THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname/Family Name : Gifford Given Name/s : Mary-Anne Abbreviation for degree as give in the University calendar : PhD Faculty : Arts & Social Sciences School : School of the Arts & Media Thesis Title : Vaudeville: The Last Theatre of the Working Class Abstract: The agency of working people in the making of Australian history has not been recognised in the scholarship on Australian vaudeville. Yet the development of a successful vaudeville industry coincides with the period of the greatest working-class mobilisation in Australia. In this dissertation I argue that vaudeville theatres operated as working-class publics where ideas about power were shared, and that vaudeville contributed to the formation of the working class and Australian history in a way not previously recognised. I analyse scripts written by Australian vaudeville comedian, George Wallace, to support my thesis that vaudeville theatres operated as publics. The scripts reveal that Wallace dramatised and shared ideas with the vaudeville audience about the experience of being working-class under capitalism. In particular, I show how Wallace uses violence in his scripts – as a dramatic technique to bring powerlessness into relief, and as a character strategy to gain or regain power. The creative practice component of my thesis, the play, Ferocious, uses evidence surrounding a violent and mysterious death in a creek bed in Victoria in 1908 to explore the historical milieu for vaudeville writing and comedy. I foreground the mystery to synthesise what I observed about the use of music, comedy and episodic storytelling in Wallace’s scripts with my research into the working-class context of vaudeville. In the practice of writing the play, I extend the adventure narrative, common to Wallace’s scripts. Ferocious gives life to hidden working-class worlds and histories, including those of vaudeville artists. I hope the play revives an audience for silenced voices. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International (this is applicable to doctoral theses only). ………………………………………… Signature …………………………………….. Witness Signature ……….………………… Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: