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form y separately published work icon The First Joanna single work   radio play  
Adaptation of The First Joanna : A Play in Three Acts Dorothy Blewett , 1943 single work drama
First known date: 1948 Issue Details: First known date: 1948... 1948 The First Joanna
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Set in post-World War II South Australia, the homecoming of the second Joanna is soured by the close-knit and guarded Deveron family. Feeling as if she can’t connect with the present, and questioning her reasons for staying, Joanna turns to the past after discovering a set of diaries from her husband's grandmother, the first Joanna. The dairies reveal the skeletons in the Deveron family’s closet. They also help her decide her future.

Exhibitions

Notes

  • The first radio broadcast featured British actress Jane Barrett as both Joannas and Australian actor Max Osbiston as both Stevens. Barrett had only recently arrived in the country, having been cast opposite Chips Rafferty in the film Eureka Stockade.

Production Details

  • 1948: ABC Radio National, 24 January.

    • Broadcast on relay from Sydney station 2FC.
    • Cast included Jane Barrett (1st and 2nd Joanna), Max Osbiston (1st and 2nd Steven), Mary Hosking.

    1948: ABC Radio National; 29 March.

    • Broadcast on relay from Melbourne station 3LO.
    • Cast included: Patricia Kennedy (1st Joanna), Margaret Mouchmore (2nd Joanna), Williams Lloyd.

    1949: ABC Radio National, 12 May (excerpts only).

    • Broadcast on relay from Melbourne station 3LO.
    • Performed by members of the Perth Repertory Company.

    1951: ABC Radio National, 6 May.

    • Producer Robert Montgomery
    • Cast included: Reginald Goldsworthy, Lyndall Barbour, Paul McNatighton, and Marjorie Holt

    1956: 2GB & 4BH, 29 January. At the Caltex Theatre, Melbourne.

    • Producer E. Mason Wood
    • Cast: Dinah Shearing - the first Joanna; Pamela Page - the second Joanna; Richard Davies - Stephen; Joe McCormick - Halley; Neva Carr Glyn - Aunt Editha; Madge Ryan - Aunt Viola; Laurel Mather - Mrs Collins and Lady Tavener. 

    Source: ABC Weekly January 28, 1956. p. 21.)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Works about this Work

National Station Gets Jane Barrett on Exclusive Contract 1948 single work
— Appears in: Radio Times , 1 February 1948;

English filmstar Jane Barrett under exclusive contract to the ABC radio. Barrett plays the role of 'Joanna'.

Three with Jane Barrett : Film Star's A.B.C Appearances 1948 single work
— Appears in: ABC Weekly , 17 January 1948; (p. 2)
Big Film Plans Will Aid Radio : Leading Artists Coming 1948 single work column
— Appears in: The Listener In , 17 January 1948;
Girl Wrote Prize Play It Was Accident Barbara Tunbridge , 1948 single work
— Appears in: The Melbourne Sun , 23 January 1948;

Barbara Tunbridge provides brief insight into Dorothy Blewett's background as an emerging playwright, her current fulltime employment and The First Joanna as both a stage and radio play.

Some Successful Dramas 1948 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 31 January 1948; (p. 7)
National Station Gets Jane Barrett on Exclusive Contract 1948 single work
— Appears in: Radio Times , 1 February 1948;

English filmstar Jane Barrett under exclusive contract to the ABC radio. Barrett plays the role of 'Joanna'.

Girl Wrote Prize Play It Was Accident Barbara Tunbridge , 1948 single work
— Appears in: The Melbourne Sun , 23 January 1948;

Barbara Tunbridge provides brief insight into Dorothy Blewett's background as an emerging playwright, her current fulltime employment and The First Joanna as both a stage and radio play.

Some Successful Dramas 1948 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 31 January 1948; (p. 7)
Three with Jane Barrett : Film Star's A.B.C Appearances 1948 single work
— Appears in: ABC Weekly , 17 January 1948; (p. 2)
Big Film Plans Will Aid Radio : Leading Artists Coming 1948 single work column
— Appears in: The Listener In , 17 January 1948;
Last amended 12 May 2020 08:28:02
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