Australian TV Plays: Rose Without a Thorn (10 Sept 1958)

The ABC keep making non Australian stuff. This is from a 1931 play by Clifford Bax (1886-1962).

It's about Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine Howard.

Premise

The courtship and marriage of King Henry VIII and Catherine Howard. She is accused of adultery with Thomas Culpepper and is executed.

Cast

* Kevin Brennan as Henry VIII

* Margaret Wolfit as Anne of Cleves

* Elisabeth Waterhouse as Mary Lascelles

* Moray Powell as Thomas Cranmer

* Margo Lee as Catherine Howard

* Charles Tasman as Audley

* Jerome White as Thomas Culpepper

* John Huson as Earl of Hertford

*Pamela Harvey as Morton

*Philippa Baker as Tilney

*Barbara Eather as Mary

*Lewis Luton as Derham

*Peter Wagner as John Lasselle

*Derani Scarr as Minerva

*Beryl Twivy as Juno

*Marie Renshaw as Venus

Original play

A Rose Without a Thorn had been performed in 1933.

Other adaptations

It was adapted for Australian radio by Max Afford in 1940, a production much revived. Also in 1952 iwith William Job- Neil Hutchison possibly directed see here.

It was also filmed by British TV in 1947 and 1953. A photo from the 1947 production is here.

It was done on BBC radio in 1942, 1944 and 1953 (with James Mason).

Production

It was the first production directed by Alan Burke after he joined the ABC full-time. (He had previously made A Fourth for Bridge.) As he put it most directors came from radio, he was one of the few from theatre. He described in an interview that he joined in 1958 leaving the Elizabethan Theatre Trust. Burke would go on to be one of the leading directors of the early days of Australian television. He would stay at the ABC until 1986.

It was shot at Gore Hill. Burke's first play at been at the Arcon. He told Graham Shirley, "When I moved into the big studios and then when I came back in ’58, the big studios over the road here had been built and we were working in a decent studio situation and Rose Without a Thorn was the first one there."

Seven different sets were used in the program. The Australian Woman's Weekly did a big colour spread on the production here. (Pictures are below).

The show was shot in Sydney. But it was broadcast in a series of "live" dramas on Sunday night on ABV-2 Melbourne. In order, they were The Governess, The Last Call, The Rose without a Thorn, The Lark, Citizen of Westminster, and Enemy of the People (the last of "the season").

Alan Burke later recalled the production:

I loved using people who were new because the television casting when I first went into it was very much the ‘known’ people. People were playing safe because there were so many imponderables in the new medium everybody, including the directors I’m sure, wanted to make it as good as possible. You didn’t take any risks, so you cast ‘known’ actors. One of my earliest productions was A Rose Without a Thorn, a play about Henry VIIIth and Catherine Howard and you just didn’t go past Kevin Brennan. He played Henry VIIIth as to the manor born and one didn’t need to talk to him, you just sort of said yes, Kevin would be marvellous, let’s cast him.

The NAA have some photos though not on line. See here. They also appear to have a radio script.