Comparative Analysis of 'Blackrock" - Nick Enright and "Blurred" Stephen Davis (which play best represents the values/attitudes and beleifs of Australian youth culture)

The first of two plays that has been considered for selection in upcoming International Theatre for Young People's Festival soon to be held in Vancouver, Canada is "Blackrock" by the late Nick Enright. The plays must represent the values, attitudes and beliefs of today's Australian Youth Culture. "Blackrock" explores the strength of mateship, the importance of image and the dangers of peer pressure, parties and underage drinking. The second play is the popular "Blurred" by the playwright Stephen Davis; which offers a comedic and clever representation of perhaps the most famous Australian youth orientated rite of passage, "Schoolies". Both of these plays portray representations of the highest calibre of Australian youth culture. Both initially play to Australian stereotypes and colloquialism but as interrelationships develop audiences are invited to gain insight into the youth culture and the society which they represent. The thematic relevance, human context, dramatic form and language of the plays contents relates directly to the Festivals rationale and are unique to Australia. The rationale of the Festival is in place to allow young people to explore their own ideas and experiences within the world that they live and give the opportunity to explore and dramatize larger issues of justice and injustice which they as youth may often feel powerless to influence, and to allow youth to expand their horizons - to move beyond their won experience of the world and to inhabit different personae and different societies.

"Blackrock" is a play based in a coastal town and is based on events prior to and immediately following the violent murder of the character, Tracy Warner. This occurrence pushes relationships to their limits and raises issues of injustice. The theme of "Blackrock" offers insight into the Australian 'Surfie' culture whereby all characters are in someway affiliated with surfing or the beach. Teenage rebellion against societal norms and conformity is also