The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin

The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin is a "one-hander" play by Australian playwright, author and singer Steve J. Spears (1951 – 2007). It premiered at the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney, Australia in 1976. The performance has been described as a high point of the career of Australian actor Gordon Chater.[1]

Background

Spears wrote that, as a television actor in his twenties, he was so nervous that he mumbled all his lines. He went to an elocution teacher, "a sweetheart.. but a very eccentric sort of lady", who treated him like her other pupils, all children.[2]

"Eventually... the thought struck me, I'll write a play about a female elocution teacher, and this poor snook about 25, sort of entrapped by this mad old lady... Then I decided to make it a bloke, a transvestite, and Benjamin happened."[2]

The play

A single actor plays "Robert O'Brien", an outwardly respectable elocution tutor based in a suburb of Melbourne.[3] The play begins with O'Brien walking on stage naked, describing the foibles of his students as he dresses. Revelations of his transvestitism and his obsession with a young, beautiful student, one "Benjamin Franklin" follow. He then reveals he is confined in a "mental institution".[3]

Premiere and reception

Elocution premiered at the Nimrod in 1976, with Gordon Chater playing O'Brien,[4][5] The play toured within Australia with box office success.[6]

Elocution went on to become an international success,[7] touring three continents and winning international acclaim.[4]

In its Off-Broadway production in 1979, it won three Obie Awards: Chater as actor, Spears as playwright, and Richard Wherrett as director.[8]

A January 2002 revival starred John Wood. It was prepared by, and was to have been directed by, Richard Wherrett, who died on 7 December 2001.

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References
  1. Jones, Philip (27 January 2000). "Guardian obituaries - Gordon Chater". Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  2. Spears, Steve (1989). In Search of the Bodgie. Sydney: Imprint (Collins Publishers Australia). p. 162. ISBN 0-7322-2524-8.
  3. Oliver, Melinda (4 September 2002). "The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin". The Blurb. Archived from the original on 24 July 2003. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  4. McDonald, Philippa (1999-12-13). "Gordon Chater dies aged 77". www.abc.net.au Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  5. "STEVE J SPEARS". Doollee.com, The Playwrights Database. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  6. Graeme Blundell (1 January 2007). "Maturing artistic voice gasped as Alvin Purple was pulled". The Australian. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  7. Morgan, Clare (2007-10-17). "Playwright loses his cancer struggle". www.smh.com.au Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
  8. "Three awards in New York for "Franklin"". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 23 May 1979. Retrieved 22 April 2016.


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