Venus Observed


Venus Observed is a play in blank verse by the English dramatist and poet Christopher Fry. It was first performed on 18 January 1950 at the St James's Theatre, London, and ran for 229 performances with the following cast:
Scenes:
Olivier's production opened on 13 February 1952 at the New Century Theatre on Broadway, where it ran for 86 performances. A new cast was headed by Rex Harrison as the Duke and his then wife Lilli Palmer as Perpetua.

1957 British TV Adaptation

The play was broadcast on British TV as an ITV Play of the Week in 1957, with John Robinson as the Duke and Frances Rowe as Rosabel.

1960 Australian TV Adaptation

The play was adapted for Australian TV in 1960. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.
It was directed by Alan Burke who had directed a stage production at the Arrow Theatre in Melbourne in 1952.

Cast

The critic for The Sydney Morning Herald called Venus Observed a "a pleasantly competent piece of work... a production rich in setting, with exactly the right kind of faded spaciousness you would expect in such a household.... It will be good to see more productions of this calibre.