Burst of Summer

Burst of Summer
Written by Oriel Gray
Date premiered 2 Feb 1960
Place premiered Little Theatre, South Yarra, Melbourne
Original language English
Subject race relations

Burst of Summer is a 1959 play by Oriel Gray.[1]

Plot

Racial tensions erupt in a small town when a young Aboriginal girl gains brief notability as a film actress. White townsfolk decide to build houses and move the indigenous residents of 'The Flats' into them.

Background

The story is based on the story of Ngarla Kunoth who was cast in the lead of Charles Chauvel's film Jedda.

Original Production

The play was first produced in 1960.

Cast

  • Morris Brown
  • Max Bruch
  • Marcella Burgoyne

1960 Radio Adaptation

The play was performed on ABC radio in 1960.

1961 TV Adaptation

Burst of Summer
Directed by William Sterling
Production
company
ABC
Release date
 1961
Running time
 54 mins
Country Australia
Language English

The play was broadcast in 1961 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Filming took place at the ABC's Melbourne Studios in South Bank.

Cast

Production

Robert Tudawali was flown from Darwin to Melbourne to make his first appearance in a live television drama. He had already been seen in the filmed series Whiplash.[2]

Reception

The TV critic from the Sydney Morning Herald called it a "half-hearted stab" at writing a story on the problems of the aboriginal in a white society, despite some good acting from Georgia Lee and Edward Howell. He added, "One couldn't escape the feeling that the author had dashed it off after seeing too many American movies, rather than making a serious attempt to put the Australian colour problem into its own perspective. It's a pity this missed out, because there is a goldmine of material on the aboriginal waiting for a skilled, sensitive writer to tap it."[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Oriel Gray obituary at Sydney Morning Herald
  2. 1 2 "TV Merry Go Round", Sydney Morning Herald, 8 October 1961 p 84


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