The Passionate Pianist
| Company type | Television drama |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television production |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Headquarters | Sydney , Australia |
| Products | Live television drama |
| Parent | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
The Passionate Pianist is a 1957 Australian live television drama broadcast on ABC as part of the network’s bi-monthly live drama series in Sydney and Melbourne. Distinct from the majority of Australian TV dramas at the time, which were mainly adaptations of international scripts, this production is notable as an early comedic work penned locally. It was first transmitted in Sydney on 2 October 1957 and later in Melbourne on 1 November 1957.
Plot summary
Ben, a teenage boy whose father works as a bookmaker in Sydney, shows a stronger interest in football than in practicing the piano. His mother (portrayed by Marion Johns) regards him as a gifted musician and decides to enter him into an eisteddfod competition.
Cast
- Mark Kelly as Ben
- Marion Johns as Ben’s Mother
- Edward Howell
- Ivor Bromley
- Bruce A. Wishart
Play version
Barbara Vernon, who was working as a radio announcer in Inverell at the time, wrote this one-act play specifically for Con Fardouly, a local café proprietor. Its stage debut occurred at Inverell Town Hall on 22 November 1957, featuring performers including Lee Jones and Nell Stewart. This play forms part of Vernon’s trilogy titled The Growing Year, which also includes her unpublished works The Bishop and the Boxer and First Love.
Production
Under the direction of Paul O'Loughlin, rehearsals commenced in September 1957. It is currently unknown whether any kinescope recordings of this live broadcast have been preserved.
Radio adaptation
The script was also adapted for radio, broadening its audience through the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Follow up
Barbara Vernon expanded upon the story centered on Sydney bookmakers with her subsequent play The Multi-Coloured Umbrella, which was later adapted for television in 1958.
See also
- Tomorrow's Child – ABC single-episode play, 1957
- Ending It – ABC single-episode play, 1957
- Take That – Australia’s inaugural sitcom, aired 1957–1959
- Bodgie – ABC single-episode play, 1959
- Blue Murder – ABC single-episode play, 1959
- List of live television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1950s)
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1957 television plays
- 1950s Australian plays
- 1957 Australian television plays
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
- Australian English-language television shows
- Black-and-white Australian television shows
- Australian live television shows
- Films about pianos and pianists
- Works by Barbara Vernon
- Australian plays adapted for radio
- Australian plays adapted for television
- Television plays filmed in Sydney
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation television plays
- Television plays directed by Paul O'Loughlin