''Captain Carvallo'' is a traditional comedy play in three acts by Denis Cannan, telling the story of a philandering young army officer, Captain Carvallo. The comedy was an immediate success when it opened at the St. James Theatre on 9 August 1950, as the second production under Sir

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

's management. A television production of the play was broadcast on the BBC the following year, with

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British-American actor best known for his breakthrough role as secret agent John Steed in the television series ''The Avengers (TV series), The Avengers'' (1961–1969). Starting out ...

in the lead. Cannan adapted the play himself for a

Rediffusion Rediffusion was a business that distributed radio and TV signals through wired relay networks. The business gave rise to a number of other companies, including Associated-Rediffusion, later known as Rediffusion London, the first ITV (TV network ...

production later that decade. In 1988 the play was revived at the Greenwich Theatre. A version aired on Australian television in 1958.

Plot

Smila Darde, wife of Caspar Darde, a farmer and lay preacher who is also a partisan, is asked for billet Captain Carvallo, an enemy officer. Her husband and his fellow partisan, Professor Winke, a biologist, are commanded to kill Carvallo but they discover they like him too much.

Original production

The play was first tried out in March 1950 at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

, where Cannan was acting at the time. A few months later, Laurence Olivier boldly restaged the play – billed as a "traditional comedy" – at the St James's theatre in London, with James Donald in the lead role, opposite Diana Wynyard. It was a great success, although Cannan preferred the Bristol production. "His play shimmers with ideas wittily juxtaposed, and it is funnier than the Crazy Gang", wrote the critic

Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley, near Rotherham, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield ...

Original cast (St. James Theatre, 1950)

1958 Australian TV version

It was the first "live" play produced from the new studios of the A.B.C. in Melbourne, which had opened on 21 May 1958.

Cast

* Neil Fitzpatrick as Carvallo * Mary Ward * Syd Conabere * Frank Gatliff

Production

The play had been performed in theatres in Australia in the early 1950s. It had been performed on Australian radio in 1957 with

Ray Barrett Raymond Charles Barrett (2 May 19278 September 2009) was an Australian actor. During the 1960s, he was a leading actor on British television, where he was best known for his appearances in '' The Troubleshooters'' (1965–1971). From the 1970s, ...

and Gordon Glenwright. It was the first presentation at the ABC's new studio at Rippon Lea, Melbourne. At that point, the ABC were using a small studio at Rippon Lea and telecasting its bigger productions from Coppin Hall. A third studio at Rippon Lea would be open in September.

References

{{William Sterling 1950 plays Plays by Denis Cannan 1951 television plays Australian films based on plays 1958 Australian television plays Television plays directed by William Sterling (director)