The Department | |
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Written by | David Williamson |
Date premiered | 15 November 1974 |
Place premiered | The Playhouse Adelaide |
Original language | English |
The Department is a 1974 play by David Williamson about political intrigue at a university department. [1] It was based on Williamson's time as a lecturer at Swinburne Tech. [2]
Williamson wrote it for the South Australian Theatre Company. It premiered in 1974 at the opening of a new playhouse, then transferred to Melbourne and Sydney. [3]
"The Department (play)" | |
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Australian Theatre Festival episode | |
Directed by | Brian Bell |
Written by | David Williamson |
Based on | the play by David Williamson |
Original air date | 1980 |
Running time | 65 minutes |
The play was adapted into a TV movie in 1980 which was produced by Noel Ferrier as part of the Australian Theatre Festival . [4] [5]
The Canberra Times called it "a poorly constructed exercise". [6]
The Age called it "a success... some remarkable goods." [7] Another reviewer from that paper called it "an excellent production". [8]
A critic from The Sydney Morning Herald said "it's a long time since I've seen a better sustained performance in a locally produced TV play." [9]
Jack Hibberd, whose play A Toast of Melba was also filmed as part of the Festival, called it 'dreary, mundane. Awesomely so. I'm not impressed by that 'slice of life' realism style. It's just theatrical journalism." [10]
Jack Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and a major figure of Australian cinema, particularly Australian New Wave. He is best known for his role as a lead actor in several acclaimed Australian films, including such classics as The Club (1980), Sunday Too Far Away (1975), The Man from Snowy River (1982) and Petersen (1974). He won Cannes and AFI acting awards for the latter film.
Sons of Cain is a 1985 play by David Williamson about three female investigative reporters.
The Australian Theatre Festival was a series of adaptations of Australian plays filmed by the ABC in 1979-80 and first aired August 1980. Six plays were filmed first the first season at an estimated budget of $5,000 an episode. They aired on Sunday night opposite movies on the commercial channels. Six additional plays were filmed for season two. They were partly inspired by a government ruling that the ABC could keep any money it made selling projects overseas.
A Toast to Melba is a 1976 Australian play by Jack Hibberd. A biography of Dame Nellie Melba, Hibberd described it as:
Another 'Popular Play' like The Les Darcy Show. Using the Epic Theatre techniques of Bertolt Brecht, the play encompasses the life of diva Nellie Melba from childhood in Melbourne to her death in Egypt ... The actress who plays Melba must be able to sing a few arias and parlour songs. There is a selection of recorded music that is essential to the work.
Corruption in the Palace of Justice is a 1964 Australian television film produced by Oscar Whitbread. Based on an Italian stage play by Ugo Betti, it was a drama aired in a 60-minute time-slot and aired on the non-commercial broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Commission. The cast included Michael Duffield, Carl Bleazby and Terry Norris. It was produced in Melbourne. It was adapted by Robert Rietti. A copy of the script is at the NAA.
"Otherwise Engaged" is a 1965 Australian television film which aired on ABC. Broadcast in a 60-minute time-slot, it was written by John Cameron and produced in Melbourne. "Otherwise Engaged" aired on 2 June 1965 in Sydney, and Melbourne, and on 23 June 1965 in Brisbane.
"The Sweet Sad Story of Elmo and Me" is a 1965 Australian television film which aired on ABC as part of Wednesday Theatre. It aired on 28 July 1965 in Melbourne and Sydney.
The Sponge Room is an Australian television film which aired in 1964 on ABC. Produced in Melbourne, it aired in a 50-minute time-slot and was an adaptation of an overseas stage play, written by Willis Hall and Keith Waterhouse.
The Cell is an Australian play by Robert Wales. The setting is in a school for delinquent girls.
"Photo Finish" is a 1965 Australian teleplay based on a play by Peter Ustinov. It screened on ABC and was produced by Oscar Whitbread and starred Frank Thring. "Photo Finish" aired on 10 November 1965 in Melbourne and Sydney.
The Man Who Shot the Albatross is a play by Ray Lawler about the Rum Rebellion, first performed in 1971 and turned into a 1972 TV movie featuring the same cast.
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"The Tower" is a 1964 TV play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It aired on 2 December 1964 as a stand-alone in Melbourne and on 28 April 1965 as part of Wednesday Theatre in Sydney. It aired on 6 January 1965 in Brisbane. It was based on a play by Hal Porter and directed by Christopher Muir in the ABC's studios in Melbourne.
"Dark Corridor" is a 1965 Australian TV play. It was an original play by Brisbane writer Trevor Nielsen.
"Romanoff and Juliet" is a 1964 Australian television play based on the play by Peter Ustinov. It aired on 20 January 1965 in Sydney, and on 27 January 1965 in Melbourne.
Love and War is a 1967 Australian TV series.
"How Do You Spell Matrimony?" is a 1965 Australian television play by Colin Free. It appeared on a double bill as part of Wednesday Theatre with The Face at the Club House Door.
"Hansel and Gretel" is a 1963 Australian TV adaptation of the opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck.
Kain is a 1966 play loosely based on the biblical story of Cain and Abel. It was the first co production between the ABC and the BBC.
Thérèse Radic is an Australian musicologist and playwright.