Australian TV Plays: Australian Playhouse

The major anthology TV series of Australia in the 1960s.

Background

May 1965 Talbot Duckmanton said ABC planning on series of half hour experimental plays - he criticised Australian writing.

In June 1965 it was announced the ABC were stockpiling scripts for a series to be made next year.

In July 1965 Assistant (acting?) Director of Drama James Pratt wrote a memo stating “in view of the doubtful success of our hour (plus) productions” he “would like to move the emphasis more toward thirty minutes indigenous plays.” Pratt suggested longer plays be done no more than one a month and be either especially written for TV or adapted from the classics as “the transfer of stage plays to the TV medium has not provided successful.” The remaining twelve long plays would be substituted by 26 half hour plays, which would enable a regular scheduling of our put, more chance for directors to gain experience, more opportunities for local writers who “are more likely to be successful in short works”. Pratt said there were already ten suitable scripts prepared and suggested the show could begin in April 1966 under the title Australian Playhouse.

In August 1965 Talbot Duckmanton of the ABC announced that the ABC would increase its production of local drama, including a show called Australian Playhouse. This would not necessary consist of Australian plays and be "of an experimental nature"

The series was championed by producer David Goddard, father of actress Liza^. Goddard worked on the show for nine months before it aired. He says he knew of a TV station which claimed it was going to show a TV series and asked for scripts, then claimed the scripts were not of standard; Goddard says the station never put on staff, and actually had no intention of making the show.

"It was making a political gesture by saying it was trying to do something. It is absolutely scandalous that this sort of thing should have been going on here. And this is where the idea has been built up that there are no writers in Australia. As we shall prove, this is absolute rubbish."

Goddard said "There's a wealth of untouched and untapped gold in the Australian short story writer. The Australian is gifted with the ability to tell a story."

He said the show "will all be written by Australians and produced in Australia. And because they are written by Australians and aimed at television audiences primarily in Australia, they will reflect, comment on, or observe in a fictional way life in this country, as those writers see fit, know it, or have experienced it. In a word, it will be Australian drama."

To the Woman's Weekly he said

“Australia has a tradition of short story writing that is recognised internationally,” he said. “It is of the highest possible standard. “It seemed to me that there was a great possibility not only of exploiting this talent but also of giving cer- tain Australians who have not had the experience to write a full-length play on the competitive international market a chance to try their hand. “A 30-minute play seems an ideal length for a writer to develop a theme, a good time for any experienced actor to project a character. And 30 minutes certainly is the ideal viewing time.”

In January 1966 Goddard announced that the ABC would made 39 episodes of 30 minutes each called Australian Playhouse. They would do 14 weeks "in all moods", then 12 "equally Australian dramas on a central theme", then 13 more. This would be in addition to the ABC's monthly dramas, and a comedy series.(The comedy series would be Nice and Jucy and Marcellus Jones, which was never made).

Season One

Series one ran from April 1966 to early November 1966.

In April 1966 Neil Hutchison said "most of us have heard or read claims that Australia lacks good writers but I think you will agree this series disproves the claims."

According to Frank Roberts of The Bulletin, writing in May, the series "has to be viewed as a promising nursery".

It is estimated eight to nine productions were written and filmed but not broadcast due to concerns about quality.

Reception to Season One

In June 1966 The Sydney Morning Herald wrote the series demonstrated that there was a lack of creative talent in the country, particularly of writing.

At the end of 1966 the Age TV critic felt the majority of plays did not deserve to appear on air.

Val Marshall of the Sydney Morning Herald, reviewing the season for the year, said "what came up didn't always justify the timeslot. Roughly 10 percent were excellent (with the biggest score of winners going to Pat Flower). Another 40 percent was fair average quality. The other half can be written off as good tries. Was the Playhouse series justified? In my view yes."

It won a 1967 Logie for Contribution to the Industry.

Goddard said "We have plenty of scripts and the future of Playhouse appears good. If there were to be any changes for next year it would only be a change in the time spot - perhaps later in the evening. We have some brilliant plays but they are only suitable for adult viewing."

In December 1966 the ABC reported it spent a million dollars on Australian drama since 1956. It said it produced 358 plays, 187 of which were written by Australians. Australian Playhouse cost a reported $55,000 for 37 plays.

The season was later described as 50% drama, 25% comedy, 25% fantasy.

Season 2

The budget tripled for the second series However it ran for a shorter time.

The series started on 12 June 1967 in Melbourne and then broadcast in Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and then New South Wales on 24 July.

By June all the episodes had been filmed and work had started on the 1968 season. Pat Alexander, executive producer, said over 1,000 scripts had been submitted. "The result has been much better material," said Alexander.

Only two scripts were by writers from the previous season. Fifty percent of the plays were comedies, forty percent drama, and ten percent fantasy of experimental. (Another breakdown had it as 40% drama, 33% comedy, 27% comedy fantasy^])

The Sydney Morning Herald called it "an inconsistent thing but our own".

A Sunday issue of the same paper called the second series "the biggest flop" of the year.

Third Season

In April 1968 Goddard wrote “Australian Playhouse has come under fire from all directions for various reasons. The single play series is always more vulnerable than any other type… and a great deal of adverse criticism in my vie has been unfair. It was unfortunate that apart from Homicide it was the main Australian drama output of all TV channels in the cointry and was unsupported by high quality programs of continuity. A series of single, unconnected dramas needs a heavy backing of at least one continuity series like Contrabandits; a serial like Bellbird and I believe a strong, fixed, weekly long play spot plus a high standard of top rating imported material like Till Death, Steptoe, Troubleshooters, Z cars supported by programmes like TDT whch can help an audience to understand current affairs, topical events, dramatic domestic actuality that they are prepared to receive fictional locally written drama.” Goddard pointed to Australian Playhouse winning three national Australian Film Awards and “a tremendous boost in morale amongst writers, directors and technicians and I would like to stress that neither Belbird nor Contrabandits would have been possible without this early training ground… I cannot too strongly advocate that we continue a policy of half hour play production.”

Re-use of name

The name was re-used by the Nine Network in the 1976 to show TV movies:

*Murcheson Creek

* Bushranger

* Paradise

* Polly Me Love

Channel Ten used it in 1980 to show Temperament Unsuited, Come Out Fighting, Out of It, Listen to the Lions