| Gratitude | |
| Setting: | early colonial New South Wales |
| Premiere: | 1881 |
| Place: | Princess Theatre, Melbourne |
| Orig Lang: | English |
| Subject: | convicts, bushrangers |
| Genre: | melodrama |
Gratitude is a 1881 Australian stage play by W.A. Burnage.[1] It was written in response to a competition being held by Theo Hamilton, who offered a £250 prize for a "colonial play". (This money was reportedly never paid out.)[2]
The play was put on at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne following a production of Ostracised. Many of the same cast appeared in both plays.[3] [4]
The Argus said "The story is of a highly romantic character, and the incidents are not more improbable than is customary in play a of the school to which this belongs."[5]
The Australasian said "the materials of this play are thoroughly Australian, and as the author is Australian too, and is not unfavourably known in the other colony, its success will testify to the existence of literary ability in this part of the world. "[6]
The Age said "The stage has not hitherto been much enriched by the productions of Australian dramatists, and Mr. Burnage's play is certainly no exception to the rule. The materials he uses are bushranging exploits and convict life, but surely enough has been already written on the lawlessness of early colonial times to make Mr. Burnage's work quite superfluous. The subject is neither healthy nor attractive in style, and it scarcely redounds to our credit that plays founded on convict life and bushranging should gain recognition as specimens of Australian dramatic literature."[7]
In the early days of colonial New South Wales, a man is wrongly convicted for a crime he did not commit.