Big Toys

Last updated

Big Toys
Written by Patrick White
CharactersRitchie Bosanquet, a wealthy and successful lawyer
Meg Bosanquet, socialite
Terry Legge, a well-connected trade union leader based on Jack Mundey
Date premiered27 July 1977
Place premieredParade Theatre, Kensington, Sydney
Original languageEnglish
SubjectA satire on Sydney high society
Genresatire
SettingSydney

Big Toys is a 1977 Australian play by Patrick White. It was his first play in 14 years.

Contents

Stage productions

The original production was by the Old Tote Theatre Company in Sydney. The cast was Max Cullen, Arthur Dignam and Kate Fitzpatrick and it was directed by Jim Sharman. [1] The play was specifically written for the three lead actors. [2]

Film version

Big Toys
Directed byChris Thomson
Based onplay by Patrick White
Produced byAlan Burke
Starring Diane Cilento
John Gaden
Max Cullen
Colin Friels
Production
company
ABC
Distributed byABC
Release date
  • 24 August 1980 (1980-08-24)
Running time
90 mins
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

It was adapted into a 1980 TV film by Patrick White. The film was part of the Australian Theatre Festival. [3] [4] [5]

Cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Davis</span> Australian film, television, and stage actress (born 1955)

Judith Davis is an Australian actress. In a career spanning over four decades of both screen and stage, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequent collaborator Woody Allen described her as "one of the most exciting actresses in the world". Davis has received numerous accolades, including nine AACTA Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Brown</span> Australian actor (born 1947)

Bryan Neathway Brown AM is an Australian actor and author. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include Breaker Morant (1980), Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984), F/X (1986), Tai-Pan (1986), Cocktail (1988), Gorillas in the Mist (1988), F/X2 (1991), Along Came Polly (2004), Australia (2008), Kill Me Three Times (2014) and Gods of Egypt (2016). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for his performance in the television miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983).

Candida Raymond is an Australian actress of film and television during the 1970s and early 1980s.

James David Sharman is an Australian director and writer for film and stage with more than 70 productions to his credit. He is renowned in Australia for his work as a theatre director since the 1960s, and is best known internationally as the director of the 1973 theatrical hit The Rocky Horror Show, its film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and the film's follow-up, Shock Treatment (1981).

Kerry Kathleen Fitzpatrick known as Kate Fitzpatrick, is an Australian television, film, and theatre actress.

<i>The Venetian Twins</i> (musical) Musical

The Venetian Twins is an Australian two-act musical comedy. It was adapted from a commedia dell'arte play - I due gemelli veneziani by Carlo Goldoni - and the lyrics were written by Nick Enright; the music was composed and arranged by Terence Clarke.

Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally.

Shirley Thompson vs. the Aliens is a 1972 Australian film directed by Jim Sharman and starring Jane Harders and Helmut Bakaitis. It is the first feature-length film from Sharman, who subsequently directed The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).

<i>The Streets of London</i> (1934 film) 1934 Australian film

The Streets of London is a 1934 Australian film directed by F. W. Thring. It was a filmed version of a play by Dion Boucicault which Thring had produced on stage the previous year. It was the last film made by Efftee Film Productions – Thring ceased production afterwards with the aim of resuming it later but died in 1936 before he had the chance.

Promised Woman is a 1975 Australian film from director Tom Cowan.

Igor Auzins is an Australian filmmaker. He joined Crawford Productions in 1969 and worked as a cameraman, then a director. He made documentaries for the South Australian Film Corporation, TV commercials, tele movies and features.

The Department is a 1974 play by David Williamson about political intrigue at a university department. It was based on Williamson's time as a lecturer at Swinburne Tech.

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. Six plays were filmed in all at an estimated budget of $5,000 an episode. They aired on Sunday night opposite movies on the commercial channels. 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.

"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 Cell is an Australian play by Robert Wales. The setting is in a school for delinquent girls.

The Man Who Shot the Albatross is a play by Ray Lawler about the Rum Rebellion, first performed in 1971. A 1972 television film featured the stage cast.

A Cheery Soul is a 1963 play by Australian writer Patrick White set in the fictional Sydney suburb of Sarsaparilla at the end of the 1950s. White described it as being about "the destructive power of good."

Jennifer Hagan is an Australian actress who was the acting tutor at the National Institute of Dramatic Art from 1991 until 1997. For three decades she was a leading player with professional theatre companies throughout Australia notably for the Old Tote Theatre Company and Sydney Theatre Company. Hagan retired in 2020. Her work was characterised by precision, energy and humour.

References

  1. Details of premiere production at AusStage
  2. "Charity opening for play". The Canberra Times . Vol. 52, no. 14, 915. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 October 1977. p. 19. Retrieved 5 March 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  3. Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p14
  4. "WHY IS KATE FITZPATRICK WEARING A MOUSTACHE?". The Australian Women's Weekly . National Library of Australia. 24 October 1979. p. 41. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  5. "TIMESTYLE RADIO TELEVISION CHESS CROSSWORDS 'Churchill' TV film raises veterans' ire". The Canberra Times . Vol. 54, no. 16, 084. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 October 1979. p. 13. Retrieved 5 March 2016 via National Library of Australia.