ANALYSIS OF ACT TWO

THE SHOE-HORN
SONATA
Kylie Hetherington
Abstract

Module A: Distinctively Visual

Analysis of the Text

Analysis - Act Two, Scene Nine
The scene opens in the studio and dominating the space is a large image of both
Australian and British women bowing to the Japanese. This huge image remains
throughout most of the scene and the audience cannot escape its meaning. Both
Bridie and Sheila are present and Bridie is off to one side singing the Captives
Hymn (with the womens choir). Sheila is speaking to the camera and her answers
to the questions are juxtapose with Bridies singing. In this interview we learn about
the situation in Belalau and the Japanese order that had been issued to kill every
prisoner of war.
Bridies illness and the way in which Sheila looked after her is made publicbut
Sheila baulks at telling the whole truth about how she acquired the drugs to save
her, making up the story of the
shoe-horn saving her. This information is picked up by the interviewer as if it is highly
significant.
The scene ends with the story of Curtins message: Keep smiling, girls. The horror of
this command is emphasised by the image of Curtin and the prisoners and the Judy
Garland song.

Further Analysis
This scene focuses on Sheilas representation of events that continue the narrative of
the experience. Misto has given both women a scene where they are the protagonist
effectively allowing each woman to have a voice that is representative of both the
Australian and British women who were held in captivity. The isolation of each
character on the stage in these two scenes presents the audience with the
opportunity to explore and note the similarities and differences between their
personalities open, forthright, at times hubristic and reserved (unless relaxed by
alcohol) and modest, albeit with a touch of martyrdom.

Page 1 of 31

Note Making Activity

You are to cut out each of the statements above and stick them against the dramatic and language devices that they match to.
Once you have done this you are to write a statement of how the audience visualises the events and experiences of the women
because of the way Misto uses dramaturgy and language in the play.
Dramaturgy and
Language
Protagonist and isolation
on the stage
Imagery
Projected images and
backdrop to the stage /
symbolism / echoing
Scene i
Lighting and symbolism
and dramatic irony
Stage directions /
dramatic irony / simile
descriptive / verbal
imagery
Images, motif and
symbolism, dramatic
irony
Irony, music and
projected images

Page 2 of 31

Analysis

Distinctively Visual

Writing Activity
Overview (Topic Sentence)

Misto uses vivid imagery in The Shoe-Horn Sonata to

point to the horrendous truth of the experiences
of the women during World War II.

Level One (Technique and Example)

Outline ONE use of imagery in this scene and provide an example.

Level Two (Purpose)

How does this work with the stage directions or dramatic elements to create a distinctively visual
image?

Level Three (Analysis)

How does the imagery (language) and dramatic techniques reveal the truth of the womens
experiences? (Analysis)

Page 3 of 31

Writing Activity
Convert your answers into a cohesive paragraph. (Topic Sentence, Technique
Example, Purpose, Analysis, Linking Sentence)

Page 4 of 31

Analysis - Act Two, Scene Ten

The transition to
this scene holds the
image of emaciated
male prisoners in
view as we move
into a space that is
neither hotel room
nor studio although
both characters are
still wearing body
microphones. Sheila
has not gone to
lunch and is sitting
doing some kind of
tapestryan image
of stitching things
together. Bridie
comments on the
photograph of the
soldiersa comment that stimulates a riposte from Sheila about the role of the
government in suppressing information about the womens role in the war. This
interaction between the on-stage action and the projected visual images connects
past and present.
Their conversation reveals the tension that is now out in the open. Recriminations
flow as Bridie tries to make sense of what she has learned and Sheila tries to defend
her actions, not only with the Japanese but also in leaving Bridie after the war. The
intercutting of Ricks voice into their altercation leaves them not knowing how much
he has heard. The juxtaposition of the song Ill Walk Alone suggests the isolation of
each of these victims of this dreadful situation.

Page 5 of 31

Note Making Activity

Below, the boxes which have been shaded grey need to be completed.

Ideas

Dramatic
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

Violence against
women

Projected
visual images /
stage
directions
The scene opens
with the large
photograph of
the male POWs
in full view.

. The distinctive
visual presented
here is of the
male experience
overshadowing
that of the
feminine; the
needlework,
getting on with
business is the
social and
cultural
expectation,
both in Sheilas
own
representation of
self bearing her
cross so to speak
and getting on
with the her life
with pragmatic
feminine
industry.

The size of the

image dominates
the screen with
Sheila who
sitting beneath it
presenting a
metaphorical
image of the
male experience
dominating that
of the female
experience in
terms of
exposure and
history. The
silence of the
womens stories
in the memories
of the Australian
public.
Secondly,
Sheilas
experience,
silenced for fifty
years, hides
scars as
significant and
as confronting as
the emasculated,
emaciated
imagery
presented
literally on the
stage.

The working on
the tapestry or
needlework also
presents the
juxtaposition
between the
masculine and
the feminine.
Find relevant
example.

Page 6 of 31

Ideas

Dramatic
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

Sheilas response
exposes the
controlling of
image
perpetrated by
the Australian
government
which in part,
has contributed
to the silenced
representations
of the extreme
nature of the
experience for
the women.
The discussion
between the two
women on the
period they
remained in
hospital, to
fatten them up
before they were
seen by the
public.
Find relevant
example.

Truth and telling the

truth

Page 7 of 31

Illuminates and
suggests that we
can and do
control image in
order to
construct a
socially
acceptable
perspective.
Similar stories of
hiding the history
of women and
privileging the
narrative of men
are evident in
evidence from
Singapore for the
many women
who were held in
Changi or for
those held
prisoner in Japan.
The womens
history of
imprisonment in
Changi history
was not written
about until 1968
and only then

Ideas

Dramatic
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

has it come to
light the extent
of the illness,
challenge and
inspiration that
can be drawn
from the
feminine
experience.
Telling the truth

The dialogue
between the two
characters
returns to the
hotel room
revelation of
Sheilas secret.
Find relevant
example.

a tone of
isolation and
loneliness
pervades the
scene.

The visual
representation of
the characters
on the stage,
their proximity,
the
awkwardness
and tension
continues as
we see Bridie
coming to
terms with
Sheilas story.
Find relevant
example.

The confronting
images of
Lipstick Larry still
haunt Sheila.

Page 8 of 31

continues the
sense of cultural
repression that
has left Sheila

Ideas

The nature of history

to obscure the truth
and silence the weak
and powerless in
society

Page 9 of 31

Dramatic
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

The challenging
notion of
sacrifice and the
revelations of
Sheilas mother
rejecting her
need to tell her
story.
Find relevant
example.

firmly placed in
isolation, living
alone constantly
reminded of the
events that have
circumscribed
her.

There is genuine
bitterness
evident in the
facial
expressions and
body language
Find relevant
example.

a sense that
whilst Sheila can
rationalise, if not
forget her
sacrifice, Bridie
cannot.

The scene ends

with the
realisation both
women may
have been live
on their
microphones,
which could have
exposed them
both.
The dramatic
irony that the
story is now told
and is now
public.
Find relevant
example.

reminds us of the
overshadowing
nature of history
and explores
how we are
silenced by the
expectations and
constructs of a
society that does
not always want
to acknowledge
truth.

Ideas

Dramatic
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

The scene ends

with the
poignant strains
of Anne
Sheltons Ill
Walk Alone
(lyrics do not
start until 1:46).
Find relevant
example.

Page 10 of 31

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

At the very least,

society struggles
to deal with
confronting
images this
narrative
presents about
the war and our
participation in it
and how it
impacted on a
range of
individuals

Analysis of Act Two, Scene 11

This scene is back in the studio and the visual image of the postcards seems dwarfed
beside the projected images that we have previously seen. The recitation of the
words of each of the postcards leads the women back into their memories. The
moments of darkness highlight the
pain of these experiences.
In this scene the image of the sonata becomes significant as the women trawl back
through their
memories together. In this scene, one of the most important issues of the play is
highlightedthe
complete lack of acknowledgement by the Australian government juxtaposed with
the pitifully small amount of compensation paid by the Japanese government to
these victims of the
power play of these sovereign states.
Literal images are presented from the outset of the scene with the postcard being
held up for the audience to see; the postcards, sent through the Red Cross, represent
connection and disconnection. Bridies postcard message has warmth and represents
her connectedness to family, Sheilas, read by Bridie from memory, despite the 50
year time span, reveals the stoicism of the British view she has been limited by her
entire life. The staging of the women, side by side presents unit; the knowledge of
what was on each postcard reveals the intimacy of the relationship presenting an
innate spiritual connection between the two.
Mental images are provoked in the minds of the audience as the women relate
digging graves and singing songs, and the inspiration they drew from the music that
not only strengthened them but the other remaining women left in the camp.
Sheilas evocative recount of her return to the camp is presented in halting phrases
allowing the audience to appreciate every image or the absence of the images
huts, fences that now only holds ghosts, both present and past. The shock expressed
by Rick echoes the shock that is felt by the audience at the realisation of the lack of
dignity and commemoration afforded these women and children. The extent of the
loss of life is profound. Sheila presents the metaphor that she has never left this
place the darkness that shrouds the stage for just a few moment echoes the
metaphysical darkness that has overwhelmed her life.
As the lights go up again the audience sees Bridie standing beside Sheila, a visual
reminder of their unity, a protective stance. She relates, with objective clarity, the
pitiful compensation offered by the Japanese and the shocking evidence that the
Australian government would not support them in a bid for more compensation. It
would seem that the images of women as prisoners, and the silences that have
surrounded their representation, will continue.
The continuity of the plot is supported by the reference to smiling from Scene Nine.
The irony presents the discomforting reminder of the years of deprivation ad abuse
from the Japanese as an ongoing trauma that both women carry with them.

Page 11 of 31

The scene ends in darkness, deliberately confronting as a metaphor of an ending, a

closing of the reparations that can be made for the losses of those who were
impacted on by this experience.

Techniques

Tensions in their
relationship
Looking and
seeing the truth
Violence against
women

Page 12 of 31

Examples of
Techniques and
quotations from
Shoe Horn

Visual Elements
Effect of
visual elements
of the text

Writing Activity
Overview (Topic Sentence)

Misto through intense dramatic and language in The ShoeHorn Sonata intends for the audience to be participants in the
realisation of the lack of dignity and commemoration
afforded these women and children.
Level One (Technique and Example)
Outline ONE use of imagery in this scene and provide an example.

Level Two (Purpose)

How does this work with the stage directions or dramatic elements to create a distinctively visual
image of the lack of official commemoration or memory for these women?

Level Three (Analysis)

How does the imagery (language) and dramatic techniques reveal the tragic negligence in
memorialising the womens sacrifice and resilience?

Page 13 of 31

Writing Activity
Convert your answers into a cohesive paragraph. (Topic Sentence, Technique
Example, Purpose, Analysis, Linking Sentence)

Page 14 of 31

Analysis of Act Two, Scene 10

This scene takes place in the motel room. Bridie is attempting to re-establish their
relationship despite the obvious tensions between them. It is in this scene that we
learn of Bridies crime in the David Jones food hall. We now understand how she
feels and why she reacted in this way.
Sheilas reaction to this confession allows us to see how deeply scarred these women
have been by their experiencesnot only by the Japanese, but also by the responses
and inaction of their own countries. Sheilas realisation is that it is important not only
for themselves but for the thousands of others similarly afflicted to tell these stories
in public. Bridie is not yet convinced and the tension between them arises again. We
are now aware that this tension is about the present, the past, memories,
recollections, reconstructions, truth, shame and guilt. The moment of darkness
returns, followed by images of great men of history and the song, Whispering
Grass.
This scene returns the hotel room, Sheilas, where the revelation of events took place
in Scene Eight. Bridie and Sheila are engaging in a dualogue that vacillates
between bickering and intimacy implying that this has been the nature of
their relationship since their first meeting. We are once again reminded of
the imagery of the first meeting of the women and their earlier debates on
Sinatra and Crosby. Misto is reminding us here of the continuance of
relationships and the memories they have of each other as vivid and real.
The image induced through the relating of one of the other women forgiving a
Chinese waiter the previous evening reminds us of the enduring images of the
atrocities for all the women and how they have ongoing impact. Misto cleverly
reveals here the ways in which POWs have had to shift their perspective of
people and events in a world that has changed and moved on and to some
extent, politically, culturally and socially, wants to ignore the image of atrocity
we have seen through the photographs and through the stories we have been made
witness to. Further evidence of this idea is presented through Bridies relating to
Sheila of being captured shop lifting, because of the Nips. The way she names the
people implies the negative connotations she still associates with the Japanese.
Misto highlights here the difficulties and challenges of overcoming hatred
and prejudice when you have been subjected to such devastating events and
experiences. We imagine and through that experience the visceral terror Bridie
felt when surrounding by Japanese tourists and we empathise with her
need to run. The irony of this scene is her refusal to tell the truth in court
as she needed to preserve the secret of the stories of the camp, a social
expectation to protect the women or an unspoken imposition placed on her
by society and governments who have been unwilling to acknowledge and
support the reparation of such atrocities perpetrated on individuals. The
damning aspect here is that this attitude has impacted on a range of
minority groups throughout history Indigenous Australians, migrant
Australians and continues to repress story and truth for any range of social
and economic purposes and may provide worthy related material of making
this point.
Images of fear, the guards and wanting to save Sheila (represented in Bridies
dialogue) are overshadowed by the truth of Sheilas sacrifice. Both women are
confronted by the truths they now know of the other and yet understand. They both

Page 15 of 31

recognise the power of secrets. Ironically, it has been Sheila who has been accused
of keeping up a face of decorum throughout we now see Bridie as being a victim of
that same need to hide her self-imposed shame and secrets.
Sheilas evocative dialogue reveals that the war is not over for her, and that she has
come to the realisation that only the telling of the truth, exposing the images of loss
and sadness, of her own integrity are the way forward. Cleverly, Misto reminds us, in
this moment of vulnerability, of the need to know the truth if we are to expose the
pain and them work to accept our circumstances and their consequences ourselves.
The balance of power between the women has clearly shifted as it is now Bridie who
wants to keep the secrets and Sheila who is empowered by the potential freedom of
sharing the truth.
The end of the scene is both poignant and humourous. Sheila, the character
endowed with all propriety and dignity, mocks Bridie as she leaves the hotel room
with onomatopoeic clucking reinforcing the stage directions that tell us she is
visually flapping her arms as wings. We see a freedom of expression and willingness
to confront and challenge the attitudes of a society that would prefer the images and
stories of what occurred in the camp to remain hidden. The stage shifts to darkness,
a metaphorical reminder of how we hide truth in dark places so that we are not
confronted by them. Photographs appear on the scene of military leaders and prime
ministers reminding the audience that these are the men that orchestrate nations
through war, that lead nations, that construct the secrets, hide the secrets and
perpetuate a narrative that is sanitised and justifiable. The score of Whispering
Grass (Inkspots 1940) is used to reinforce the imagery of secrets, secrets which
prevent individuals from being fully human and from living lives free of fear. The
sense that there should be a hidden history is a damning reminder of how we repress
unpalatable truths.

Note Making Activity

Complete the following note making activity using the text and the analysis
above to complete the note table.

Ideas

Truth
Violence and fear
Secrets and
Hidden History

Page 16 of 31

Dramatic
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

Writing Activity Eight

Topic Sentence
The distinctively visual positions the responder to gain an experiences about past events and
personalities. This acts as a catalyst, exposing the responder to the experiences of the women
and the long term effects of war that they suffered.
Overview
1. How has the idea in the topic sentence been revealed in Scene 12?

Level One (Technique and Example)

List three key uses of dramatic, visual and language techniques used in this
scene. (Ensure you also note the references or describe the examples. Make sure
they connect to the topic sentences.)

Level Two (Purpose)

How do the visual elements of this scene provoke audience response?

Page 17 of 31

Level Three (Analysis)

How do the dramatic techniques and the distinctively visual elements in this
scene which enhance our understanding and emotional response of the horror
and sacrifice of war?

Writing Activity
Convert your answers into a cohesive paragraph. (Topic Sentence, Technique
Example, Purpose, Analysis, Linking Sentence)

Page 18 of 31

Writing Activity Nine

Topic Sentence
The distinctively visual allows the audience to intellectually and emotively experience the
betrayal of the women through secrets and hidden history.
Overview
1. How has the idea in the topic sentence been revealed in Scene 12?

Level One (Technique and Example)

List three key uses of dramatic, visual and language techniques used in this
scene. (Ensure you also note the references or describe the examples. Make sure
they connect to the topic sentences.)

Level Two (Purpose)

How do the visual elements of this scene invoke a vivid response for the
audience?

Level Three (Analysis)

How do the audience responses reveal the betrayal of the women POWs by the
Australian and British governments through having their stories silenced?

Page 19 of 31

Writing Activity
Convert your answers into a cohesive paragraph. (Topic Sentence, Technique
Example, Purpose, Analysis, Linking Sentence)

Page 20 of 31

Analysis Act Two Scene Thirteen

This scene cuts straight into the interview as both Bridie and Sheila recount their
experiences as the war draws to an end. We hear about the diaries and the
burning of these by the British. This is overlaid with images of Hiroshima and the
news of the death of Pearl after the war had officially ended. There is a sense of
calm as both women recount these events, although at one significant moment
Sheilas composure cracks. It is at this point that we see the symbiotic
relationship that the women had previously enjoyed. As Bridie finishes
recounting the anecdote that Sheila had begun they join hands and relive,
together, that moment of memory and reconciliation. The playing of the Blue
Danube Waltz is a counterpoint to their memories. Dancing becomes associated
with life and joy and hope and survival, and this is juxtaposed with the Japanese
atrocities in Belalau and the visual images of the celebrations of the end of
the war. The scene reaches a climax as the confessions of the two women are
made public. This is the moment of truth as Bridie tells about Sheilas personal
sacrifice and Sheila tells of Bridies theft from David Jones. The simplicity of these
truths juxtaposed with the official lies of the government ring out with a clarity
and candour that is underlined by the gradual darkness that follows the
revelation. This scene ends with the sounds of the hymn An Epitaph to War,
images of the women recuperating and the huge projected image of the army
nurses arriving in Singapore.

Further Analysis
Sheilas exposure of the government she has strenuously defended throughout
the play presents irony; the idea that the British took away diaries under the
guise of a health risk and then never returned them confirms the dialogue
throughout the play of repressing truth, keeping secrets and protecting the
notions of Empire. Misto makes much here of the dogma of esteem and
protecting the image of the Empire. The discussions surrounding both
governments reinforces earlier scenes where Sheila criticises the Australian
government for waiting until the women were not as thin and emaciated before
photographs could be taken, again to protect but one needs to ask whether
these images would have protected the individuals, society or governments.
Relating the story of the prisoners being forced to climb a hill outside of the
camp presents a range of images that resonate for both Bridie and Sheila and
through their telling, the audience. The weakness and physical condition of the
women are exposed; verbs such as struggling and crawling emphasise the
challenge. The images in the minds of the women at the time are presented,
revealing their fears of shot in a further attempt to hide their presence. The
biblical allusions, the reciting of Psalm 23, reinforces the fear of an impending
death. Bridie relates how Sheila sees why they have been taken to this place
before she does. The exclamatory repetition had forced them to draw near to
each other. The audience can imagine the desperate struggle this would have
involved. The listing of instruments and the transition into the strains of The Blue
Danube by Johann Strauss presents an abstract juxtaposition with their
circumstances. The music presents the sentience of the moment for the women,
memories flooding in of their lives prior to the war. The nostalgia is evocative.
The promise made at that point in history is reiterated on the stage and is a

Page 21 of 31

foreshadowing of the end of the play. The scene moves to explore how the
women were found in the last days of their captivity. They recount the historical
facts of Hayden Lennard finding women POWs and the miracle of being found
signifying to some extent that this was the end of what had been a horrific
ordeal. The lights flickering are a transition to present photographs as backdrops
of the celebrations in Australia at the end of the war. The score presents Danny
Boy a more traditional British (Celtic) song about coming home. The women
relate how they moved beyond the gates of the camp and we can imagine the
challenges of walking away, with such impaired physical health. The language
presents the struggles and the fragility of the women.
The scene shifts at this point as rather than accepting an offer to take a break in
filming; Bridie and Sheila begin to tell the truths, revealing how their captivity
has truly impacted on them both. The significance here is that they are exposing
images of themselves as women, not who were disempowered by their secret
narratives but now empowered by the fact that in sharing it publicly they too are
freed of the memories that have prevented them from finding resolution to their
fears and nightmares. The dialogue is powerful, halting and poignant. Whilst we
have witnessed these stories as an audience, the revealing of them to the
interviewer implies they are now public images that everyone can be exposed to
and now must accept and resolve as an integral part of Australias war narrative
involving prisoners of war. The women are united on the screen, represented as
holding hands, and we see that they can be as one; the friendship conveyed here
a powerful image of re-imagining themselves as freed from the war. The
reassurances and connections between the two women present an image that is
quite moving for the audience. The stage shifts into gradual darkness, closing an
episode as the soundtrack presents An Epitaph to War. Photographs present the
evocative images of the nurses effectively paying homage to their survival and in
doing so, celebrating the lives of those who did not come home. These images
have been presented as links in previous scenes.

Page 22 of 31

Page 23 of 31

Analysis Act Two Scene Fourteen

The filming has finished, and Bridie is reading a newspapera poignant symbol of
the official version of news. The two colleagues and friends are now reunited and this
is contained in the
image of the lifting of the suitcase. While most of the tension has been released
there is still some unresolved business to be dealt with. Sheila holds out the shoehorn, now the symbol not only of their reunion, but also of their reconciliation. The
two women embrace. The play ends with them women dancing to the Blue Danube
and in the slowly darkening space the final spotlight falls on the shoe-horn.
The final scene of the play begins with Sheila sitting on stage; the set is her hotel
room. The stage directions infer that her suitcase is packed and she is ready to
leave after saying her goodbyes. Bridie enters the stage/room and presents the
simile that illustrates Ricks sense of success; it is a clichd simile and yet
demonstrates that the interviewer feels he has been successful in conveying the
story and insights that will make his documentary meaningful the dramatic
irony is that the style of delivery on stage, as a documentary with the personal
insights integrated throughout, has presented an insightful and poignant
experience for the audience.

The women present banter in the scene but the profound imagery comes from
mention of Christmas, evoking the need that they experienced in the camp
continues to resonate and that these women want to share some of those
experiences in the future as their own form of reparation, addressing the
memories by creating the tangible the ones they dreamed of in the camp.
Sheila gives Bridie her shoe-horn which is a poignant moment; the sacrifice
embedded in its presence is overwhelming. The embrace by the women presents
a final moment of genuine affection for the audience allowing us to see their
conflicts and tensions resolved, although not in a maudlin manner, to reiterate
Sheilas earlier phrase.
The scene and the play ends to the strains of The Blue Danube and the two
women waltzing celebrating finally, the freedom they now enjoy, not just literal
freedom but a form of spiritual freedom from the horrors that limited them both
and had been the cause of tension throughout the play.
The humour used in the final scene creates bathos; this is not a maudlin or
depressing moment; whilst there is nostalgia Misto reprises the barbs and
debates of Empire and culture Sinatra or Crosby that sustained the women
throughout their time in the camps.
The spotlight on the shoe-horn focuses us on not only these women who have
survived and their shared narrative, but the symbolism it conveys, of many
women and many songs and voices who did not survive or, for those who did,
may still not be in a position to share their story and be free as the final
moments of score and action on the stage of the two women dancing convey.
Misto leaves his audience uplifted; the significance of this final scene,
the final image is that we too can rise above even the most
extraordinary and dire experiences and be uplifted and inspired and in
turn, uplift and inspire others.

Page 24 of 31

Themes and Ideas

History and historiography
While the focus of the play appears to be on the two individual characters, it is
through their story that we discover an even bigger storythe ways in which official
sources construct histories so that truth becomes a central casualty. In one sense the
play is about historiography or the writing of history. This is evident in various
aspects of the play including the juxtaposition of the factual information in the
slides and the fictional characters. But it also operates within the stories of the
characters themselves moving within the stage space. The hesitation of the women
to tell their stories publicly has helped to skew the writing of the history. But we
come to understand the ways in which the women have effectively colluded with
Japanese, British and Australian officialdom by keeping their own counsel. It is
interesting that now, fifty years after the war, they are telling their stories in an oral
medium because, unlike other official war stories, they have not been recorded in
writing.
It is also significant that in the telling of these stories it is the male interviewer who is
seeking the information for another public medium of recording historyone that is
as potentially selective as the official government records can be. In both cases it is
the stories that are not toldthe negative informationthat leads to a skewed and
untruthful account of events. This is a play about the stories that are not told for
various reasons.

Activity
1. Find three examples from the play
History and
Dramatic
Historiography
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

Page 25 of 31

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

History and
Historiography

Page 26 of 31

Dramatic
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

Truth, honesty, candour

Truth is central to the ideas of this play. The idea of truth, telling the truth and
recognising the truth is not located only in the interrelationship between the two
women. Certainly, we come to understand that there has been a concealing of
truth between them during their time in the
camp and after their release. This concealment is aided by Sheilas geographical
isolation. For Bridie, telling the truth has arisen as an issue in relation to the theft
from the David Jones food hall. Telling the truth is also shown to be an issue in
their interactions in the present; but honestyor more significantlylack of it, is
also shown to be part of the modus operandi of the British, Australian and
Japanese. Official concealments have their official spin, but they are
concealments, nevertheless. Perhaps in the final analysis, this play demonstrates
that such concealments cannot be contained forever. Truth will out.

Activity
1. Find three examples from the play
Truth, honesty
Dramatic
and candour
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

Page 27 of 31

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

Power relationships
This play explores power relationships at a number of levels. The most obvious
power play on stage occurs between the interviewer and the women that he is
interviewing. This power play has an ambiguous moment in which the women are
uncertain as to whether Rick has overheard a private conversation.
There is also a shifting power play between the two women themselves that is a
reflection of shifts in the power relationships that had been in play between them
during the war. These shifts are also set against the power relationships between the
British authorities and British nationals in Singapore, Australian authorities and the
nurses and, of course between the Japanese captors and the prisoners-of-war.

Activity
1. Find three examples from the play
Power
Dramatic
relationships
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

Page 28 of 31

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

Heroism
The play revolves around the heroic deeds of the women during the war. These
deeds were acts of physical courage of the highest order. For Sheila, the supreme
sacrifice of selling her body to the Japanese in order to obtain the necessary drugs
for her friends survival is all the more poignant as we understand the cultural and
social background that she had come from. But these are not the only deeds of
heroism.
As the stories unfurl we encounter the heroic spirit not only of these two women, but
of others who were in the same situation. We come to understand heroism not only
as a masculine characteristic, and not merely associated with great physical feats.
Sheilas greatest heroic act is to give her body to the Japanese soldiers in order to
save the life of her friend.

Activity
1. Find three examples from the play
Heroism and
Dramatic
Resilience
features /
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

Page 29 of 31

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis

Memories, dealing with pain, reconciliation

A key focus of this play is on the reconciliation that eventually occurs between the
two women. This reconciliation is not easily come by and indeed at some points
throughout the play it seems doubtful whether it is possible at all. The reunion of the
two means that layers of memories must be recalled, relived and reconstructed so
that understanding and acceptance can come into play. This is a painful process but
both characters come to understand that running away from pain is only one way of
dealing with it and there is something satisfying for them in dealing with it in a more
open way now that they are together again.
For each character we see that there is both a personal reconciliation with painful
memories as well as a reconciliation with each other. The reconciliation of their
friendship can only occur when the personal reconciliation has been achieved. What
is obvious at the end of the play is that there has yet to be a public reconciliation for
these women with the wider world which is still to acknowledge them.

Activity
1. Find three examples from the play
Memories and
Dramatic
Truth telling
features /
Reconciliation
Language
features
Specific
examples from
the text

Page 30 of 31

What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?

Analysis