The Little Woman
Written byPatricia Hooker
Directed byBill Bain
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time60 mins[1]
Production companyABC
Original release
NetworkABC
Release18 October 1961 (1961-10-18) (Sydney)[2]
3 January 1962 (1962-01-03) (Melbourne)[3][4]

The Little Woman is a 1961 Australian comedy TV play written by Patricia Hooker and broadcast on the ABC.[5]

It starred Sophie Stewart who had also been in the ABC's live play Fly by Night.

Plot

In a plush suburb on Sydney's North Shore, Marjorie, a young bride arrives home to find a series of surprises in store for her: her husband Henry, a Sydney businessman, keeps his wives instead of divorcing him, and they live together in a state of bliss; the new bride is his sixth. The household is run by Vera, his first wife. The others are a beatnik, a secretary, a glamour girl and a cook.[3]

Cast

  • Sophie Stewart as Vera[6]
  • Wendy Blacklock as Majorie
  • Moya O'Sullivan as Kay
  • Brigid Lenihan as a beatnik Estella
  • Janice Copeland as Vernoica
  • Valerie Hughes as Estella
  • Brian Anderson
  • Edward Hepple
  • Kerry Francis

Background

Hooker was working as a shorthand typist in a city office in 1959 when she wrote the story at home in the evenings. She wrote it as a stage play and it was included in a night of one-act plays at the Genesian Theatre. To help it reach a wider audience, Patricia studied a book on TV technique and decided to revise the script as a TV play. The play takes place in real time.[7][8]

It was shot in Sydney.[3]

Reception

The Sunday Sydney Morning Herald said it was "bright, breezy and well paced from start to finish. And while the theme (Henry keeps six wives)may raise a few "tut tuts" in some quarters it was handled with such racy good humour and wit that only the most straightlaced could quibble".[9]

The Sydney Morning Herald called it "a merry little farce" in which "the plot skidded and skated a bit" but praised the "splendid" performances of Wendy Blacklock and Sophie Stewart.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Television". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 October 1961. p. 21.
  2. ↑ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 October 1961. p. 19.
  3. 1 2 3 "TV Guide". The Age. 28 December 1961. p. 23.
  4. ↑ "TV Guide". The Age. 3 January 1962. p. 17.
  5. ↑ "LIVE DRAMA AND MUSIC ON ABC TELEVISION". The Canberra Times. 11 December 1962. p. 27. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Interview with Stage Star". Sydney Morning Herald. 5 November 1962. p. 19.
  7. ↑ "STENOGRAPHER'S PLAY ACCEPTED". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 September 1961. p. 12.
  8. ↑ "Classifieds". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 February 1963. p. 24.
  9. ↑ "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 October 1961. p. 93.
  10. ↑ "Play By Sydney Writer On TV". Sydney Morning Herald. 19 October 1961. p. 8.


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