1926 - 1989
"Gordan Dryland was born and raised in Ponsonby (Auckland) and educated at Mt Albert Grammar. He began his career as an assistant proof reader for the New Zealand Herald, going on to write many radio, one-act and full-length plays as well as a number of novels."
In 1966 the New Zealand Literary Fund awarded him the best New Zealand novel of the year for An Absence of Angels.
"In 1969 he was awarded the Literary Fund Scholarship in Letters, and in the same year first prize in the Rothmans best play of the year competition with Dark Going Down. He wrote the novels A Multiple Texture, Balloons, Funny Things, A Curious Conscience and The Sillies."
"Gordon´s plays have been performed in West Germany, France New Zealand and Australia. When the play Think of Africa was performed in Paris in 1984, it was believed to be the first time a New Zealand play had been presented by a major French theatre company."
Gordon shifted to Australia in 1981.
Gordon Dryland
Ailsa is interviewed by a police psychiatrist. It transpires that she was raped and she consequently killed the rapist. In Baby Baby.
Cast: 1
Gordon Dryland
A funny story about a fur coat. A good family play in which a mother's relationship with her family is given sharp scrutiny.
Cast: 10
Gordon Dryland
Mrs Barnard, a woman in her sixties, wants to sell her late husband's silver-grey Mercedes for the bargain price of $5. Standing at her apartment window she calls out to men in the street that she needs help.
Cast: 2
Gordon Dryland
A short play in a trilogy of same name - A tale of horror is revealed as Myra tells of the long terrible hours she has spent alone with her crying baby.
Cast: 1
Gordon Dryland
At the centre of this play is Mabel, a hard talking, outspoken woman who runs a boarding house. Her 'guests' include Bernie, with whom she is having an affair, Lois, who faces growing old alone, and a young pair, Nancy and Howard.
Cast: 6
Gordon Dryland
A stark drama with themes of revenge and racial prejudice. A father attempts to take control of his daughter's future but is thwarted by his own past.
Cast: 8
Gordon Dryland
A taut, dramatic play about a young man of dubious mental and moral health. He is forthright but self-destructive and he confronts the women who offer him affection with the demand that they know themselves at least as well as he knows himself.
Cast: 5
Gordon Dryland
Lewis, a young homosexual, somewhat unwillingly shares his flat with Weez and Gerry, a young couple who have, in the nicest possible way, moved in.
Cast: 4
Gordon Dryland
A lively informal programme for children requiring four actors. There are several songs incorporated into the show as the four actors tell and perform a story about John's first day at school and another about why Ben asks such dumb questions.
Cast: 4
Gordon Dryland
John arrives unexpectedly at Erica's old Queensland country house to begin writing the biography of her famous, Nobel Prize-winning, husband. In contrast to the eminent man's high-minded and spiritual writings, John discovers his family to be rather different.
Cast: 5
Gordon Dryland
William and Charlie share a flat and Mabel and Beryl have the flat below. Until about a year ago William and Mabel were married. They had a deformed child, which died and their fragile marriage died at the same time.
Now William loves Charlie, who cannot love anyone and Mabel thinks she loves Beryl.
A comedy of words with an underlying theme both serious and savage.
Cast: 5
Gordon Dryland
Jason, a handsome, urbane but bored to death man in his sixties, has tried to kill himself three times. His latest attempt has been thwarted by the fortuitous presence of a young man who happened to be fishing at the spot where Jason's body was floating out to sea.
Cast: 4
Gordon Dryland
When the car Lee is driving goes over a cliff, his wife Rosemary is left mentally disturbed. This domestic drama examines their relationship with each other and with Vicky, the woman Lee now lives with.
Cast: 3
Gordon Dryland
Robert, who has a terminal illness has summoned his ex-wife Monica and his brother Ben to a large Melbourne hotel. Here, with the aid of his constant companion Sarah, he plans to commit suicide.
Cast: 4
Gordon Dryland
An elderly homosexual is confronted by his current young man's girlfriend. She has come to plead that he give him up. A surprising ending makes for an unexpected final curtain.
Cast: 3
Gordon Dryland
Two brothers have married two sisters. All are now into their late 30s and early 40s. One marriage has broken up through the death of a child. The other marriage has survived but husband and wife find themselves childless because both son and daughter have left home to travel about the world.
Cast: 6
Gordon Dryland
A warm human drama that revolves around Joan Challis, a seventy five year old grandmother, and her relationship with her family and longstanding friend Marge. Set in the kitchen of her home, the play shows us the importance of closing some of the gaps that have opened up between the generations.
Cast: 5
Gordon Dryland
When a married man gives a young woman a ride into the city, she turns up at his house and disrupts the household and his marriage.
Cast: 4
Gordon Dryland
Set in New York, this play features a middle-aged couple who rub along together in comparative happiness. Their boarder, Bennie, in his late 30s, is a writer who has yet to make the grade. The subject matter is the ordeal of coming to terms with reality, warts and all. Funny, with naturalistic American dialogue.
Cast: 3
Gordon Dryland
A woman is living in Rome with her husband, who has taken to the Italian way of life very readily. But she is not quite able to match his infatuation.
Cast: 3
Gordon Dryland
With light malice two couples squabble and moan about each other while sipping post-dinner drinks. It is Saturday night and this group of middle-aged friends have got together for dinner. But is this just like the good old days?
Cast: 4
Gordon Dryland
On the verandah of an old people's home, seven of the inmates rattle back and forth over their years and their memories.
Cast: 7
Gordon Dryland
A farce set in Washington DC. The play deals with the feverish attempts of a variety of agents, amateur and otherwise, who try to cajole, seduce or bully Simon into selling his top secret discovery. He tricks all of them and escapes with Avis, the girl from the car rental firm.
Cast: 6
Gordon Dryland
Doctor Maxine has a terminal illness and tries to find the courage to tell her mother that she will soon die. In Baby Baby.
Cast: 1
Gordon Dryland
A sad, funny play about a marriage that never worked until the wife has an accident.
Cast: 5
Gordon Dryland
Amelia, a wealthy and domineering woman in her 80s is tricked by her 40-year-old twins into allowing her land to be exploited for the purpose of a marina where she had intended a recreation area and a wildlife reserve. Another son, Arthur, in his 60s, is driven to suicide.
Cast: 5
Gordon Dryland
Marg and Dow, both in their late 30s, find themselves in the Paradise Islands, a modern tourist resort, on a short stopover, part of a package tour. Their arrival unfortunately coincides with a massive oil spill a hundred miles to the south.
Cast: 2