Australian TV Plays: The Passionate Pianist (2 Oct 1957)

An Australian play! Woo-hoo! From Barbara Vernon, clocking in at 30 mins. It's linked to the better known Multi Coloured Umbrella.

Paul O'Loughlin directed.

Premise

Ben, the teenage son of a Sydney bookmaker, prefers football to practicing piano. His mother Gloria is convinced he is a genius and enters him in an eistedford. Ben has a younger brother, Joe.

Joe arrives. It turns out he and Ben took the family car out last night without asking. A policeman arrives with their father Kevin telling the boys that a car that matches their family car's description ran over a woman.

The boys are forced to confess what they did and say they were with two girls (who think Ben is eighteen). The sergeant calls the girls who confirm the account and then the sergeant leaves.

Kevin threatens to thrash the boys but Gloria says no, Ben needs to go to the eistedford. Ben would rather take a thrashing but Kevin backs Gloria.

We go out on Ben playing the piano.

Cast

Mark Kelly as Ben Donnelly
Marion Johns as Gloria Donnelly
Edward Howell
Ivor Bromley
Bruce A. Wishart as Joe Donnelly

Original play

The Passionate Pianist was originally written as a one act play. Barbara Vernon was a radio announcer in Inverell and wrote the play for Con Fardouly, a Greek who ran a cafe in Invernell. He played Ben in Umbrella but Kevin (the dad) in this.

It was first performed at the Inverell Town Hall, on 22 November 1957 (after the debut of the play). The cast included Lee Jones, Nell Stewart, Frank Sloman, Rob Jeffs, and Con Fardouly.

According to its Ausstage listing it was only performed once.

It is part of the trilogy 'The Growing Year', which also includes Vernon's unpublished plays 'The Bishop and the Boxer' and 'First Love'. I think these all concerned the Donnelly family. The play was published.

I've read a copy of the play it isn't bad. There's no threat - the boys just have to come clean. Maybe we should've seen the girl in the car, dramatised that. But it's fine.

Other versions

The play was also adapted for ABC radio. It aired in 1958, 1961 and 1964. That's not a bad run.

Production

It was shot in Sydney. Rehearsals took place in September. Paul O'Loughlin directed it.

It was shown just before Vernon's Umbrella had a splashy debut in Sydney on 9 November 1957.

The NAA have photos of it. Not online. Details here. I think they also have a radio play. See here.