Away

By Michael Gow

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 performance- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xQmUkq15ek