The Girl with the Tattered Glove is a 1938 Australian radio play by Edmund Barclay. It was one of Barclay's most highly regarded works.[2] In 1950 Barclay said "I do not think it is my best play, but there is no doubt of its popularity." [3]
 Wireless Weekly 25 Nov 1939 | |
| Genre | drama |
|---|---|
| Running time | 60 mins (8:00 pm – 9:00 pm) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Written by | Edmund Barclay |
| Original release | 29 March 1938[1] |
The play was inspired by the painting of the same name.[4][5]
It made its debut in 1938 and was so popular it was repeated later that year[6] and in 1939. In 1940 an article said it had been produced more than any other Australian radio play.[7] The ABC produced it for Drama Week in 1941[8] where it was judged a favourite by a Listener Poll.
The play was performed again in 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948[9] and 1951, as one of a series of Australian plays for Australia's Jubilee.[10]
The play was described as "a tragedy of little things, in which the author has tried to demonstrate the old truth, that real, human drama is not dependent upon catastrophe or great adventure, but that it is inherent in everyday life, and in everyday people."[11]
The Melbourne Advocate said the play "has just the right artistic ending, which is not without a suggestion of O. Henry. This is difficult to achieve, but in this play it is well done."[12]
The Age called a 1948 production "first class... gave us a slight enough story, but every word was Intelligible and the loss of stage and scenery did not matter. That is how all broadcast plays should be."[13]
Premise
editAccording to ABC Weekly it told "the story of a girl, a natural aristocrat, who escapes from her own vulgar domestic setting and becomes the model for a rising portrait painter, Arthur Gride... Though in general Arthur Gride is part of a fashionably arty set, he soon falls in love with Mary, whose inward as well as outward beauty has inspired him to paint the picture of his life and the "art sensation of the year." There is sadness behind the face he portrays."[14]
References
edit- ^ "Wednesday March 29", Wireless Weekly, March 29, 1939, retrieved 30 January 2024 – via Trove
- ^ "The Girl with the Tattered Glove", Wireless Weekly, vol. 36, no. 18, May 3, 1941, retrieved 31 August 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "Authors' View on Drama", ABC Weekly, 30 December 1950, retrieved 30 January 2024 – via Trove
- ^ "A Barclay Play". Macleay Argus. No. 6703. 26 April 1938. p. 5. Retrieved 31 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Play Inspired By Painting", Wireless Weekly, vol. 34, no. 36, November 25, 1939, retrieved 31 August 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "ABC Radio plays for August". The Telegraph (2nd ed.). Brisbane. 30 July 1938. p. 17. Retrieved 31 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Playwrights of Australia - Writers Historical Plays", Wireless Weekly, vol. 35, no. 40, October 5, 1940, retrieved 31 August 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "A.B.C. Drama Week". Shepparton Advertiser. No. 232. 2 May 1941. p. 8. Retrieved 31 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Week in Wireless". The Age. No. 28926. 10 January 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 31 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Radio Plays for Next Week A.B. C. Jubilee Productions of Radio Plays Both Old and New", ABC Weekly, vol. 12, no. 52, 30 December 1950, retrieved 31 August 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "Thursday May 5", Wireless Weekly, vol. 31, no. 17, April 29, 1938, retrieved 31 August 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "Turning St. George Into a Dragon". Advocate. Vol. LXXIV, no. 4578. 15 May 1941. p. 9. Retrieved 30 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Week in Wireless". The Age. No. 28926. 10 January 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 30 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Radio Plays for Next Week A.B. C. Jubilee Productions of Radio Plays Both Old and New", ABC Weekly, 30 December 1950, retrieved 30 January 2024 – via Trove