Rainbowʻs End by Jane Harrison (premiered in 2005)

AUTHORʻS NOTE / CHARACTERS Page

Setting  A humpy on riverbank. Clean and homely - 122

situational irony

121

Summary

PROLOGUE: AFTERMATH Page

Flooding in  Both Acts 1 and 2 begin with a humpy that 123

media res has been devastated by flood
 This is a recurring setting
 Scene starts ʻin media resʻ; in the midst of
Que Sera, chaos
Sera
 Song by Doris Day in 1956 - intertextuality
 Meaning ʻWhat will be, will beʻ
 Upbeat, sweet sounding
 Foreshadowing the passing down of
information between people reflected later in
Setting the play (Aboriginal history; oral tradition)
opener
 “Late afternoon and gloomy outside” -
pathetic fallacy
 Setting opener direct dichotomy/antithesis to
song ʻQue Sera, Seraʻ
 Develops a situational irony; the tone of
ʻQue Sera, Seraʻ is rather plesant, cheerful
and sweet which is unparalleled in the
undesired situation the three women are in
The  Hessian - woven fabric, material
magazines  Belongings are sodden, destroyed and ruined
 “The lights go down” - a time change

 Nan Dear commanding for magazines to be

handed over, superiority, matriarchal
behaviour
Hierarchy  Symbolism: covering up reality with
within the representations of white society
family  “Deliberately… upside down” - symbolism of
a (Nan-Dear like) disapproval of white
society

 Dolly arrives home from school, ʻsighs,

resignedʻ twice when trying to protest what
is happening develops a lack of authority in
the family
 “Itʻll be all right” - Gladys as the peacemaker
 “You always say that” - experience, the Flats
flood often, signifying the geographical
disadvantage
 “Nan gives her granddaughter a hug”, but
not Gladys - Dolly is more trusting in Nan,
the grandmother <-> granddaughter bond is
strong

Summary
 Prologue provides context to the play; an orientation into
the story
 Sets up the hierarchy and establishes the relationships
between the three women (Nan as the matriarch, Gladys as
an uncontrolling mother, Dolly as a child with lack of
authority)

SCENE ONE (A): THE QUEENʻS VISIT Page

Gladysʻ  “Gladys listens in rapt silence” - great 124

admiration interest, Gladys is
of white encaptured/captivated/thoroughly engaged
culture by Queen Elizabeth II
 “Whereʻs my white gloves” - being white,
symbolism of white culture; Gladys wears
white gloves which is symbolic of Gladys
taking on white culture and norm
  “Iʻm not going to miss it for all of the tea in
China” - idiom, expresses extent of
captivation; she then proceeds to “flounce 126
out” after being ridiculed, signifying her
passion towards the topic
 Dream sequence; Gladys dreams and lusts 125
Gladys and for an experience in white culture (pictures
white hugging the Queen) 124
society vs.
Nan  Nan (Alice Louise Cooper - real name)
consistently disapproves of Gladys interest in
white society; “No goodʻll come of it”, “Well, 125
we donʻt”
 “The radio fades out as Nan enters” - Nanʻs 126
disapproval overpowers Gladysʻ interest as
she enters, figure of dominance, Nan
contrasts against the topic 126
 “I know how you feel about royalty” - direct
affirmation
 Nan incredulously (unwilling to believe)
Gladys booked a taxi, she “shakes her head
The cork in disgust” at Gladysʻ involvement in the
trees culture 125
 Nan uses “by crikey”, a British exclamation
 “They forced us to leave” - the whites, wonʻt
give them a name to personify them and
make them human; important to understand
Nanʻs hatred
126
 The cork trees are introduced 126-
 “But keep away from them cork trees.” 127
Dollyʻs  “Yes, Nan. Youʻve told me a hundred times” -
persona matriarchal behaviour
 This is foreshadowing of the events that will
occur later in the play where Dolly gets
sexually assaulted and impregnated by a
cousin (earlier link to family trees… “You need
to know who your cousins are. So you donʻt
marry ʻem”

 Dolly is highly optimistic, she believes truly

that everything will be alright (earlier link to
Que Sera, Sera music choice)
 “(Nan) Youʻre gunna live forever” - optimism
 “Fit for a queen!” - optimism
 “Yes, Nan.” - repetition, shows obedience
Summary

SCENE ONE (B) Page

Gladys is  Gladys enters the humpy “holding a very 127

denied wilted bunch of flowers”; symbolism of
Gladysʻ hope wilting away, her being denied
the opportunity to see the Queen has made 128
her somber and dismal
 Nan to Gladys; “Get off your high horse” -
idiom, when talking about better housing,
Nan denies Gladys by calling her out for
trying to be a bigger person in this society -
Gladys is seen as ʻthe dreamerʻ
 “But you were out gallivanting” - in pursuit
of pleasure/entertainment
 “No…” - ellipsis suggests Gladys is upset, 127
and has nothing left to say
Conflicting
behaviour  The roads that allowed Gladys to see the
from white Queen were lined with hessian in attempt to
society conceal the Indigenous people living like 128
Gladys, Nan and Dolly from the Queen
 “Stop the likes of her seeing our humpies” -
Australia would rather cover up their issues,
ashamed
 “We showed them how to throw a
boomerang” - the irony in that the Queen
ʻexperiencesʻ Indigenous culture yet is
concealed from the reality - the fact that we
showed them how to throw, we being the
whites and not the Indigenous (further
dispossession of culture)
 “Sheʻs not my queen” - Nan
Summary

SCENE TWO (A): OH, ERROL Page

ʻOh, Errolʻ  “Oh, Errol” title a paradox/allusion to Errol

significance Flynn
 Intertextuality - allusion or incorporation of
other texts
 Errol Flynn: Australian-born American actor
known for his flamboyant, dangerous and
romantic personality - seen as the ʻbad boyʻ
in most movies and in real life (drinking to
excess, smoking, frequent partnerships with
women)

Summary

SCENE TWO (B) Page Reference

Gladys is denied  Gladys enters the humpy

Summary

SCENE THREE Page Reference

Gladys is denied  Gladys enters the humpy

Summary

SCENE FOUR Page Reference

Gladys is denied  Gladys enters the humpy

Summary
SCENE FIVE Page Reference

Gladys is denied  Gladys enters the humpy

Summary

SCENE SIX Page Reference

Gladys is denied  Gladys enters the humpy

Summary

SCENE SEVEN Page Reference

Gladys is denied  Gladys enters the humpy

Summary

SCENE EIGHT Page Reference

Gladys is denied  Gladys enters the humpy

Summary

SCENE NINE Page Reference

Gladys is denied  Gladys enters the humpy

Summary

SCENE TEN Page Reference

Gladys is denied  Gladys enters the humpy

Summary

SCENE ELEVEN: THE BALL Page

Reference
  Miss Mooroopna-Shepparton Ball; antithesis
 Initially everything about Dolly is white - dress
(later to be found as Nancyʻs curtains), corsage -
epitome of assimilation, everything Gladys wants
her to be, everything Nan doesnʻt
 Aboriginal girl dancing with a white girl
 Dream sequences a dramatic device
 Constantly show us a sequence of what they
desire
 Nan never has a dream sequence - reality >
possibility
 Symbolically Dolly runs out to nature
 Dark, weak light shines on her - pathetic fallacy
 Foreshadows what is to come
 Violence is suggested but not scene - sound effects,
vitriolic and derogatory language, dress slightly
ripped
 Dolly is segregated from both societies - between
two worlds
 Contrast between how Errol and Leon treats her -
dichotomy between the reality of both realities
 Ripping of dress; symbolic of a tear in her
relationships, in her dreams, in her life

Summary

SCENE TWELVE: STORM BREWING Page

Reference

 Title Storm Brewing - diction (specific word choice

for maximum effect), foreseeable, still to come -
creating issue of needing resolution
 Storm Brewing (a1s12) -> Waters Rising (a1s13) -
> The Flood (a1s14); link/inference/connotation to
danger, inevitability, raising tension, unable to be
stopped
 “Sheʻll be having a lovely time” - some type of irony
FIND OUT WHICH
  Nan has a sense of foreboding - Nan is the doubter,
she is more experienced, Nan is close to Dolly, Nan
is in tune with nature
 Kero lamp flickers and blows out - more pathetic
fallacy, rising wind

Summary

SCENE THIRTEEN: WATERS RISING Page

Reference

 Title Waters rising: emotions rising - physically,

theyʻre about to be flooded
 “Itʻs like your family is from another country or
something”
 Dolly standing up for herself

Summary

SCENE FOURTEEN: THE FLOOD Page

Reference
Gladys is  Figuratively; flood of emotions, of
denied conflict, of events, of relationships
breaking down


Summary