Australian TV Plays: Sunday Costs Five Pesos (21 May 1957)

A play that ran 30 minutes. Shot in Sydney, directed by Paul O'Loughlin.

Based on a play by Mexican-American Josefina Niggli. A copy of that is here (though it misses some pages).

Plot

In a small north Mexican town of Four Cornstalks, there is a rule that if a woman starts a fight on Sundays she must pay a fine of five pesos.

Betra is engaged to Fidel. During siesta on a Sunday, Fidel goes to visit Berta and discovers she is furious with him because he has been calling on Celestina. Fidel insists it was business, but Berta doesn't believe him and breaks off their relationship.

Berta's friends, Salome and Tonia, find out what has happened. Berta instantly regrets her decision. Salome comes up with a plan - Tonia will tell Fidel that Berta has tried to commit suicide by jumping down a well. Fidel believes this and is distraught; Salome tells him to light a candle.

The plan is working when Celestina arrives, demanding a fight with Berta. This brings out Berta and the two women start hurling insults at each other. Fidel runs away. Tonia reminds them that the penalty for fighting on Sunday is five pesos. During the ensuing arguments, Salome winds up fighting Celestina, who wins. Celestina agrees to pay the fine. Celestina threatens to beat up Tonia and Berta on a weekday (so she doesn't have to pay the fine) and so does Salome (annoyed her friends didn't come to her rescue).

Berta is worried. Then Fidel arrives explaining he has gotten a job away from town and that he still wants Berta, but he has to leave tomorrow. Berta agrees to marry Fidel (in part to get away from Celestina and Salome though she doesn't tell him that.)

Cast

* Guy Le Claire as Fidel Duran

* Melpo Zaracosta as Berta Cantu

* Brenda Senders

* Audrey Teasdale

* Joan Landor

Original play

The play dates from the 1930s. It was originally produced by the Carolina Playmakers on 25 April 1936. You can read a book here. Apparently the law is based on a real law that existed in some rural Mexican towns.

It appeared in a 1938 collection of best one act plays.

There seem to have been a few productions of it on stage in Australia. It was popular with "little theatres" i.e. amateur companies. This was, I assume, because it was a once act play and four of the five roles were for women. You look it up on line and it's always being performed by a Little Theatre.

I've read the play - it's a lot of fun. It is about squabbling Mexican women, which some will have issue with, but at least it was written by a women. And it shows them having agency and being physical. It's a tight little one act piece - there's twists and turns, five distinct characters. Reading it I can see why companies liked it because they got to put on outrageous Mexican accents and yell at each other. It's an actor proof play - you can just ham it up to your heart's content.

Other adaptations

The play aired on Melbourne radio in July 1957.

I don't think it was filmed by the BBC.

Production

It was filmed at ABC studios in Sydney. Zaracosta was a Greek actor who moved to Australia in 1949.

Paul O'Loughlin directed.

The NAA have a (not online) copy of the play here. May be a radio version as its grouped in with some plays that weren't filmed.