Venus Observed

Venus Observed is a play in blank verse by the English dramatist and poet Christopher Fry. It was first performed on 18 January 1950 at the St James's Theatre, London, with the following cast:

  • The Duke of Altair – Laurence Olivier
  • Edgar, his son – Denholm Elliott
  • Herbert Reedbeck, his agent – George Relph
  • Dominic, Reedbeck's son – Robert Beaumont
  • Rosabel Fleming – Valerie Taylor
  • Jessie Dill – Brenda de Banzie
  • Captain Fox Reddleman, the Duke's butler – Fred Johnson
  • Bates, the Duke's footman – Thomas Heathcote
  • Hilda Taylor-Snell – Rachel Kempson
  • Perpetua, Reedbeck's daughter – Heather Stannard


Scenes:

  • The Observatory Room at Stellmere Park, the Duke's mansion
  • The Temple of the Ancient Virtues, Stellmere Park

1957 British TV Adaptation

The play was filmed for British TV in 1957.[1]

1960 Australian TV Adaptation

Venus Observed
Directed by Alan Burke
Distributed by ABC
Release date
 2 November 1960
Country Australia
Language English

The play was adapted for Australian TV in 1960.

It was directed by Alan Burke who had directed a stage production at the Arrow Theatre in Melbourne in 1952.[2][3]

Cast

  • Walter Sullivan as Duke of Altair
  • Rachel Lloyd as Perpetua
  • David Bluford as Edgar
  • Jacqueline Kott as Rosabel
  • Gwen Plumb as Jessie
  • Ria Sohier as Hilda
  • Hugh Stewart

Reception

The critic for the Sydney Morning Herald called it a "a pleasantly competent piece of work... a production rich in setting, with exactly the right kind of faded spaciousness you would expect in such a household.... It will be good to see more productions of this calibre.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Venus Observed 1957 Adaptation at IMDB
  2. ↑ "Mr. A. BURKE NEW PRODUCER FOR REPERTORY". The Canberra Times. 26, (7592). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 19 December 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 10 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Stage 'VENUS OBSERVED' IS A FINE PLAY". The Argus (Melbourne) (32, 868). Victoria, Australia. 7 January 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 10 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Venus Observed". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 November 1960. p. 5.
  • Fry, Christopher (2007). The Plays of Christopher Fry, 2. London: Oberon. ISBN 978-1-84943-746-2.
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