Australian TV Plays: ABC report from 1960-61

P 11
DRAMA AND FEATURES

There were advances in the production standards of television plays as new facilities became available and new techniques were mastered. Some dramatic works undertaken would have been beyond our resources and craftsmanship two years ago.

In choosing television material, attention was given to maintaining a balance between Australian plays, modern plays from abroad and classics. Of 21 TV drama programmes of an hour or longer, 10 were of Australian authorship.

The serial of New South Wales history, "Stormy Petrel," received such wide praise for its writing, production and acting, that the author, Australian writer Rex Rienits, was commissioned to prepare a sequel, "The Outcasts," dealing in 12 half-hour episodes based on the life and times of Governor Macquarie and the struggle of emancipists to establish a place in the community.

We are following a deliberate policy aimed at increasing the proportion of Australian-produced and Australian-written plays in television. In this we are at present hampered by the world-shortage of plays suitable for television and the failure of Australian writers to provide scripts worthy of production.

It will be appreciated that leading Australian writers are already established in other mediums such as writing books,, magazine stories or for radio. They have come to rely on these fields and it is understandable that they are perhaps reluctant to try their hand at television. They realise that, because of their own lack of experience in television and the medium's particular requirements, writing a television «play» would absorb a disproportionate amount of their time. Nevertheless, every encouragement and assistance is being given to Australian writers to come into television and there are already indications that this effort is having an effect. Rex Reinits' success with "Stormy Petrel" and "The Outcasts" almost certainly will encourage other Australians.

Moreover, telerecordings of three plays, two by Australian writers, produced by the A.B.C. were bought by Colombia Broadcasting System for telecasting in the United States this year. The Australian-written plays were 'Outpost," by John Cameron, and "The Astronauts," by Don Houghton. C.B.S. is considering other television dramas produced in our Melbourne and Sydney studios. Acceptance of our productions by C.B.S., one of the world's major radio and television organisations, is evidence of the success of A.B.C. efforts to achieve a standard comparable with that of countries with much longer television experience and with more extensive programme facilities.

While production of television plays has been confined to Sydney and Melbourne, where alone the necessary studio facilities are available, a senior A.B.C. producer visited Perth and Brisbane and organised successful telecasts of the Christopher Fry play, "A Sleep of Prisoners," from the Anglican cathedrals in those cities.

The ABC did 230 radio plays. They included several plays that would be adapted for TV - Giaconda Smile, Burst of Summer, The Astronauts, Blue Murder.

It also included Man in a Blue Vase which was done for Shell Presents.

And The Naked Island which was never done in ABC TV.