| 1. Introducing the play |
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The Rivers of China is the seventh of the plays Alma De Groen has written for the stage, each of which is different from the others. Since her first script, however, De Groen's plays have always shown two specific interests, one related to their themes an
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| 2. Synopsis |
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Act One
Scene One: The imagined present. Wayne's bedroom in living quarters at a Sydney hospital. Reversing stereotypical roles between men and women, Audra has been making love to Wayne before going on duty. Wayne shows cliched notions of 'female' b
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| 3. Structure and Character |
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The Period Before The Imagined Present
Act One Scenes Two, Three, Five and Seven, and Act Two Scenes Two, Three, Five and Seven are set in 1922-1923. Act One Scene Ten and Act Two Scene Eight, which are the last scenes in each act, show action set in
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| 4. Poetry and Feminism |
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Alma De Groen chose a poem by the American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) as an epigraph for the play. The poem uses the image of the 'bandaged soul' or repressed spirit of women which sometimes breaks out and 'swings upon the hours,' but is retaken by
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| 5. Notes |
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All page references are to the Currency Press publication.
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| 7. The Critics' View |
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Brian Hoad, Bulletin, Sydney, 22 September 1987
Alma De Groen, the New Zealand-born Sydney-based playwright who has been persevering with her craft for close on 20 years, started work on The Rivers of China as long ago as 1974. A rough version was co
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