Daphne Laureola (Wednesday Theatre)

"**Daphne Laureola**"
"Daphne Laureola"
Wednesday Theatre episode
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 18
Directed by	Patrick Barton
Teleplay by	John Warwick
Based on	Daphne Laureola; by James Bridie
Original air date	5 May 1965
Running time	75 mins
Episode chronology
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	List of episodes

"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

Raymond Westwell as Sir Joseph Pitts
Terry Aldred as Lady Pitts
Edward Howell
Mark Albiston as Ernest
Simon Chilvers
Sydney Conabere
William King
Elspeth Ballantyne
Jeffrey Hodgson
Georgie Alcock
Wayne Maddern

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

^ ^a ^b "The Nymph and the Student". The Age. 29 April 1965. p. 13.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 May 1965. p. 17.
^ "TV Guide". The Age. 29 April 1965. p. 26.
^ "Bridie Play on Channel 2". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 May 1965. p. 12.
^ Riach, Alan (27 September 2021). "Perennially provocative". The National. p. 27. Retrieved 27 September 2021.

External links

Daphne Laureola 1965 television play at Austlit

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[melb-1] "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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