Saved

Saved by Edward Bond

La Boite’s production of Saved provoked one of the most interesting nights in the theatre’s history”.[i]

During a performance of Nick Enright’s production of Edward Bond’s Saved, dozens of people, led by a group booking of fifty Lions Club members, walked out during a violent scene in the play in which a baby in a pram is stoned to death by a group of youths. As The Courier-Mail reported the incident, the leader of the walkout called to other members of the audience to show their feelings for the play by joining in the exodus, and about 150 eventually followed. “It was a shock to us” said Blocksidge. “We had warned the group the play was meaty and the leader had accepted the warning”.

Nevertheless, Blocksidge acknowledged that it was a salutary lesson about accepting group bookings for social or fund-raising events when the play is blatantly unsuitable for a group expecting a fun night out at the theatre. Ivor Wren, theatre critic for The Australian, made no mention of the sensational walk-out in his review of Saved, concentrating on the play itself and the quality of the production:

It is not a nice play. It is not even an enjoyable play in the sense that it is entertainment. But it is an outstanding success on two counts – the perspicacity of the script and as good an example of perceptive direction and first-class ensemble playing as I have seen at La Boite.(The Australian, May 6, 1975)

Writer: Christine Comans