The First Joanna

The First Joanna is a 1943 play by Dorothy Blewett.

Plot

An English girl called Joanna marries an Australian wine-grower and moves to his family home in South Australia. She does not like it and is about to leave when she discovers the diary of the first Joanna who built the home during colonial times.

Production history

The play won a competition in 1947.[1]

The play was adapted for radio in 1948 at the ABC. The production starred English actor Jane Barrett, who was in Australia to star in Eureka Stockade.[2][3]

The play was performed at May Hollinworth's Metropolitan Theatre in 1948,[4][5] starring John Bushelle, Lynne Murphy, Betty Lucas, Wanda Herbert, Marcel Wattel, Lola Sweeney as the first Joanna and Dinah Shearing as the second Joanna.[4][5]

1961 television adaptation
The First Joanna
Based onplay by Dorothy Blewett
Written byWal Cherry
Directed byChristopher Muir
Country of originAustralia
Original language(s)English
Production
Running time75 mins
Production company(s)ABC
Release
Original networkABC
Original release3 May 1961 (Sydney, taped)

The play was filmed in 1961 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was directed by Christopher Muir. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.[6]

Cast
  • Pat Connolly as the first Joanna[7]
  • Barbara Brandon
  • Madeline Howell as Jocelyn
  • Norman Kaye as Stephen Deveron
  • Kevin Miles as Halley van Drutten
  • Barbara Brandon as Editha
  • Lee Norton as the second Joanna
  • Lorna Forbes as Viola
  • Olive Verdon as Mrs Collins
  • Stewart Weller as Jackson
  • Peter LaTrobe as Captain Jules Smith
  • William Lloyd as Sir Bertram Tavener
  • Natalie Raine as Lady Caroline Tavener
  • Laura James as Beatrice Tavener
  • Fay Kelton as Augusta
  • George Whaley as a soldier
  • Rohonda Nunquam as Editha
  • Diana Sinnamon as Viola
  • Roland Heimans as Phillip

Production

The play was shot in Melbourne ABC tv studios, vineyard scene with Norman Kaye at Chateau Tahbilk. Blewett, who lived in Melbourne, attended many rehearsals. Well-known stage performers Norman Kaye and Lee Norton make their Australian TV debuts [8][9]

Chris Muir worked in Melbourne. Prior to production he watched Little Theatre productions. He was trying to cast actors who were less familiar to audiences.[10]

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald critic wrote "the production was a success, to the extent of making much of little; for the play itself often slips out of its intended dramatic mould into something approaching melodrama."[11]

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References
  1. "Stage Play Competition". The Sydney Morning Herald (34, 312). New South Wales, Australia. 11 December 1947. p. 16. Retrieved 15 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. "Behind! The Mike". Truth (3025). New South Wales, Australia. 11 January 1948. p. 29. Retrieved 15 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "STARS OF THE AIR. FILM ACTRESS FOR A.B.C." The Muswellbrook Chronicle. 28 (3). New South Wales, Australia. 16 January 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 15 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Family Drama In New Prize Play". The Sydney Morning Herald (34, 391). New South Wales, Australia. 13 March 1948. p. 9. Retrieved 15 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Australian Period Piece". The Bulletin. 69 (3553): 18. 17 March 1948. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  6. Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
  7. "Clothes for All TV Occasions". The Age. 19 January 1961. p. 2.
  8. "CHARACTER CONFLICT IN ABN PLAY". Sydney Morning Herald. 1 May 1961. p. 9.
  9. "Leading Character in TV Drama". The Age. 24 November 1960. p. 18.
  10. "TV Drama Producer in Search for New Faces". The Age. 10 November 1960. p. 16.
  11. "Play on television". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 May 1961. p. 5.


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