Drive a Hard Bargain
| Drive a Hard Bargain | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Oriel Gray |
| Date premiered | October 1957 |
| Place premiered | Ballarat Civic Hall, Ballarat |
| Original language | English |
Drive a Hard Bargain is a 1957 Australian play by Oriel Gray.
It won a one act play competition in 1957 by the South Street Society.[1] Adjudicator Lindsay Browne of the Sydney Morning Herald called it "a delight to read for the vivacity of the plot, dialogue, Aussie humour and shrewd categorisation."[2] The play, along with two others, was presented in 1957 at South Street.[3]
The play was also filmed for Australian television by the ABC in 1964.
Leslie Rees called it "a very popular one-acter... As in other Oriel Gray plays, there was here a lack of sufficient dramatic clash to warm a potentially dramatic situation—but artifices of character and vivacity of bush dialogue carried the day for this sprightly modern moralityin-little."[4]
A written edition of the play was published by the Tasmanian Adult Education Board in 1958.
Premise[edit]
According to ABC Weekly, "The play is on a theme as old as literature, the Mephistophelean theme telling how the Devil in man’s disguise wanders the earth seeking to buy men’s souls. Kate Cleary, a middle-aged woman with great strength of character, runs a country pub with the help of her adopted daughter, Peggy. Peggy, a self-assured half-castc girl, is in love with a stockman. Whip."[5]
Radio adaptation[edit]
The work was adapted for Australian radio in 1958.[5]
Television adaptation[edit]
The play was filmed by the ABC in 1964. It was shot in Hobart, Tasmania and was directed by John Baldwin. It was the second television play filmed in Hobart; the first had been The Happy Journey in 1963.
Cast[edit]
- Junee Cornell as Kate Cleary
- Gilliam Hunter as Peggy
- Max Oldaker as Mr. Nicholas
- Joan Coombe as The Blonde
- Roger Triffitt as Whip O'Connor
- John Tyde as Bart
- Peter Dye as Geoff
References[edit]
- ^ "SUNDRY SHOWS Stage and Music", The Bulletin, 80 (4160), 4 Nov 1959, nla.obj-695718130, retrieved 21 January 2024 – via Trove
- ^ "Play awards at South Street". The Age. 17 September 1957. p. 3.
- ^ "Prize winning one act plays". The Age. 14 October 1957. p. 5.
- ^ Rees, Leslie (1987). Australian drama, 1970-1985 : a historical and critical survey. p. 313.
- ^ a b Australian Broadcasting Commission. (15 October 1958), "A.B.C. radio plays for the week", ABC Weekly, retrieved 21 January 2024 – via Trove
External links[edit]
- Drive a Hard Bargain at Ausstage
- Complete TV script at NAA
- Drive a Hard Bargain at IMDB
- Drive a Hard Bargain 1964 TV version at IMDB
 | This article on a play from the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1957 in theatre
- 1957 plays
- 1950s Australian plays
- Australian plays adapted for radio
- 1958 Australian radio dramas
- Plays by Oriel Gray
- Stage plays about Aboriginal Australians
- Radio plays about Aboriginal Australians
- 1964 Australian television plays
- Television plays filmed in Hobart
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation television plays
- 1950s play stubs