Awake My Love

Awake My Love is a 1947 Australian stage play by Max Afford.

It was called "a significant milestone in Australian drama."

Premise
The story of Colonel William Light, Surveyor General of South Australia in 1836. It includes his feud with Governor Hindmarsh and his romance with Linda Manners.

Colonel Light - The Founder
The play debuted in Adelaide in 1936 as William Light – The Founder.

The play was well received and helped launch Afford's career as a dramatist with the ABC.

Radio adaptation
The play was adapted into a 1936 radio play called Genesis. This play only went for ten minutes.

Awake My Love
Afford subsequently rewrote the play and gave it a new title. It played at Sydney's Independent Theatre in 1947.

The Bulletin felt "the romance is of the sentimental stuff from which fillums are made, whereas the clash between Light and Hindmarsh is... dramatic dynamite... Hindmarsh dominates the play, even though he appears only twice. Powerful, venomous and stubborn, he electrifies the piece the moment he walks on the stage. From a dramatic viewpoint he is the perfect antagonist for Light."

Radio adaptations
Awake My Love was adapted for ABC radio in 1947 and 1959.

The 1947 production starred Peter Finch as Light.