A Cheery Soul is a 1963 play by Australian writer Patrick White[1] set in the fictional Sydney suburb of Sarsaparilla at the end of the 1950s. White described it as being about "the destructive power of good."[2][3]
A Cheery Soul premiered at the Union Theatre Repertory Company in Melbourne in November 1963 directed by John Sumner, with Nita Pannell as the 'cheery soul' Miss Docker.[4]
Other major productions have included:[5]
The play's chief character Miss Docker, as portrayed in 2018 by Sarah Peirse, was the subject of a portrait by Jude Rae, entered into the 2019 Archibald Prize. The artist had many sittings with the actor and has said of it: "Miss Docker's moments of isolation on stage also suggested a formal structure [for the painting] based on a famous 17th century portrait by Diego Velásquez of the actor Pablo de Valladolid, a buffoon in the court of King Phillip IV of Spain."[7] The artist also said: "perhaps this painting is something of an anti-portrait, a reminder that we are to some degree actors, projecting various versions of ourselves..."[7]
It was adapted for British TV in 1966 on the BBC.[8][9] The Daily Mirror called it tedious.[10]
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Works by Patrick White
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| Novels |
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| Short story collections |
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| Autobiography |
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| Screenplays |
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| Plays |
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| TV Adaptations |
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