Ned Kelly (play)
Ned Kelly is a 1942 radio play by Douglas Stewart about the outlaw Ned Kelly. It was later adapted into a stage play.
Radio Play
The play was first produced as a radio play on the ABC, 21 June 1942.
Stage Play
It became a stage play presented by the Sydney University Dramatic Society, 14 October 1942.
It was performed in Melbourne in 1944.[1]
The stage version was professionally produced by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1956 with Leo McKern.[2]
1959 TV version
| Christopher Richards | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William Sterling |
| Produced by | William Sterling |
| Written by | Douglas Stewart |
| Based on | play by Douglas Stewart |
| Starring | Ken Goodlet |
Production company |
ABC |
Release date |
1959 (Melbourne) 26 January 1960 (Sydney) |
Running time | 75 mins |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
The play was adapted for Australian TV in 1959 by the ABC. It focused on two main events – the robbery at Jerilderie and the siege at the Glenrowan Hotel.
Cast
- Ken Goodlet as Ned Kelly
- Betty Kauffman
- Roland Redshaw
- John Godfrey as Steve Hart
- Alan Hopgood as Dan Kelly
- Syd Conabere as Joe Byrne
Production
It was filmed at ABC's Melbourne studios, with the scene of Kelly's capture shot on location at Glenrowan.[3]
Reception
The TV critic from the Sydney Morning Herald thought the production "did a disservice to Douglas Stewart's richly poetic and deeply probing play" in the adaptation "which, with the real meat of the play removed, dealt with very little except its bare skeleton." He complained several important speeches were removed and "the play lost its proper perspective" and that William Sterling's direction, "after a promising beginning, failed to bring off a number of all too tricky camera effects."[4]
References
- ↑ "Douglas Stewart's "Ned Kelly"". The Advocate. LXXVII, (4753). Melbourne. 4 October 1944. p. 20. Retrieved 22 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Home to play a wild colonial boy". The Australian Women's Weekly. 24, ([?]). 19 September 1956. p. 26. Retrieved 22 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ "Bob Hope Show from Alaska". Sydney Morning Herald. 25 January 1960. p. 12.
- ↑ "Ned Kelly Produced on ABN 2". Sydney Morning Herald. 27 January 1960. p. 11.
External links
- Ned Kelly 1960 TV play at AusStage</ref>
- Ned Kelly at IMDB
- Ned Kelly at AustLit
- Australian performances of the play at AusStage