"Daphne Laureola" is a 1965 Australian television play based on ''

Daphne Laureola ''Daphne laureola'', commonly called spurge-laurel, is a shrub in the flowering plant family Thymelaeaceae. Despite the name, this woodland plant is neither a spurge nor a laurel. Its native range covers much of Europe and extends to Algeria, M ...

'' by

James Bridie James Bridie (3 January 1888 in Glasgow – 29 January 1951 in Edinburgh) was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and physician whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor.Daniel Leary (1982) ''Dictionary of Literary Biography: ...

. It screened as part of ''

Wednesday Theatre ''Wednesday Theatre'' is a 1960s Australian anthology show which aired on the ABC. Many of the episodes were imported from the BBC. However a number of episodes were made locally. Episodes 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Wednesday Theatre ...

''. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. It was dedicated to Dame Edith Evans, who had played the part on stage.

Plot

A young Pole, Ernest, falls in love with the older, alcoholic Lady Pitts, when they meet in a London restaurant.

Cast

* Raymond Westwell as Sir Joseph Pitts *Terry Aldred as Lady Pitts * Edward Howell *Mark Albiston as Ernest *

Simon Chilvers Simon Chilvers is an Australian actor. He won for the 1986 AFI Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Mini Series for his role in ''The Dunera Boys''. He was nominated for the same award in 1988 for '' True Believers'' and for the ...

Sydney Conabere Sydney Leicester Conabere (8 July 191815 July 2008) was an Australian actor. He was notable for his work in theatre, film and television drama in a career spanning more than fifty years. In 1962 Conabere won the Logie award for Best Actor, for ...

*William King *

Elspeth Ballantyne Elspeth Ballantyne (born 20 April 1939) is an Australian retired actress, who appeared in productions in theatre, television and films over a career that spanned nearly 60 years, a veteran of the industry having started her career as a child ...

*Jeffrey Hodgson *Georgie Alcock *Wayne Maddern

Reception

The TV critic for the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' thought it was "the kind of play which, if anyone cares then, will be a period piece in 30 years' time... It is not a particularly good or compelling play and while it was given an excellent performance from the A.B.C. Melbourne studios... it emerged as pretty dated... ven though it was maderather unconvincingly contemporary." The play itself was described by critic Alan Riach as having 'Egalitarianism.. at the heart of this vision, but idealism may be just a liability.'

References

External links

''Daphne Laureola'' 1965 television play
at Austlit 1965 television plays 1965 Australian television episodes 1960s Australian television plays Wednesday Theatre (season 1) episodes {{tv-episode-stub