Daphne Laureola (Wednesday Theatre)

"Daphne Laureola"
Wednesday Theatre episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 18
Directed byPatrick Barton
Teleplay byJohn Warwick
Based onDaphne Laureola
by James Bridie
Original air date5 May 1965 (1965-05-05)[1]
Running time75 mins[2]
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"Daphne Laureola" is a 1965 Australian television play based on Daphne Laureola by James Bridie. It screened as part of Wednesday Theatre.[3]

Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[4]

It was dedicated to Dame Edith Evans, who had played the part on stage.[5][1]

Plot

A young Pole, Ernest, falls in love with the older, alcoholic Lady Pitts, when they meet in a London restaurant.[6]

Cast

Reception

The TV critic for the Sydney Morning Herald thought it was "the kind of play which, if anyone cares then, will be a period piece in 30 years' time... It is not a particularly good or compelling play and while it was given an excellent performance from the ABC Melbourne studios... it emerged as pretty dated... [even though it was made] rather unconvincingly contemporary."[7]

The play itself was described by critic Alan Riach as having "Egalitarianism.. at the heart of this vision, but idealism may be just a liability."[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Nymph and the Student". The Age. 29 April 1965. p. 13.
  2. ^ "WEDNESDAY". The Canberra Times. Vol. 39, no. 11, 145. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 3 May 1965. p. 16. Retrieved 20 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "TODAY'S TV". The Canberra Times. Vol. 39, no. 11, 147. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 May 1965. p. 27. Retrieved 19 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  5. ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 May 1965. p. 17.
  6. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 29 April 1965. p. 26.
  7. ^ "Bridie Play on Channel 2". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 May 1965. p. 12.
  8. ^ Riach, Alan (27 September 2021). "Perennially provocative". The National. p. 27. Retrieved 27 September 2021.


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