Wednesday to Come

Wednesday to Come by writer Renée is her best known play. It was presented at a playwrights conference in May 1984 directed by George Webby who went on to direct the premier production. The first performance took place at Downstage Theatre in Wellington on 17 August 1984, directed by George Webby. The play was published in 1985 by Victoria University Press. An example of Renée's feminist lens in the play is the statement by the character Iris speaking to her position as a working-class woman:Who will remember us? We need someone because it seems to me that everyone’s forgotten about us. And even if they do remember it’ll only be bits. We’re the ones they leave out when they write up the books. Wednesday to Come set during the 1930s is the first in a trilogy of plays featuring the same family. The second play is Pass It On (1986) set during the 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute and the third play is a prequel Jeannie Once (1991) set in 1879 featuring the great-grandmother of Jeannie from Wednesday to Come. == Characters ==

• Granna – in her late seventies • Mary – fifty-five • Iris – thirty-four • Cliff – fifteen • Jeannie – thirteen • Ted – thirty-six • Molly – twenty-eight • Dot – thirty-five == Synopsis ==

The play is set in early spring of 1934. It takes place in Mary's family house, halfway between Palmerston North and Wellington. Domestic tasks such as ironing, washing, dishwashing and cooking take place during the play. Granna, Iris, Mary, Jeannie and Cliff are in the kitchen, waiting for Ted to come home. He arrives with a coffin, and it becomes apparent that Ben has killed himself while working at a labour camp in the Great Depression. == Productions ==

Amateur productions include • Theatrevue at the Left Bank Theatre, Hamilton, in April 1985, directed by Marc Shaw • Marlborough Repertory Society at the Boathouse Theatre (Blenheim), March 1987, directed by Pam Logan • Te Awamutu Little Theatre, in April/May 1987, directed by David Broadhurst • Globe Theatre, Dunedin, in 1995, directed by Hilary Halba • Riccarton Players in Christchurch, in 2005, director by Doug Clarke • Hutt Repertory in 2012, directed by Doug Buchanan == Response ==

The premier production at Downstage attracted positive reviews. It was described as a 'triumph', Extracts from Wednesday to Come were included in A Country of Two Halves, and Whaddarya?, productions by Young and Hungry National Schools Tour, which appeared at BATS Theatre in Wellington and toured schools nationally in 2018, in July 2021 respectively. == References ==