"A Small Wonder" is the 29th

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 hav ...

''. "A Small Wonder" was written by Jeff Underhill and directed by James Davern 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 31 October 1966 in Sydney and Melbourne. and 7 November 1966 in Brisbane.

Plot

George is spending his wedding night with Evelyn. Marriage has come late in life to him, and not under the happiest circumstances, as the woman is pregnant. He has gone to a great deal of trouble to create the right atmosphere, but his bride remains silent. He talks for over 20 minutes. Evelyn says she loves him.

Cast

Noel Ferrier Noel Ferrier AM (20 December 193016 October 1997) was an Australian television personality, comedian, stage and film actor, raconteur and theatrical producer. He was a regular panelist in Graham Kennedy's popular game show '' Blankety Blanks ...

as George Fisher * Fay Kelton as Evelyn Fisher * Joe James

Production

The production marked Noel Ferrier's return to television after an absence, and was his first performance for ABC-TV. It was shot in Melbourne.

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 "the script was only a placegetter, but" Noel Ferrier's performance was a "winner." ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territo ...

'' thought the reveal of the girl's pregnancy should happen earlier. ''

The Bulletin Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...

'' wrote that "Noel Ferrier, as an uneasy husband who has done the right thing by a girl he imagines must think he is a bad bargain, acts out his psycho-drama while the girl sits and says nothing. After 27 minutes of this she tells him she loves him madly, he says it’s a small wonder. Slow fade. The real wonder was that anyone, probably only me, was still there for the dramatic climax."

References

External links

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