Venus Observed

Venus Observed is a play in blank verse by the English dramatist and poet Christopher Fry. The play concerns a Duke who decides to remarry for a third time. He gets his son Edgar to pick the bride. The Duke likes Perpetua but Edgar wants her for himself.

## Productions

[edit]

It was first performed on 18 January 1950 at the St James's Theatre, London, and ran for 229 performances with the following cast:[1]

* 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
* Director – Laurence Olivier
* Set designer – Roger Furse
* Composer – Herbert Menges
* Costume designer – Margaret Furse

Scenes:

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

Olivier's production opened on 13 February 1952 at the New Century Theatre on Broadway, where it ran for 86 performances. A new cast was headed by Rex Harrison as the Duke and his then wife Lilli Palmer as Perpetua.[2]

## Adaptations

[edit]

### 1957 British TV adaptation

[edit]

The play was broadcast on British TV as an ITV Play of the Week in 1957, with John Robinson as the Duke and Frances Rowe as Rosabel.

### 1960 Australian TV adaptation

[edit]

Venus Observed

Directed by| Alan Burke
Country of origin| Australia
Original language| English
Production
Running time| 75 minutes[3]
Production company| ABC
Original release
Network| ABC
Release| 2 November 1960 (1960-11-02) (Sydney)[4]
Release| 30 November 1960 (1960-11-30) (Melbourne)[5]
Release| 19 June 1961 (1961-06-19) (Brisbane)[6]

The play was adapted for Australian TV in 1960.[7] It was directed by Alan Burke who had directed a stage production at the Arrow Theatre in Melbourne in 1952.[8][9]

The cast included Walter Sullivan as Duke of Altair,[10] Rachel Lloyd as Perpetua, David Bluford as Edgar, Jacqueline Kott as Rosabel, Gwen Plumb as Jessie, Ria Sohier as Hilda, Hugh Stewart, John Dennis, John Gray and James Elliott.[11] It was the Australian television debut of English actor Rachel Lloyd, although she had been in two episodes of Whiplash.[12] The sets were by Geoffrey Wedlock.[13]

The critic for The Sydney Morning Herald called Venus Observed 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.[14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Wearing, J. P. (16 September 2014). The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893085 - via Google Books.
2. ^ "Venus Observed – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
3. ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 31 October 1960. p. 14.
4. ^ "Advertisement". Sydney Morning Herald. 31 October 1960. p. 13.
5. ^ "Newcomer in Fry Comedy". The Age. 24 November 1960. p. 17.
6. ^ "Venus looks down on love". TV Times. 15 June 1961. p. 16.
7. ^ Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
8. ^ "Mr. A. BURKE NEW PRODUCER FOR REPERTORY". The Canberra Times. Vol. 26, no. 7592\. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 19 December 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 10 February 2017 - via National Library of Australia.
9. ^ "Stage 'VENUS OBSERVED' IS A FINE PLAY". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 32, 868. Victoria, Australia. 7 January 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 10 February 2017 - via National Library of Australia.
10. ^ Lane, Richard (2000). The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama Volume 2. National Film and Sound Archive. pp. 103–105.
11. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 24 November 1960. p. 39.
12. ^ "A Bride for a Duke". Sydney Morning Herald. 31 October 1960. p. 13.
13. ^ "Newcomer in Fry Comedy". The Age. 24 November 1960. p. 29.
14. ^ "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.

## External links

[edit]

* ​Venus Observed​ at the Internet Broadway Database
* Venus Observed 1960 Australian TV production at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

TV productions of Alan Burke

Dramas|

* A Fourth for Bridge (1957)
* A Rose Without a Thorn (1958)
* His Excellency (1958)
* The Skin of Our Teeth (1959)
* Misery Me (1959)
* Wuthering Heights (1959)
* The Slaughter of St Teresa's Day (1960)
* Farewell, Farewell, Eugene (1960)
* Venus Observed (1960)
* The Emperor Jones (1960)
* A Little South of Heaven (1961)
* The Merchant of Venice (1961)
* A Night Out (1961)
* The Taming of the Shrew (1962)
* My Three Angels (1962)
* The Young Victoria (1963)
* A Dead Secret (1963)
* The Tempest (1963)
* The Harp in the South (1964)
* Rusty Bugles (1965)
* Macbeth (1965)
* Dark Corridor (1965)
* The Prowler (1966)
* Antarctic Four (1966)
* The Survivor (1972)
* Redheap (1972)
* The Cousin from Fiji (1972)
* A Curate in Bohemia (1972)
* Dust or Polish? (1972)
* Halfway to Nowhere (1972)
* Essington (1974)
* Hamlet (1974)
* Ride on Stranger (1979)
* Coralie Lansdowne Says No (1980)
* A Toast to Melba (1980)
* Big Toys (1980)
* Departmental (1980)
* The Department (1980)
* Rusty Bugles (1981)
* A Hard God (1981)
* Going Home (1981)
* Jonah (1982)
* The Dean Case (1983)
* The Amorous Dentist (1983)
* A Halo for Athuan (1984)
* Kindred Spirits (1984)
* The Schippan Mystery (1984)
* Who Killed Hannah Jane? (1984)
* Rooted (1985)
* After Marcuse (1988)
* The Alien Years (1988)

Operas|

* Prima Donna (1959)
* Rita (1959)
* Cavalleria rusticana (1959)
* The Marriage of Figaro (1960)
* The Medium (1960)
* The Abduction from the Seraglio (1961)
* La Boheme (1961)
* Don Pasquale (1962)

Ballet|

* The Tell-Tale Heart (1961)

Musicals|

* Pardon Miss Westcott (1959) (writer only)
* Lola Montez (1962)
* The Sentimental Bloke (1976)

Authority control databases: National |

* Germany

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template