Brisbane review - Army Service Nurses Recount Wartime Horror

By Lilian Harrington

Production: The Shoe- Horn Sonata

Writer:          John Misto

Company:    Villanova Players

Director:      Jane Binstead

Location:     Ron Hurley Theatre 28 Tallowwood St Seven Hills

Season:       September 18- 20 @ 7 30 pm Fri, Sat, and 2 pm Sat and Sun. 

Bookings:       www.villanovaplayers.com / or 0439670283 (Liz.)

The award winning The Shoe-Horn Sonata is a memoir play, a riveting and truthful account of the World War II, Australian Army Nursing Service, forgotten women, nurses who survived captivity, after being imprisoned in “a secret” Japanese WW11 camp in Sumatra and Malaya for some three years.

Their story was finally heard in part of the Australia Remembers Campaign in1995; it needed the skills of award- winning Australian writer John Misto, to create poignant, powerful images, in a meaningful way, through the stories of his two key characters, who finally recount their experiences in a TV interview, that could be likened to the ABC’s Australian Story. 

Misto has focused on the close female mate-ship, and bond which developed after the women were taken into captivity as prisoners of war under the Japanese. While they were all in incarceration this friendship was crucial to their survival. He focuses on one Australian nurse, and a British nurse, who gained strength, loyalty and courage, from each other as they struggled to survive in the inhumane conditions of the prison camp. The Australian Remembers Campaign in the 90’s saw them reunite after 50 years, to publicly share their horrific experiences.

John Misto was inspired by the novel White Coolies by Betty Jefferies. He knew that the heroism of the Australian Army Nursing Service was neither recognized nor honoured in Australia. After an interview he heard in 1993, he saw an important opportunity to have the plight of these nurses heard. He used slides and music as part of his dramatic telling technique and the noted the importance of their Shoe- Horn Choir.  His aim was to convince an audience of the terrible conditions these nurses endured while captured.  

Villanova Players, along with director Jane Brinstead, have presented this inspiring drama as part of their 2026 program. The play has a simple set design, that indicates a recording studio and a hotel room; there are black outs to indicate changes and movements, with crucial overhead slides and music to indicate movement and visuals in the narrative.

The two experienced leads, Bridie (Eve Wheeler) and Sheila (Mary Woodall), were well cast as the mature and somewhat hardened nurses who had survived this ordeal. The script has a lot of wordy dialogue, however, Eve Wheeler, a former Australian Army nurse, has played this role before, and she commented that this play means a lot to her as it has a special place in her heart. The special connection with this play for Mary Woodall, is that she remembers her father flew the first Changi POW’s home from Singapore, during WWII. These two awesome veterans of the stage, gave a very believable and solid performance, despite an occasional slowed pace and minor technical hiccups, which were covered by TV Interviewer (Michael McNish), and crew.

The production was steady and well-organized and while the action seemed a little static in places, the importance of the music and the slides, dictated the scene and gave the audience a clear idea of prison life under the Japanese. This play is on the booklist for many high school students, because it deals with an important part of Australian history. Even though it is only playing for a limited season, it has created a lot of genuine audience interest.