''Catsplay'' is a Canadian drama television film, which was broadcast by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

in 1978.

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 39. An adaptation of the novel ''Catsplay (Macskajáték)'' by

István Örkény István György Örkény (5 April 1912, Budapest – 24 June 1979, Budapest) was a Hungarian writer whose plays and novels often featured grotesque situations. He was a recipient of the Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize (, ) is a state-sponsored a ...

, the film was directed by Stephen Katz and written by

Timothy Findley Timothy Irving Frederick Findley, (October 30, 1930 – June 20, 2002) was a Canadian novelist and playwright.

. The film stars Helen Burns as Bela Orban, a woman living in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, who is having a love affair with an opera singer (

Jan Rubeš Jan Ladislav Rubeš Order of Canada, CM (6 June 1920 – 29 June 2009) was a Czechs, Czech-Canadians, Canadian bass (voice type), bass opera singer and actor. Life and career Rubeš was born in Volyně, Czechoslovakia, to Ružena (née Kel ...

); meanwhile, her sister Giza (

Doris Petrie Doris Petrie (24 July 1918 – 21 August 2000) was a Canadian film and television actress, best known for her roles in the William Fruet films '' Wedding in White'' (1972) and ''Funeral Home'' (1980); and also the television series '' High Hopes'', ...

) is living a wealthier but sterile life on the other side of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The cast also includes

Frances Hyland Frances Hyland (April 25, 1927 – July 11, 2004) was a Canadian stage, film and television actress. She earned recognition for roles on stage (including ten seasons with Stratford Festival) and screen (including her performance as Nanny Louisa ...

, Moya Fenwick, Angela Fusco and Les Carlson.Blaik Kirby, "Catsplay isn't simple". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', February 22, 1978. Burns also starred in stage productions of ''Catsplay'', directed by

Lynne Meadow Lynne Meadow is an American theatre producer, director and a teacher. She has been the artistic director of the Manhattan Theatre Club since 1972. Career A cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr, Meadow attended the Yale School of Drama.

and translated by Clara Gyorgyey, for which she received a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

nomination for Best Actress in a Play in 1978. The film was broadcast by the CBC in March 1978 as an episode of its anthology series ''Front Row Centre''. Burns won the

Earle Grey Award The Earle Grey Award is the lifetime achievement award for television acting of the Canadian Screen Awards, and its predecessor the Gemini Awards. It can be presented to an individual or collaborative team (such as SCTV or Royal Canadian Air Fa ...

for best television actor, and Fenwick was nominated for best supporting television actor,"Front-runners picked for ACTRA Awards"
''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English language, English-language Canada, Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950 ...

'', March 24, 1979. at the 8th ACTRA Awards in 1979.

References

{{Timothy Findley 1978 films 1978 drama films 1978 television films English-language Canadian films Canadian drama television films Canadian prison drama films CBC Television original films Works by Timothy Findley 1970s Canadian films