Balzac (radio play)
| Genre | Drama play |
|---|---|
| Running time | 60 mins (7:30 pm – 8:30 pm) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Hosted by | ABC |
| Written by | Catherine Shepherd |
| Directed by | Dion Wheeler |
| Original release | 14 August 1950 |
Balzac is a 1950 Australian radio play by Catherine Shepherd about the writer Balzac. It was one of a series of biographies on writers written by Shepherd.[1]
The play was commissioned by the ABC to commemorate the anniversary of Balzac's death. This was rare for the ABC.[2]
The play was produced again in 1952.[3]
The Age called it "a thoroughly artificial picture of the subject. Never once during the 60 minutes the play ran was one ever really convinced that Balzac was a genius with a place in the long succession of literary giants. No amount of subtlp acting could have created that illusion either."[4]
A review from the same paper of the 1952 production called it "good reporting rather than good art, put over by competent actors."[5]
Shepherd later adapted a Balzac novel The Miner's Daughter for radio in 1959.[6]
Premise[edit]
"Catherine Shepherd’s play is concerned with Balzac’s life in Paris, and with various women who played a great part in it: his mother, who hated him; his sister Laure and her friend, Zulma Carraud, who loved him dearly; and Madame de Hanska, the beautiful Russian woman whom he married shortly before his death."[7]
References[edit]
- ^ "A.B.C. Wants Australian Radio Play". South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus. Vol. LII, no. 76. New South Wales, Australia. 18 August 1952. p. 2 (feature section). Retrieved 21 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "How Radio is Catering for The Australian Play-lover", ABC Weekly, Sydney: ABC, 7 April 1951, nla.obj-1442950228, retrieved 21 February 2024 – via Trove
- ^ "RADIO PLAYS A.B.C.", ABC Weekly, Sydney: ABC, 28 June 1952, nla.obj-1665475485, retrieved 21 February 2024 – via Trove
- ^ "The Week in Wireless". The Age. No. 29, 738. Victoria, Australia. 19 August 1950. p. 12. Retrieved 21 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "THE WEEK IN WIRELESS--". The Age. No. 30, 322. Victoria, Australia. 5 July 1952. p. 12. Retrieved 21 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Talkabout", ABC Weekly, Sydney: ABC, 4 March 1959, nla.obj-1536781550, retrieved 21 February 2024 – via Trove
- ^ "The A.B.C. Will Broadcast These Plays Next Week...", ABC Weekly, Sydney: ABC, 12 August 1950, nla.obj-1505496274, retrieved 21 February 2024 – via Trove