpreting ‘Japanese Activities’ in Australia, 1888-1945’, Journal of the Australian
War Memorial, , no. 36, pp. 1.
Peckham, R (ed.), 2015, Empires of Panic: Epidemics and Colonial Anxieties. Hong Kong
University Press.
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2017 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist: Additional resources
Walker, D, 2002, ‘Survivalist anxieties Australian responses to Asia, 1890s to the present’,
Australian Historical Studies, 33(120), pp.319-330.
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2017 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist: Additional resources
Unit 4 Theatre Studies: The Merchant of Venice by William
Shakespeare
As students undertake performance analysis of The Merchant of Venice, classroom discussion will
focus on a range of issues prompted by the relationship between acting, direction and design in
Bell Shakespeare’s production of the play.
Background
In this production, while Shylock has no further text after the court scene, we will see him again as
a broken man; recently baptised a Christian, robbed of his Jewish garb and completely alone. The
production highlights the emotional costs of the trauma he experiences and the lack of freedom he
is allowed.
An additional sequence at the end of the final scene will focus on Jessica, Shylock’s daughter. She
is constrained by her father and her religion and in the end rejects both, running away to be with
her love, Lorenzo. In deciding to be with Lorenzo Jessica must convert to Christianity. In the final
scene of our production the audience will focus on Jessica, who must hear of the forced baptism of
her father and his defeat, from her new friends and family, the supposedly victorious Christians.
Jessica must find a way to reconcile their actions and her own in this scene. She will be asking the
questions the audience is also asking.
The production will highlight the extreme views of both groups in this scene. There are no winners
at the end of the courtroom scene. Shylock is robbed of his money, his religion and his daughter.
And the lovers Portia and Bassanio, Nerissa and Gratiano, who we want to respect and celebrate,
have revealed a hatred at their core.
No one wins. It is uncomfortable. It is a complexity that we are often denied in our narratives.
Resources
Teachers are advised to use material from a range of sources to support a balanced discussion
that considers different perspectives on religious freedom and the practice of forced conversion – a
reality in Shakespeare’s times. Most reputable commentaries on The Merchant of Venice and
introductions to quality editions of the play also refer to these issues. Teachers can use these
study guide/s and notes to develop support materials and resources.
Suggested reading prior to viewing the production:


Dautch, A (n.d.), A Jewish Reading of the Merchant of Venice, British Library,
<https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/a-jewish-reading-of-the-merchant-of-venice>, Creative
Commons, Non-Commercial 4.0 International.
James Shapiro, ‘How were the Jews regarded in 16th-century England?’
<https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/how-were-the-jews-regarded-in-16th-centuryengland>
Further reading
Halperin, M 2016, ‘How “The Merchant of Venice” has become an unexpected analysis of the
nature of oppression’, Flaborwire website, <http://flavorwire.com/585385/how-the-merchant-ofvenice-has-become-an-unexpected-analysis-of-the-nature-of-oppression>
Roth, E 2011, ‘The Merchant of Venice: The play and the Jews’, My Jewish Learning website,
<http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-merchant-of-venice/>. Note: both the article and the
posted comments provide relevant material.
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