Small Town (radio play)

Small Town is a 1946 Australian radio play by Kathleen Carroll. It won a £50 prize as one of the two runners-up in the Lux Radio Theatre Play Competition. She was inspired to write it after visiting an old mining town.[1]

Small Town
Genredrama play
Running time60 mins (8:00 pm – 9:00 pm)
Country of originAustralia
Language(s)English
Written byKathleen Carroll
Original releaseJune 16, 1946 (1946-06-16)

The play was one of the most regarded Australian radio plays of the 1940s.[2]

The Sydney Tribune said "It is to be hoped that this play will be heard again soon."[3]

The play was produced again in 1952 by the ABC.[4][5] One listener of this production felt the script was "brutally massacred from beginning to end. With the exception of a few minor characters... the performances were obviously amateurish and distinctly bad, lacking in all conviction. The production was also amateurish and distinctly bad."[6]

Premise

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A doctor's wife, Gay, longs to escape the small mining town of Brampton. Her husband helps out during a mining disaster.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "City Noises Aid Writer", ABC Weekly, 8 (22), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 15 June 1946, retrieved 12 October 2023 – via Trove
  2. ^ Rees, Leslie (1953). Towards an Australian Drama. p. 147.
  3. ^ "FINE RADIO PLAY ON MINING TOWN". Tribune. No. 224. New South Wales, Australia. 21 June 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 12 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Plays and Players". The Sun. No. 13320. New South Wales, Australia. 17 October 1952. p. 10 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 12 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Radio plays ABC", ABC Weekly, 14 (19), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 10 May 1952, retrieved 12 October 2023 – via Trove
  6. ^ "Play Production", ABC Weekly, 14 (24), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 14 June 1952, retrieved 12 October 2023 – via Trove
  7. ^ "Radio Plays – Small Town", ABC Weekly, 8 (22), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 15 June 1946, retrieved 12 October 2023 – via Trove
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