The Problem of Johnny Flourcake
| 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 Problem of Johnny Flourcake is a 1949 Australian radio feature by Ralph Peterson. It was written in verse.
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[edit]
According 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.