Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Venus Observed

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Directed by
  
Alan Burke

Release date
  
2 November 1960

First performance
  
18 January 1950

Country
  
Australia

Distributed by
  
ABC

Language
  
English

Playwright
  
Christopher Fry

Similar
  
Christopher Fry plays, Other plays

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:

Contents

  • 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

    • 1957 British TV Adaptation

    The play was filmed for British TV in 1957.

    1960 Australian TV Adaptation

    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.

    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.

    References

    Venus Observed Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA