The Passionate Pianist is an Australian television film, or rather a live one-off television play, which aired in 1957 on ABC. This was part of ABC's twice monthly presentations of live plays during the late-1950s (one live play each month in Sydney and Melbourne, respectively, with most kinescoped for showing in the other city).
| The Passionate Pianist | |
|---|---|
| Based on | play by Barbara Vernon |
| Written by | Barbara Vernon |
| Directed by | Paul O'Loughlin[1] |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 mins[2] |
| Production company | ABC |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | 2 October 1957 (Sydney)(live) 1 November 1957 (Melbourne) (taped)[3] |
At the time, most one-off drama and comedy plays produced for Australian television were adaptations of overseas works, and The Passionate Pianist is notable as it represents an early example of a locally-written comedy for the medium.
Plot summary edit
Ben, the teenage son of a Sydney bookmaker prefers football to practicing piano. His mother (Marion Johns) is convinced he is a genius and enters him in an eistedford.[4]
Cast edit
- Mark Kelly as Ben
- Marion Johns as Ben’s Mother
- Edward Howell
- Ivor Bromley
- Bruce A. Wishart
Play version edit
The Passionate Pianist was produced as a one act play. Barbara Vernon was a radio announcer in Inverell and wrote the play for Con Fardouly, a Greek who ran a cafe in Inverell.
It was first performed at the Inverell Town Hall, on 22 November 1957. The cast included Lee Jones, Nell Stewart, Frank Sloman, Rob Jeffs, and Con Fardouly.[5]
It is part of the trilogy 'The Growing Year', which also includes Vernon's unpublished plays 'The Bishop and the Boxer' and 'First Love'.[6]
Production edit
Rehearsals began in September 1957.[1]
It is not known if the kinescope recording of the program still exists.
Radio adaptation edit
Follow up edit
Barbara Vernon is also known for writing the play The Multi-Coloured Umbrella, which saw a television version in 1958. It was focused on the same family of Sydney book makers.
See also edit
- Tomorrow's Child - One-off play on ABC, also during 1957
- Ending It - One-off play on ABC, also during 1957
- Take That - First Australian sitcom, 1957-1959
- Bodgie - One-off play on ABC, aired in 1959
- Blue Murder - One-off play on ABC, aired in 1959
- List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s)
References edit
- ^ a b "TV News". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 September 1957. p. 10.
- ^ "All the TV Programmes". ABC Weekly. 2 November 1957. p. 34.
- ^ "TV guide". The Age. 1 November 1957. p. 4.
- ^ "TV Comedy by author of Multi Coloured Umbrella". The Age. 1 November 1957. p. 2.
- ^ "Talk about". ABC Weekly. 2 October 1957. p. 46.
- ^ Play details at AustLit
- ^ "AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMMISSION 2CY 2CN". The Canberra Times. Vol. 36, no. 10, 099. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 December 1961. p. 19. Retrieved 15 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "A.B.C. radio plays for the week". ABC Weekly. 14 May 1958. p. 14.
External links edit
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