Australian TV Plays: The Proposal (25 Feb 1957)

The Age 21 Feb 1957 p 23

Two possible "firsts" for Australian TV. The first Chekhov. And the first show that was recorded live in one city and broadcast in another. I think, about that last one. Let me check!

Premise

Ivan Lornov visits his neighbor, Stepan Chubukov, to propose marriage to the neighbour's daughter, Natalia. Lornov and Natalia clash over the ownership of a property, and a dog. Lornov has a health scare.

Cast

* Paul Bacon as Ivan Lornov

* Douglas Kelly as Stepan Chubukov

* Bettine Kauffmann as Natalia Chubukov

Other adaptations

The play was performed on ABC radio in 1954.

The BBC filmed it in 1946 and in 1956.

It was adapted for BBC radio in 1940 and 1942.

Australian performances are listed here. Leslie Rees published it in a 1951 collection of plays - maybe he recommended it?

Production Information

It was filmed in Melbourne at Ripponlea using popular radio actors of the time. It aired in Melbourne on 25 February 1957 and screened in Sydney on 14 March 1957.

The director was Chris Muir. Apparently the budget was 400 pounds and the air-conditioning broke down causing the actors to nearly faint. The source of this is the book Australian TV The First 25 Years..

Muir had returned the year before from studying TV drama production in paris. He said the play was chosen because it was "very well known, very amusing and, having only one simple set, comparatively easy to produce."

You can get publicity photos at the NAA (not online). See here and here.

Thoughts

I haven't seen the production or read the script but I have read the play. (You can access a copy at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7986/7986-h/7986-h.htm)

I can see the appeal of this for Australian TV producers. It's Chekhov so no one can say it's dumb - you can call them a philistine. It's a three hander. Takes place in one location. One take. Very much theatre on TV. Offers three decent roles: young woman, her suitor, the woman's father.

I just wish it had been an Australian play. Or adapted to be set in Australia - you could do it easy enough, make it about neighbouring farmers and remove the references to "peasants". (To be fair maybe it was... in the photo of the actors in ABC Weekly everyone is in modern dress.)

The story involves a man proposing to the daughter of his neighbour. Both men own property. The woman and her suitor get into an argument about who owns a particular piece of land, and about who has the better dog. The man collapses. They decide to get married.

It's not that funny, at least on the page - maybe with bright handling and casting it could be made funny. But then I'm not sure Chekov was ever capital F funny. I feel guilty for saying that. See, I'm a philistine too.