Violet Targuse (née Healey, 1884–1937) was an early female playwright in New Zealand. She has been described as "probably New Zealand's most successful and least acclaimed one-act playwright", and "the most successful writer in the early years" of the New Zealand branch of the British Drama League. Active during the 1930s when her plays were widely performed by Women's Institute drama groups, they focused on women, especially the experiences and concerns of rural women in New Zealand. Set in locations such as a

freezing works In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a meat ...

, a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

, a shack on a

railway siding In rail terminology, a siding is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighter r ...

, and a coastal

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

, her plays were seen as essentially New Zealand in setting, character, and expression. (Exceptions to this are ''Prelude,'' which revolves around the life of

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

, and ''Auld Lang Syne,'' which is set in Scotland and based on the novel ''Nancy Stair'' by

Elinor Macartney Lane Elinor Macartney Lane (1864 – March 15, 1909) was an American novelist who was popular in the first decade of the 1900s. After publishing a number of short stories, she wrote three novels: ''Mills of God'' (1901),(17 August 1901)A Woman's Fi ...

). Targuse wrote at least 18 plays, 16 of which were one act, and 2 of which were three acts. At least 12 of these were performed in New Zealand, meanwhile some of her plays have been performed in Australia, England, Portugal, Spain, and Wales. Among her plays that were performed, 8 of them are now described as "lost," as surviving copies of the text cannot be currently located. During the second half of the 20th century, Targuse's plays slowly disappeared from repertoires, until her work received renewed attention–initially by feminist scholars–starting since the 1990s. In 2000, both ''Fear'' and ''Rabbits'' were revived and performed at the

Circa Theatre Circa Theatre is a professional theatre company in Wellington, New Zealand, that was established in 1976. They present a number of plays each year in their two auditoriums, and have a unique partnership and funding model with incoming shows unde ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. A version of ''Rabbits'' was translated and performed as part of a multimedia production in

Vitoria-Gasteiz Vitoria-Gasteiz (; ; also historically spelled Vittoria in English) is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country and of the provinces of Spain, province of Álava in northern Spain. I ...

, Spain, and

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, Portugal, in 2009.

Personal life

Violet Healey was born in

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

in 1884. She played first violin in the Timaru orchestra. She worked first as a nursemaid, then at the department store Ballantynes in Timaru, where she met her future husband Alfred George Targuse (1878–1944). When Alfred was transferred to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, she accompanied him and found work as a seamstress. Alfred and Violet had two daughters, Nancy May (1910–1980) and Marjorie Joan (1912–2008). Targuse died in Christchurch in 1937.

Drama career

Targuse authored her plays between 1930 and her death from cancer in 1937. She wrote her first play, ''Rabbits'' (1930), for a competition run by the South Canterbury Drama League, and won first prize. In 1932, her plays ''Fear'' and ''Touchstone'' won first-place-equal in the first playwriting competition held by the New Zealand branch of the British Drama League. She was also the inaugural winner of the Radio Record trophy, and a prize from the Chelsea Drama Club of Sydney. British actress

Dame Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her h ...

praised ''Fear'' and ''Touchstone'' as "highly dramatic, novel situations, and full of a life that must be expressed."

Plays

* ''Rabbits'' (1930) * ''Sentiment'' (1931; unpublished; currently considered lost) * ''Fear'' (1932) * ''The Touchstone'' (1932) * ''The Tramp Scamp'' (1932; unpublished during Targuse's lifetime, published 2025) * ''Volte Face'' (1933; performed but unpublished, currently considered lost) * ''Wild Oats'' (1933; performed but unpublished, currently considered lost) * ''Responding to Treatment'' (1933; performed but unpublished, currently considered lost) * ''Ebb and Flow'' (1934) * ''The Fugitive,'' performed in New Zealand as ''Beyond the Walls'' (1934) * ''Men for Pieces'' (1934) * ''Auld Lang Syne'' (1934; unpublished during Targuse's lifetime, published 2025) * ''Passing Discord (1934;'' unpublished, currently considered lost) * ''Mopsey'' (1935) * ''The Hikers'' (1935; performed but unpublished, currently considered lost) * ''Scene Macarbe'' (1935; unpublished, currently considered lost) * ''The Reaper'' (1936; unpublished, currently considered lost) * ''Prelude'' (1936)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Targuse, Violet 1884 births 1937 deaths New Zealand women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights 20th-century New Zealand women writers People from Timaru