"The Empty Day" is the 22nd

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

episode of the first season of the Australian anthology television series ''

Australian Playhouse ''Australian Playhouse'' was an Australian anthology TV series featuring the work of Australian writers. It ran for two series consisting of 40 episodes. Among the featured productions were works by Pat Flower who was the main writer havi ...

''. "The Empty Day" was written by

Pat Flower Patricia Mary Byson Flower (23 February 1914 – 2 September 1977) was an English Australian writer of plays, television plays and novels. Biography She was born in Ramsgate, Kent, England and moved to Australia with her family in 1928. She or ...

and produced by

John Croyston John Croyston (7 March 1933 - 23 May 2007) was an Australian writer, radio producer and director. He studied at the University of Sydney and worked as a teacher before going on to work at the ABC. He was a radio producer at the ABC from 1958 to ...

and originally aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on 12 September 1966 in Sydney and Melbourne, and on 17 October 1966 in Brisbane.

Plot

Sixteen year old Jennifer, alone in her aunt's apartment, invites a strange man inside, believing him to be a friend of the family. They have too much to drink, the man attempts to seduce her, but recovers his manners.

Cast

Liza Goddard Louise Elizabeth Goddard (born 20 January 1950) professionally known as Liza Goddard, is an English television and stage actress, best known for her work in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Goddard was born in Smethwick, Staffordshire.Before 1 ...

as Jennifer * Stanley Walsh as the stranger

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' said Goddard's performance had "intensity, freshness and vigour" and said she was "ably partnered" by Stanley Walsh but thought the script did not make it "clear whether he was an alcoholic, a sex maniac or merely a stupid twerp." The Sunday ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' said "it was not Miss Flower's best effort by a long shot. In fact, its plot had enough holes to sink a battleship. The fact it didn't sink and sustained suspense was partly due to some crafty writing but mostly due to the performances in the cast." ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' said the play was "another triumph for" Goddard which "emphasised the fact that producers have to cast her in plays of high enough standard to do her justice. In the classics '' Point of Departure'' and ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & Roma ...

'', this young actress was challenged by the quality of the plays. The challenge in The Empty Day was to lift a tautly-written but improbable play... into tense reality."

References

External links

* * 1966 television plays 1960s Australian television plays 1966 Australian television episodes Australian Playhouse (season 1) episodes Works by Pat Flower {{tv-episode-stub