The Problem of Johnny Flourcake is a 1949 Australian radio feature by Ralph Peterson. It was written in verse.
| Genre | feature |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 mins (9:00 pm – 9:30 pm) |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | 2BL |
| Syndicates | ABC |
| Written by | Ralph Peterson |
| Directed by | Neil Hutchison |
| Narrated by | Allan Trevor |
| Recording studio | Sydney |
| Original release | August 20, 1949 |
The play was acclaimed and the ABC presented it again in March 1950 with the lead role played by Anthony Quayle, then touring Australia in a play.[1][2] This established a relationship between Peterson and Quayle that proved crucial when Quayle helped Peterson's play The Square Ring be produced.[3]
Premise
edit"The birth of an aboriginal boy, his growth and education at a mission school, and the trials and tribulations which beset him as an adolescent and young adult."[4]
Reception
editAccording to Smith's Weekly, "Always directly personal, the narration touched on the misery and terror endured by Johnny's fore fathers, the callous treatment of his black brethren of to-day, and the diminishing future of corruption or neglect. AH this was related in the most lucid story form, with a single narrator leading us past successive moments of drama. Most of the verse was direct and simple, and the dramatic episodes were economically brief."[5]
The Sun called it "one of the most moving and beautifully-written scripts yet heard in local radio."[6]
The Daily Telegraph reviewer "hoped" the play "was the last word — or the last 20,000 words — on this sad topic."[7]
References
edit- ^ "Shakespearian Actor for Aboriginal Story". The Age. No. 29, 564. Victoria, Australia. 27 January 1950. p. 3 (The Age Radio Supplement). Retrieved 22 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Shakespearian Actor As Narrator", ABC Weekly, 12 (4), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 28 January 1950, nla.obj-1448110983, retrieved 22 November 2023 – via Trove
- ^ "Sydney Writer's London Stage Hit". The Sunday Herald (Sydney). No. 196. New South Wales, Australia. 26 October 1952. p. 12. Retrieved 22 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Aboriginal Story In Free Verse". The Age. No. 29425. Victoria, Australia. 18 August 1949. p. 1 (The Age Radio Supplement). Retrieved 22 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "On The Air sponsors--please spare that child!". Smith's Weekly. Vol. XXXI, no. 28. New South Wales, Australia. 10 September 1949. p. 22. Retrieved 22 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Sydney Diary". The Sun. No. 12643. New South Wales, Australia. 19 August 1949. p. 13 (Late Final Extra). Retrieved 22 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Around the Dial". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XIX, no. 38. New South Wales, Australia. 5 May 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 22 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.