''Catsplay'' is a Canadian drama television film, which was broadcast by
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
in 1978.
Gerald Pratley
Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...
, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 39. An adaptation of the novel ''Catsplay (Macskajáték)'' by
István Örkény
István György Örkény (5 April 1912, Budapest – 24 June 1979, Budapest) was a Hungarian writer whose plays and novels often featured grotesque situations. He was a recipient of the Kossuth Prize in 1973.
Biography
He was born to a wealthy ...
, the film was directed by Stephen Katz and written by
Timothy Findley
Timothy Irving Frederick Findley [Timothy Findley's]
entry in Helen Burns
Helen Burns (22 December 1916 – 23 July 2018) was a British actress mostly known for playing comedic roles. Burns is known for her performance in the 1993 production of ''The Last Yankee'' at the Duke of York's Theatre, for which she won a La ...
as Bela Orban, a woman living in Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, who is having a love affair with an opera singer (Jan Rubeš
Jan Ladislav Rubeš CM (6 June 1920 – 29 June 2009) was a Czech-Canadian bass opera singer and actor.
Life and career
Rubeš was born in Volyně, Czechoslovakia, to Ružena (née Kellnerová) and Jan Rubeš. Not long after World War II, ...
); meanwhile, her sister Giza (Doris Petrie
Doris Petrie (24 July 1918 – 21 August 2000) was a Canadian film and television actress, best known for her roles in the William Fruet films ''Wedding in White'' (1972) and ''Funeral Home'' (1980); and also the television series '' High Hopes'', ...
) is living a wealthier but sterile life on the other side of the Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
The cast also includes Frances Hyland
Frances Hyland (April 25, 1927 – July 11, 2004) was a Canadian stage, film and television actress. She earned recognition for roles on stage (including ten seasons with Stratford Festival) and screen (including her performance as Nanny Louisa ...
, Moya Fenwick, Angela Fusco
Angela Fusco (born 1944 in Toronto) is a Canadian actress.
Early life and education
She earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Toronto.
Career
The daughter of violinist Frank (Francesco) Fusco, she began her career as a ...
and Les Carlson
Les Carlson ( Leslie Merle Carlson; February 24, 1933 – May 3, 2014) was an American-Canadian film and television character actor who acted on stage in Canada, the U.S. and England. His films include the horror films '' Deranged'', '' Black Ch ...
.[Blaik Kirby, "Catsplay isn't simple". '']The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', February 22, 1978.
Burns also starred in stage productions of ''Catsplay'', directed by Lynne Meadow
Lynne Meadow is an American theatre producer, director and a teacher. She has been the artistic director of the Manhattan Theatre Club since 1972.
Career
A cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr, Meadow attended the Yale School of Drama. and translated by Clara Gyorgyey, for which she received a Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...
nomination for Best Actress in a Play in 1978.
The film was broadcast by the CBC in March 1978 as an episode of its anthology series ''Front Row Centre''.[
Burns won the ]Earle Grey Award The Earle Grey Award is the lifetime achievement award for television acting of the Canadian Screen Awards, and its predecessor the Gemini Awards. It can be presented to an individual or collaborative team (such as SCTV or Royal Canadian Air Farce) ...
for best television actor, and Fenwick was nominated for best supporting television actor,"Front-runners picked for ACTRA Awards"
''Montreal Star
''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike.
It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the dominan ...
'', March 24, 1979. at the