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Supporting Information for Iris's Monologue

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Play: Wednesday to Come
Author: Renee
Context: 1930's Depression
Research text: Sugar Bag Years

This is a significant New Zealand play as it is the first NZ play to show women in the kitchen working in their every day lives. There are strong women roles. It is a kitchen sink drama set at a time of many hardships: it was emotionally, physically, and mentally gruelling for women supporting families. There was no domestic purposes benefit for solo mothers. Issues Iris had to face were around:

  • four generations of women
  • kitchen theatre
  • grief of death
  • her husband's affair
  • work - hard labour
  • relief camps
  • lack of food / work

There is a phantom character - Iris's husband bought home in the coffin which is on stage and taken out in the end. It is difficult to find the character of the husband as there is little reference in the text about him: the mouth organ, his gregariousness, and descriptions of relief camps. We are aware of his silence and the absentness of him.Relief camps were only for pakeha. It was assumed Maori didn't need support Maori were thought to be able to live off the land.

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