Waters of the Moon

1951 play by N. C. Hunter

Waters of the Moon is a 1951 stage play by N. C. Hunter which originally ran for two years at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from April 1951 to May 1953.[1][2] It was adapted into a 1961 TV play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This version was directed by Christopher Muir.[3][4] In 1978 it was revived at the Theatre Royal Haymarket with Ingrid Bergman as Helen Lancaster and Wendy Hiller, who had appeared in the original 1951 production, now playing the role of Mrs. Whyte.

It was also televised by ITV (H.M. Tennent for ATV) on 14 November 1956, in the Play of the Week strand[5] and by the BBC on 27 December 1959,[6] 24 December 1968[7] and 30 December 1983.[8]

## Cast (original West End stage - 1951)

[edit]

* Edith Evans as Helen Lancaster
* Sybil Thorndike as Mrs. Whyte
* Wendy Hiller as Evelyn Daly
* Directed by Frith Banbury[2]

## Cast (BBC Radio version - 1955)

[edit]

* Sonia Dresdel as Helen Lancaster
* Directed by Val Gielgud[9]

## 1961 Australian Television Version

[edit]

Waters of the Moon

Based on| play by N. C. Hunter
Written by| Wal Cherry
Directed by| Christopher Muir
Country of origin| Australia
Original language| English
Production
Running time| 60 mins
Production company| ABC
Original release
Network| ABC
Release| 19 April 1961 (1961-04-19) (Melbourne, live)[10][11]
Release| 28 June 1961 (1961-06-28) (Sydney)[12]
Release| 23 August 1961 (1961-08-23) (Brisbane)[13]

The play was adapted for Australian TV by the ABC. It was directed by Christopher Muir.[3][4]

### Premise

[edit]

A woman, Helen Lancaster, is caught in a house during a snowstorm and forced to spend time there with her husband and daughter.

Helen flirts with an Austrian, Julias.[14]

### Cast

[edit]

* Patricia Kennedy as Helen Lancaster
* Barbara Brandon as Mrs Whyte
* Kurt Ludeski as Julias Wintelhalter
* Leslie Pope as Evelyn Daly
* Robin Hardiman as John Daly
* Cyril Gardiner as Colonel Selby
* Agnes Dobson as Mrs Daly
* Myrtle Woods as Mrs Ashworth
* Jane Norris as Conetta Landi
* Michael Duffield as Robert Lancaster
* Ric Hutton
* Leonard Teale
* Anne Haddy
* Jack Ford
* James Workman

### Production

[edit]

It was Patricia Kennedy's first TV play since Black Limelight.[13]

## Cast (BBC Radio version - 1965)

[edit]

* Coral Browne as Helen Lancaster
* Virginia Maskell as Evelyn Daly[15]

## Cast (BBC1 version \- 1968)

[edit]

* Margaret Leighton as Helen Lancaster
* Vivien Merchant as Evelyn Daly
* Athene Seyler as Mrs. Whyte
* Kathleen Harrison as Mrs. Ashworth
* Michael Gwynn as Julius Winterhalter
* Roland Culver as Colonel Selby
* Produced by Cedric Messina
* Directed by Herbert Wise[7]

## Cast (BBC1 version - 1983)

[edit]

* Penelope Keith as Helen Lancaster
* Virginia McKenna as Mrs. Whyte
* Ronald Pickup as Julius Winterhalter
* Joan Sims as Mrs. Ashworth
* Richard Vernon as Colonel Selby
* Dilys Laye as Mrs. Daly
* Geoffrey Palmer as Robert Lancaster
* Lesley Dunlop as Evelyn Daly
* Phoebe Nicholls as Tonetta Landi
* Produced by Cedric Messina
* Directed by Piers Haggard[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Production of Waters of the Moon | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
2. ^ a b 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.
3. ^ a b "Pat Kennedy Heads Cast". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 June 1961. p. 11.
4. ^ a b Vagg, Stephen (18 February 2019). "60 Australian TV Plays of the 1950s & '60s". Filmink.
5. ^ The Kaleidoscope British Independent Television Drama Research Guide, 1955-2010, page 2653
6. ^ "Sunday-Night Theatre presents: Waters of the Moon". 27 December 1959. p. 13 - via BBC Genome.
7. ^ a b "Play of the Month presenting: Waters of the Moon". 24 December 1968. p. 25 - via BBC Genome.
8. ^ a b "Waters of the Moon". 30 December 1983. p. 98 - via BBC Genome.
9. ^ "Saturday-Night Theatre presents Sonia Dresdel in 'WATERS OF THE MOON'". 4 June 1955. p. 48 - via BBC Genome.
10. ^ "Advertisement". The Age. p. 44.
11. ^ "Comedy Recalls Successes of UK Actresses". The Age. 13 April 1961. p. 27.
12. ^ "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 June 1961. p. 12.
13. ^ a b "The boarding house crisis". TV Times. 17 August 1961. p. 16.
14. ^ "TV Guide". The Age. 13 April 1961. p. 35.
15. ^ "Saturday-Night Theatre". 27 March 1965. p. 12 - via BBC Genome.

## External links

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* Waters of the Moon at IMDb

* v
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* e

TV productions of Christopher Muir

TV plays|

* The Proposal (1957)
* Dark Brown (1957)
* Killer in Close-Up (1957)
* The Duke in Darkness (1957)
* Last Call (1958)
* Outpost (1959)
* Black Chiffon (1959)
* Antony and Cleopatra (1959)
* Till Death Do Us Part (1959)
* Dinner with the Family (1959)
* The Astronauts (1960)
* Uncle Martino (1960)
* Eye of the Night (1960)
* It's the Geography That Counts (1960)
* Waters of the Moon (1961)
* The First Joanna (1961)
* The Rivals (1961)
* Quiet Night (1961)
* Marriage Lines (1962)
* Martine (1961)
* Boy Round the Corner (1962)
* Fury in Petticoats (1962)
* The Teeth of the Wind (1962)
* She'll Be Right (1962)
* Man of Destiny (1963)
* A Piece of Ribbon (1963)
* The White Carnation (1963)
* The Physicists (1964)
* Six Characters in Search of an Author (1964)
* Luther (1964)
* Nude with Violin (1964)
* Everyman (1964)
* The Tower (1965)
* Boy with Banner (1966) (not screened)
* Topaze (1966)
* A Ride on the Big Dipper (1967)
* Shadow on the Wall (1968)
* The Party (1969)

Operas|

* Amahl and the Night Visitors (1957)
* Fidelo (1958)
* Albert Herring (1959)
* The Bartered Bride (1960)
* The Secret of Susannah (1961)
* Il Tabarro (1961)
* The Ambitious Servant Girl (1962)
* The Prodigal Son (1962)
* The Consul (1962)
* Bastien and Bastienne (1963)
* Simone Boccanegra (1963)
* Peter Grimes (1964)
* The Bloodless Sand (1964)
* Martha (1964)
* Carmen (1965)

Ballets|

* Giselle (1959)
* Ballet Studio (1959)
* The Nutcracker (1960)
* Coppelia (1960)
* The Bloodless Sand (1961)
* Sylvia (1961)
* Caranval (1961)
* The Spider's Banquet (1963)
* One in Five (1963)
* Robert Pomie Ballet (1963)
* Hans Christian Anderson (1963)
* The New Horizon (1964)
* The Fir Tree (1964)
* Seven Deadly Sins (1965)
* She (1967)

Feature film|

* Libido (1973)

TV series|

* Lucky Colour Blue (1975) (TV series)
* Andra (1976) (TV series)
* Golden Pennies (1985) (TV mini series)
* Great Expectations: The Untold Story (1988)

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