King Lear (Sept 1967) (Adelaide)

 Peter O'Shaughnessy played Lear in Adelaide. This was done for schools.  It screened over 5 parts of around 25 mins each. A presenter would talk during episodes about the themes of the play.

O'Shaugnessy's obituary is here.

Cast

*Peter O'Shaughnessy as King Lear

* Harry Lawrence

*Daphne Grey

*Barbara West

*Judy Dick

*John Trinder

*Jack Hume

*Alan Lane

*Barry Pierce

*Robert Alexander

*Len Sweeney

*Roger Ward

*Michael Long

*Hedley Cullen 

*Tony Haslam

Technical production - Peter Syme, Sid Cole. Staging - George Acres, Make up - Rae Paull. Design - Tom McIntee. Production - Ian Mills.

Part 1 - "A bitter fool and a sweet one"

Part 2 - "They are centaurs" 

Part 3- 

Part 4- "This great stage of fools"

Part 5 - "We can crying hither"

 

SMH 11 Sept 1967

SMH 17 Sept 1967

SMH 14 Oct 1967

Forgotten Australian TV Plays: Two Slices of Shakespeare
by Stephen Vagg
September 30, 2021
Stephen Vagg’s series on forgotten Australian television plays looks at a couple of different small screen takes on Shakespeare: a 1964 film of the stage revue The First 400 Years, and a 1967 version of King Lear for schools.

The ABC were fond of doing Shakespeare on television in the old days. True, it was a little expensive (all those costumes and beards), but was culturally respectable (all those words), with a guaranteed audience (all those high school examinations), and was less likely to be criticised (all that BBC heritage).

I have written several pieces so far on different Shakespeare adaptations done by the ABC: The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, The Life and Death of Richard II, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. In this piece, I’m looking at two less typical productions of the Bard, both shot in Adelaide, incidentally: The First 400 Years and King Lear....

King Lear for Schools (1967)

In addition to prime-time Shakespeare adaptations, the ABC would also show the playwright’s work for high schools for broadcast during the day… no doubt to the eternal gratitude of high school teachers everywhere who could go “here… watch this”. I’m sure actors appreciated the work as well. Mostly, these were imported from the BBC, but occasionally, the ABC did their own, such as King Lear in 1967. I think this was done out of the Education Department rather than the TV Drama Department.

King Lear ranks among Shakespeare’s masterpieces, the title role being the one most actors would like to tackle before they head off into the great Green Room in the sky. It’s the tale of an old king of Britain who decides to divide his kingdom into parts to distribute amongst his daughters and comes to regret it. The play has been adapted a heap of times, often very loosely (eg Kurosawa’s 1985 film Ran) but it is a magnificent piece of material.

The ABC filmed King Lear in Adelaide in 1967, with the titular role played by Peter O’Shaughnessy (1923 – 2013), a hugely experienced stage actor and producer.

The play was divided into five chapters, each around 25 minutes each (though I understand all episodes were combined and played at once in some cities).

The action is occasionally interrupted by a bespectacled man in a modern day suit who talks about the themes of the play, which does ruin the dramatic momentum, but at least makes you feel smarter.

It’s a decent version of Shakespeare’s classic, marred by some unfortunate fake beards and I’m glad the ABC did their own version instead of just importing it from the BBC.

The First 400 Years and King Lear – two productions in the long, long, long tradition of trying to get people into Shakespeare against their will. And GO Adelaide, btw – these were both polished productions.