''Patricia Hooker'' (17 February 1933 – 2001) was an Australian writer who worked extensively in England. She wrote for TV, radio and the stage. She wrote ''The Golden Road'', the first play on British television that was both written by a woman and about a lesbian relationship.

Biography

She grew up in the town of

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

in South Australia and trained as a stenographer. She began writing in her spare time and her work began appearing in amateur theatres. She worked as a secretary at the Stevedoring Commission in Sydney and also as a court reporter. Hooker was working as a shorthand typist in a city office in 1959 when she wrote the story for ''

The Little Woman ''The Little Woman'' is a 1961 Australian comedy TV play written by Patricia Hooker and broadcast on the ABC. It starred Sophie Stewart who had also been in the ABC's live play '' Fly by Night''. Plot In a plush suburb on Sydney's North Shore, ...

'' at home in the evenings. She wrote it as a stage play and it was included in a night of one-act plays at the Genesian Theatre. To help it reach a wider audience, Patricia studied a book on TV technique and decided to revise the script as a TV play. The ABC produced it in 1961 by which time she was at the ABC as a script assistant. She moved to London in 1964 and worked as a court reporter as well as writing for TV and radio.

Select credits

*''

A Bird in a Gilded Cage "A Bird in a Gilded Cage" is a song composed by Arthur J. Lamb and Harry Von Tilzer. It was a sentimental ballad (or tear-jerker) that became one of the most popular songs of 1900, reportedly selling more than two million copies in sheet music.R ...

'' (1957) – TV play *''

'' (1961) – TV play *''Twilight of a Hero'' (1962) – radio play about King David's love for Absalom *''Poet's Corner'' (1962) - radio writer *'' Concord of Sweet Sounds'' (1963) – TV play and adapted for radio *''George'' (1964) - lunch hour play from short story by Anthony West *''

A Season in Hell ''A Season in Hell'' (french: Une Saison en Enfer}) is an extended poem in prose written and published in 1873 by French writer Arthur Rimbaud. It is the only work that was published by Rimbaud himself. The book had a considerable influence ...

'' (1964) – TV play – later adapted for radio *''Man of Blood'' (1964) - play *''The Winged Chariot'' (1967) - radio play about Socrates *''The Lotus Eaters'' (1968) – play *'' Counterstrike'' (1969) – TV series *''A Fit and Proper Person'' (1970) - TV play *''Kate'' (1971–73) - TV series *''Last Seen Wearing'' (1972) - radio play *''Harriets Back in Town'' (1972–73) - TV series *''

Harriet's Back in Town ''Harriet's Back in Town'' is a 1972 British television series produced by Thames Television. The cast included Pauline Yates, William Russell, Edwin Richfield and Sally Bazely. The show featured a newly divorced woman (Harriet Preston, play ...

'' (1973) – TV series *''Armchair Theatre'' - "The Golden Road" (1973) - TV play *''Crown Court'' (1973) - TV series *''The Beauty of the World'' (1973) - radio play *''Simon Fenton's Story'' (1973) - TV play *"Going to St Ives" (1973) - TV play *''

Six Days of Justice ''Six Days of Justice'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays created by Thames Television and shown on ITV from 1972 to 1975, over four seasons of six episodes apiece. Synopsis As suggested by the series title, each se ...

'' (1973–75) – TV series *''

The Carnforth Practice ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1974) – TV series *''Rooms'' (1975) – TV series *''Angels'' (1976) – TV series - episode "Off Duty" *''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police off ...

'' (1980) – "Chance", "Rogue" *''

Plays for Pleasure Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

'' – "The Concubine" (1981) – Tv episode *''Survival'' (1989) - radio play *''Right Ho Jeeves'' (1989) - radio play *''Seven Against Reeves'' (1989) - radio play

References

External links

*
Patricia Hooker
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...

production of Pat Hooker's plays
at

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

Biographical information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooker, Patricia Australian women dramatists and playwrights 1933 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights Writers from South Australia People from Port Lincoln 20th-century Australian women writers