Unknown Soldier

Synopsis:

Human endeavour, for the most part, constitutes an attempt to establish a sense of control over the apparently uncontrollable.

John Monash, that most meticulous of generals, once claimed that throughout his entire adult life he had never once retired for the night without knowing precisely what he would be doing every minute of the following day.  Here indeed was a past-master in both the art and the science of control.  In a lesser man, this attribute might have manifested itself in obsessive-compulsive behaviour of a type and scale that would have been crippling.  In a man of Monash’s stature, however, empires were won and reputations built upon the foundation of this formidably harnessed trait.  That is until Monash himself had to confront Death – the untimely death of his grandson.  This is the point at which the ground beneath his feet seemed to shift.  For what is death if not the greatest impetus to and, at the same time, the ultimate negation of our will to control?

‘Unkown Soldier’ maps out the course of this one man’s struggle on the battlefield of life.

Character Breakdown:

Eight-hander:  3 females, 5 males:
JOHN MONASH
ERICH LUDENDORFF
UNKNOWN SOLDIER / DIGGER – one actor.
DR SIDNEY SEWELL / KING GEORGE V / PALL-BEARER – one actor.
MAJOR-GENERAL CURRY / RABBI DANGLOW / TURKISH PRISONER / GERMAN PRISONER / PALL-BEARER – one actor.
VIC(TORY) MONASH
BERTHA MONASH / BENNETT – one actor.
LIZZIE BENTWICH (ELL)

Production History:

World Premiere: 1996.  Alexander Theatre, Melbourne.  Playbox Theatre Co.

Running-time: 120 minutes.

This play is only available in hard copy.   A final draft may be obtained by application to the author.