Australian TV Plays: Red Peppers/Family Album (25 July 1962)

Two half hour plays by Noel Coward, which were part of his Tonight at 8.30 cycle. The first time Coward had been adapted for Australian TV. 75 mins.

Red Peppers premise

The play depicts a second-rate music hall double act, a husband and wife team, who perform two musical numbers, in between which they bicker in their dressing room and quarrel with colleagues.

It contains the songs "Has Anybody Seen our Ship?" and "Men About Town",

Cast

Lorrae Desmond as Lily Pepper
Colin Croft as George Pepper
Noel Brophy as Bert Bentley
Neva Carr Glyn as Mabel Grace
Murray Foy as Alf
Henry Gilbert as Mr Edwards
Brigid Lenihan

Family Album premise

The play is set in autumn 1860 in the drawing room of the Featherways family's house in Kent. The family, all dressed in mourning, have returned from the funeral of the paterfamilias. The group comprises his five children, Jasper, Lavinia, Richard, Harriet and Emily with, except for the unmarried Lavinia and RIchard, their spouses.

Warmed by glasses of madeira poured by their much-loved old butler, Burrows, they reminisce. An old toybox is produced, as is an old musical box; old songs are remembered and more glasses of wine are drunk. Suddenly Lavinia, her reticence overcome by wine, denounces the old man.

She then astonishes the others by telling them that the will read to them that morning, leaving the Featherways fortune to the family, was not the old man's final will: a week before he died he made a new one, leaving them nothing but giving large sums to his various mistresses and the rest to pay for a new church containing a grandiose memorial to himself. It was witnessed by Lavinia and Burrows. Minutes after the old man's death they burned it, leaving the old will to be acted upon. Questioned by Jasper, Burrows says his deafness is getting worse and he will never be able to hear questions about the will. They invite him to join them for a glass of madeira, and, to the tune of the musical box, they dance round him, hand in hand .

Songs - "Drinking Song", "Princes and Princesses", "Music Box" and "Hearts and Flowers.

Cast

Lorrae Desmond as Jane Featherways
Colin Croft as Jasper Featherways
Brigid Lenihan as Lavinia Featherways
Ric Hutton as Richard Featherways
Phillipa Baker as Harriet winter
Noel Brophy as Charles Winter
Judi Farr as Emily Valance
John Unicomb as Edward Valance
Max Meldrum as Burrows

Original play

They were part of a cycle of ten one act plays by Coward grouped under the heading Tonight at 8.30. The plays would be performed on rotation. They first appeared in 1935 as a vehicle for Coward and Gertrude Lawrence.

A Copy of Family Album is here.

Other productions

Red Peppers was done by BBC TV in 1937, 1938 (with Family Album), 1948, and 1958.

It was done on BBC radio in 1940 and 1953. Family Album was done on BBC radio in 1965.

Red Peppers was done on US TV in 1954 and 1960.

Production

James Upshaw directed.

They were broadcast on Wednesday July 25, 1962 at 8.30 p.m. on ABMN 2. Red Peppers a telerecording was shot first and the live production Family Album followed. It was shot in studio 21 at Gore Hil.

On the day of performance they would do a dry run then a camera rehearsal (see below).

It was the first time Noel Coward had been adapted for Australian television, mostly because "it was hard to get the rights," according to Upshaw.

It was Desmond's debut in a straight stage production and followed airing of her own variety show, The Lorrae Desmond Show. She had been in the US. Her co star Colin Croft appeared on her variety show.

"It will be wonderful to be on TV again after night club engagements," said Desmond. "I shall be singing in both comedies hut I am enthusiastic about appearing to a straight play."

Producer (director) - James Upshaw. Script asst - Lynda Lowe. Floor manager - Bill Phillips. Technical producer - John Hicks. Designer - Laurie Johnson. Musical accompaniment - Glenn Marks.

Reception

Frank Roberts of The Bulletin called it "worthy of the highest praise... almost flawless...a delight to watch, if only because it was a breakthrough in local television production. " Because it was not an Australian play, no doubt.

The Sydney Morning Herald said "Not even Lorrae Desmond, assisted by a fine _supporting cast and an excellent production... can disguise the perennially unsubstantial quality of Noel Coward's dramatic work" pointing out it was "the first appearance of a Coward play on Australian television, and, one hopes, the last."

The Sunday Sydney Morning Herald thought "Of the two plays, I thought "Family Album" came off a shade better, with acting honours going to Brigid Lenihan as the spinster daughter, Lavinia."