[1][2] The major themes of her work were gender equality and "social and political issues such as the environment, Aborigines, assimilation and bush life".
[8] In reviewing plays, L. L. Woolacott, critic and editor of the Sydney Triad magazine, described Gray as "one of the most significant and talented Australian playwrights whose work has so far been produced here".
"[9] Gray's play, with its themes of "feminism and the saving of the environment",[10] did not have popular appeal in a very conservative era with only one amateur performance recorded (New Theatre, Adelaide 1957).
[6] The play explores the racial tensions that erupt in a small town when a young Aboriginal girl gains brief notability as a film actress.
The plot is not based on real events, rather being inspired by the release of Charles Chauvel's film Jedda which made known the Aboriginal actors Ngarla Kunoth and Robert Tudawali.
Her last work for the stage, Joan and The Errant Soul, A Moment in the Permanent War, was written for and produced by Sydney's Belmore Theatre in 1997.