The Starlit Valley is a 1940 Australian radio play by Catherine Shepherd.
| Genre | drama play |
|---|---|
| Running time | 60 mins |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| Written by | Catherine Shepherd |
| Original release | 2 June 1940 |
It was the first play produced in a 1940 ABC Play Competition by the ABC.[1][2][3]
The play was produced again in 1953. Rod Taylor starred in this production.[4]
Reception
editReviewing the 1953 production The Age said "There was plenty of scope for good drama but the whole thing petered out most miserably when the girl, who was no better than she should have been, ran away with some bushrangers and the disillusioned" young man responded to the pleadings of his brother- to return to England."[5]
ABC Weekly said "we seemed set for a romantic tale of gallantry and love, but the journey (or was it the pious atmosphere of Hobart Town?), transformed the hero into a sanctimonious and weakly poetic missionary whom no girl, honest or otherwise, could have put up with for five minutes. So she set fire to the property and ran off with a bush-ranger, and uy best wishes went with her."[6]
Premise
editAccording to ABC Weekly, "Robert Clare is an English younger son, an idealist with a sensitive eye for beauty. At the country home of the elder brother Stephen he sees a girl standing in a garden with a sheaf of daffodils in her arms. She is Harriet Barnes, governess in the home, and to Robert she is the epitome of loveliness and innocence. He returns later on from the Continent to find she has been transported to Van Diemen’s Land. Love and indignation make him deaf to advice; he resolves to follow her, to make up to her for everything she has suffered, to marry her. It is an idyllic plan, but does not allow for the possibility that Harriet may have different ideas."[4]
References
edit- ^ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (18 May 1940), "Federal Controller's Hints For Judging ABC Competition Plays", ABC Weekly, nla.obj-1370445070, retrieved 28 January 2024 – via Trove
- ^ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (5 October 1940), "A.B.C. 1940 Play Competition", ABC Weekly, nla.obj-1309210925, retrieved 28 January 2024 – via Trove
- ^ Australasian Radio Relay League. (October 5, 1940), "Farwell Wins Play Contest Entry Was Not Most Popular With A.B.C. Listeners", The Wireless Weekly: The Hundred per Cent Australian Radio Journal, nla.obj-720726725, retrieved 28 January 2024 – via Trove
- ^ a b Australian Broadcasting Commission. (26 September 1953), "Radio plays for next week", ABC Weekly, nla.obj-1549796439, retrieved 28 January 2024 – via Trove
- ^ "A Time to Make Programmes More Attractive". The Age. No. 30716. Victoria, Australia. 10 October 1953. p. 18. Retrieved 28 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Australian Broadcasting Commission. (24 October 1953), "theatre DEBITS AND CREDITS...", ABC Weekly, Sydney: ABC, nla.obj-1549823551, retrieved 28 January 2024 – via Trove