Playing Awkward

‘Sally Banner might say that all she wants is to be “a great actress and a great writer”, but I’m not convinced that is all she wants. At the very least, her literary desires are bound up with other more earthy desires. She wants to be loved; she wants sex; she wants attention; she wants male attention; she wants men to be dazzled by her beauty, her sensuality, the suppleness and daring of her intellect.’


In Playing Awkward, Noëlle Janacewska presents a contemporary response to a treasured Australian play – a personal and striking take on The Chapel Perilous by Dorothy Hewett. 



Playing Awkward is part of Cue the Chorus, a series of ten thought-provoking responses to classic Australian stories.

The other titles in the series are:


1. An Ever-Changing Idiom by Alana Valentine – a response to Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler


2. The Makings of a Man by John Harding – a response to No Sugar by Jack Davis


3. Pulling Rabbits Out of Hats by Melissa Reeves – a response to Speaking in Tongues by Andrew Bovell


4. Radiant Women on Radiant Country by Andrea James – a response to Radiance by Louis Nowra


5. Robin Shall Restore Amends by Hilary Bell – a response to Away by Michael Gow


6. Still Waters by Wesley Enoch – a response to The Secret River by Kate Grenville; an adaptation for the stage by Andrew Bovell


7. The Unexpected Feminist by Van Badham – a response to The Removalists by David Williamson


8. What Goes Around Comes Around by Kate Mulvany – a response to Hotel Sorrento by Hannie Rayson


9. A Youth Presumed by Finegan Krucemeyer – a response to Blackrock by Nick Enright