Australian TV Plays: Box for One (17 August 1958)

The Sydney production of Sorry Wrong Number was a success so Melbourne thought they'd do their own one person vehicle - Box for One.

It is a drama about a "spiv", and the entire 30-minute drama takes place in a London telephone box. It was written by Peter Brook, the legendary theatre director.

It starred Robert Helpmann, the first big returning star to appear in an Australian TV play.

Premise

The "box for one" is a lonely outdoor telephone booth in a deserted Soho back alley at dusk.

A young man, clearly on the run, goes into the booth, dials a number and asks gang leader Colley if there's a message for him. As he starts to leave, the phone rings. A girl is calling her boyfriend, but obviously she's reached a wrong number. The young man tricks her into giving him her number, but she hangs up on him..

After another phone call Vic is told that Colley will be back at nine. To pass the time he again rings the girl.

He discovers that Colley's gang are loking for him.

The tension within the young man is beginning toHe tries other numbers hoping for help, but there's none.

He calls the girl who spoke to him before, and now he needs her help desperately, but the girl thinks this is just a joke.

Cast

* Robert Helpmann

Play

The play was performed on British TV in 1949 (with Marius Goring), 1953 (with Robert Helpmann) and 1954 (with Richard Attenborough). All for the BBC. Tony Richardson directed the 1953 Helpmann version.

An article said the play was written especially for Helpmann but Goring appeared in it first so I'm not sure if that's true.

I think it was written for TV especially.

The BBC did it for radio in 1949 and 1955.

I had no idea Brook was a writer.

Production

Helpman returned to Australia in 1958 to star in and direct a stage production of Noel Coward's Nude with Violin. In May 1958 Helpmann expressed an interest in appearing in the play on Australian television. "I'm mad about TV," he said.

While performing in Nude with Violin in Melbourne, Helpman appeared in a production of Box For One on Australian broadcaster ABC.

Helpmann played the only character seen. However Sterling wrote dialogue for the people he talked to to help Helpman. ABV2 borrowed a public telephone box from the PMG and it was modified to English standards, A special fake mirro was position in the box behind the telephone. A came can shoot through one side of the mirror while the other side looked like an ordinary mirror. The mirror was used to prevent one camera pucking up a second camera on the other side of the box. The roof of the box was removed to enable a crane camera to shoot down into the box from above. The windows in the box were splintered to give the effect of a bom damaged area and to enable cameramen to shoot a clearer picture of Helpman from outside the glass. The shattered glass will minimise the glare from studio lighting.

It aired live on ABC's Melbourne station ABV-2. A telerecording (also known as a kinescope) was made and shown in Sydney on station ABN-2 on 24 September.

It is not known if the kinescope recording still exists.

The ABC had just presented a one woman play, a version of Sorry, Wrong Number (1958).

The NAA have photos. Not online but see here.

Reception

The Australian Women's Weekly TV critic called it "Sorry, Wrong Number written for men. I thought it wasn't as good a play, nor as well done as Sorry, Wrong Number done by Channel 2 several months ago...Like most of the A.B.C.'s live drama it was well produced, but I got tired of Mr. Helpmann and the miming he combined with the half-hour conversations."

(They were only just started to review TV drama in the publications I've read.)