Snapshots From Home
‘Snapshots From Home’ evolved out of an oral history project conducted by the Queensland Performing Arts Trust Prime of Life Arts program as part of the Australia Remembers celebrations in 1995.
This theatre piece was to be based on the wartime memories of 24 men and women from Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. These people share their stories with oral historian Sue Pechey and the interviews were recorded. Margery was given 600 pages of the transcripts. From these she set about choosing moments which could be dramatised to tell the story of what life was like on the home-front for this particular group of Australians.
The play gives us the human face of war. It is not a picture we are familiar with from television action movies and video game adventures. We are challenged not only to observe the impact of war on the lives of real people, people who could be members of our families, but also to question our own attitudes and values to the world in which we live.
Although the world has certainly shifted the 50 years since the setting of the play, we now view war in vivid colour on television rather than clustering around the radio listening for news. For a generation which has its vision of war shaped by television coverage where soldiers and civilians are killed, families and friends mourn. It is up to future generations to remember.
This was wartime Australia seen through the eyes of the very young, children and teenagers growing up during those six years, only gradually becoming aware of the enormity of world events. While some of the experiences were common to many, others were intensely personal. They were honest stories, sad, tragic, heartbreaking and often hilariously funny.
Margery decided to write a collage of memories, a collection of snapshots linked together by visual images, radio broadcast, dance music and songs. This required intensive research finding exactly the right songs from the era was vital. They had to do more than just add atmosphere they had to flow with the text and underscore the drama.
The initial performance was held at the Cremorne Theatre, since then Snapshots from Home has been staged as part of the inaugural Brisbane Festival, has toured Queensland and has won an AWGIE award. It has now published by Playlab Press, clearly stories about us are worth the telling. The way audiences have responded to ‘Snapshots From Home’ is an affirmation of the lives of the elders of the tribe, who shared their stories and importantly made it possible for them to be documented for future generations!
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