The First 400 Years

The First 400 Years is a 1964 Australian television play. It was filmed in Adelaide. The stars were performing in the play around Australia for JC Williamsons.[3][4]

The First 400 Years
Ad in The Age 3 Oct 1964
Written byWilliam Sterling
Directed byWilliam Sterling
StarringKeith Michell
Googie Withers
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running timePart 1 - 35 mins
Part 2 - 35 mins
Production companyABC
Release
Original releasePart 1–8 July 1964 (Melbourne)[1]
Part 2–7 July 1964 (Sydney),[2] 7 October 1964 (Melbourne)

It screened in two parts.[5]

Premise

A collection of scenes from the plays of William Shakespeare.

Part One was more comic consisting of:[6]

  • the wooing scene from Taming of the Shrew
  • Katherin's plea to the Royal Court in Henry VIII
  • the scene with Lance and his dog from Two Gentlemen of Verona
  • the church scene between Beatrice and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing.

Part two was more serious consisting of:

  • two scenes from The Merchant of Venice
  • the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet
  • the closing scene from Hamlet.

Cast

Original play

The show was based on a play directed by Raymond Westwell for J.C. Williamsons. It premiered in Melbourne on 23 April 1964, the 400th anniversal of Shakespeare's birth.[7]

"What a profligate waste of costumes," wrote Column 8 in Sydney Morning Herald.[8]

Production

It was rehearsed and filmed in one day and the ABC's studios in Adelaide. Sterling said "Fortunately the stage production was almost ideal for TV> I tried to place the cameras in such a way that there was very little adjustment of movement and although the studio was smaller than the stage acting area, the production transposed well."[9]

Reception

The Sunday Sydney Morning Herald reviwer said it "lit up the screen... these couple of superb artists in action. My only complaint is that 30 minutes was not long enough."[10]

One viewer called it "dull, flat and unprofitable."[11]

References
  1. "TV Guide". The Age. 7 October 1964. p. 18.
  2. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 6 July 1964.
  3. "TV adapts Shakespeare from stage". The Canberra Times. 38 (10, 893). Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 7 July 1964. p. 11. Retrieved 15 February 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Googie's Seven Roles". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 December 1964. p. 15.
  5. "Part 1 of the First 400 Years". The Age. 1 October 1964. p. 13.
  6. "TV Guide". The Age. 2 July 1964. p. 31.
  7. O'Neill, Josephine (5 April 1964). "Curtain Call". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 83.
  8. Granny (24 June 1964). "Column 8". p. 1.
  9. "The First 400 Years". The Age. 2 July 1964. p. 13.
  10. Marshall, Valda (12 July 1964). "TV Merry Go Round". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 90.
  11. "Producers and the Drama Cameras". The Age. 16 July 1964. p. 29.


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