No Incense Rising

"Keen-eyed, shy and somewhat reclusive, Dann was a prolific playwright … His works won prizes, were widely performed … Dann’s writing was appreciated for its social realism" -- Richard Fotheringham

A life of one’s own at the expense of one’s family? Or a life of familial obligation? This is the choice faced by Ada Bergmann. Trapped on a remote island, accessible only by boat, the youthful Ada is burdened by the demands of her widowed mother, the expectations of her ever-patient fiancée Carl Nilssen, and haunted by the prospect of a different life.

Infused with a spirit of tragedy, No Incense Rising is brimming with melodrama and a sense of the gothic: the landscape dominates, wild weather shapes the action, and a sense of menace and looming catastrophe persist throughout. This early example of Dann’s work sits strongly within the sizeable canon of gothic Australian, and particularly Queensland theatre and literature.

APT