What is 'What Was That'??? An Introduction

The play “What Was That?” is set in the 19th century and is based on the true story of the Chirnside family and told by two fictitious characters Maggie, the head maid and Mr. Duncan the butler.

The Chirnside brothers, Thomas and Andrew, came out from Scotland to Australia in 1839. Over the years they accumulated enormous wealth as squatters, with their sole source of income coming from sheep farming. Thomas, the elder brother asked Mary to marry him first but she turned him down and later married his brother, Andrew. Thomas never married but had the magnificent Werribee Park Mansion built for his brother Andrew, his wife Mary and their three youngest children.

It is July 1908 and visitors such as yourselves are very rare here at Werribee Mansion. The mistress, Mary Chirnside, died tragically three weeks ago and since then there have been many unusual occurrences in the house. Despite this, the only two remaining servants, Maggie (the Head Maid) and Mr. Duncan (the Butler) have tried to keep positive as they await their new masters. It is therefore with excitement that Maggie welcomes you here tonight. But what happens on this night is both inexplicable and most enjoyable, because although their feeling of insecurity is growing this is far outweighed by their senses of humour.