Year 11 Drama Night

Play synopsis:

Set in Melbourne over Christmas in the 1950s, the story follows Italian immigrants, the Bianchis, as they attempt to create a new life in Collingwood – a poor suburb populated by lower class Australian families and Italian immigrants. Tragedy strikes when Gino returns to the family home bloodied and battered.

The Shifting Heart is a story of friendship, marriage, trust, honesty and family but also offers an insight in to the psychology of racism and its victims. A wonderful drama representing the migrant experience from Australia’s recent past, the story continues to ring true for migrants today. The Shifting Heart asks audiences to reflect on the tragedy the Bianchis experience as well as its relevance to the stories of contemporary immigrants and our responsibility in those stories.

Richard Beynon was an Australian-born playwright, actor and television producer. Best known for The Shifting Heart, his other works include, Face of a Man, Simpson J. 202, and Summer Shadows. He later worked as a BBC television producer on shows such as The Duchess of Duke Street, Madame Bovery, Poldark and Z-Cars.

The Shifting Heart premiered in Sydney at the Elizabethan Theatre in 1957. It toured nationally for a year, including notable seasons at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre and Brisbane’s Her Majesty’s Theatre. The play made its West End debut in 1959. A radio version of the play was made by the ABC in 1962, and was adapted for television (also by the ABC) in 1968.