Violet Targuse (née Healey, 1884 â€" 1937) was an early female
playwright in New Zealand.[1][2][3] She has been described as
"probably New Zealand's most successful and least acclaimed one-act
playwright,"[4] and "the most successful writer in the early years" of
the New Zealand branch of the British Drama League.[5] Active during
the 1930s when her plays were widely performed by Women's Institute
drama groups, they focused on women, especially the experiences and
concerns of rural women in New Zealand.[6][7][8] Set in locations such
as a freezing works, a sheep station, a shack on a railway siding, and
a coastal lighthouse, her plays were seen as essentially New Zealand
in setting, character, and expression.[9][5][10] (An exception to this
is Prelude, which revolves around the life of Anne Boleyn).[11]During
the second half of the 20th century, Targuse's plays slowly
disappeared from repertoires,[12] until her work received renewed
attentionâ€"initially by feminist scholarsâ€"starting since the
1990s.[7][13][14] In 2000, both Fear and Rabbits were revived and
performed at the Circa Theatre in Wellington.[15] A version of Rabbits
was translated and performed as part of the multimedia production in
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, and Lisbon, Portugal, in
2009.[16][17][18][19][12]Violet Healey was born in Timaru in 1884. She
played first violin in the Timaru orchestra.[17] She worked first as a
nursemaid, then at the department store Ballantynes in Timaru, where
she met her future husband Alfred George Targuse (1878â€"1944).[4]
When Alfred was transferred to Christchurch, she accompanied him and
found work as a seamstress.[4]
playwright in New Zealand.[1][2][3] She has been described as
"probably New Zealand's most successful and least acclaimed one-act
playwright,"[4] and "the most successful writer in the early years" of
the New Zealand branch of the British Drama League.[5] Active during
the 1930s when her plays were widely performed by Women's Institute
drama groups, they focused on women, especially the experiences and
concerns of rural women in New Zealand.[6][7][8] Set in locations such
as a freezing works, a sheep station, a shack on a railway siding, and
a coastal lighthouse, her plays were seen as essentially New Zealand
in setting, character, and expression.[9][5][10] (An exception to this
is Prelude, which revolves around the life of Anne Boleyn).[11]During
the second half of the 20th century, Targuse's plays slowly
disappeared from repertoires,[12] until her work received renewed
attentionâ€"initially by feminist scholarsâ€"starting since the
1990s.[7][13][14] In 2000, both Fear and Rabbits were revived and
performed at the Circa Theatre in Wellington.[15] A version of Rabbits
was translated and performed as part of the multimedia production in
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, and Lisbon, Portugal, in
2009.[16][17][18][19][12]Violet Healey was born in Timaru in 1884. She
played first violin in the Timaru orchestra.[17] She worked first as a
nursemaid, then at the department store Ballantynes in Timaru, where
she met her future husband Alfred George Targuse (1878â€"1944).[4]
When Alfred was transferred to Christchurch, she accompanied him and
found work as a seamstress.[4]
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