The Little Woman

The Little Woman is a 1961 Australian comedy TV play written by Patricia Hooker and broadcast on the ABC. It was one of the rare Australian dramas on TV at the time.[5][6]

The Little Woman
Written byPatricia Hooker
Directed byBill Bain
Country of originAustralia
Original language(s)English
Production
Running time60 mins[1]
Production company(s)ABC
Release
Original networkABC
Original release18 October 1961 (Sydney)[2]
3 January 1962 (Melbourne)[3][4]

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[7]
  • 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
Ad from The Age 3 January 1962

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.[8][9]

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".[10]

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.[11]

See also
  • List of television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1960s)

References
  1. "Television". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 October 1961. p. 21.
  2. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 16 October 1961. p. 19.
  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. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  7. "Interview with Stage Star". Sydney Morning Herald. 5 November 1962. p. 19.
  8. "STENOGRAPHER'S PLAY ACCEPTED". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 September 1961. p. 12.
  9. "Classifieds". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 February 1963. p. 24.
  10. "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 October 1961. p. 93.
  11. "Play By Sydney Writer On TV". Sydney Morning Herald. 19 October 1961. p. 8.


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