y separately published work icon Night of the Ding-Dong single work   drama   humour   - Three acts
Issue Details: First known date: 1954... 1954 Night of the Ding-Dong
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Ralph Peterson's second play, dating from 1954, Night of the Ding Dong is a comedy set in Adelaide just after the Crimean War, when the locals feared a Russian invasion.

Adaptations

form y separately published work icon The Night of the Ding Dong Ralph Peterson , ( dir. John Nelson-Burton ) United Kingdom (UK) : ITV , 1958 8134775 1958 single work film/TV historical fiction

A review of this production in the Times notes:

The setting is Adelaide in the eighteen seventies. The placid community there are becoming slightly inflamed by the whiff of jingoism from the home country. The hero–a schoolmaster–is firmly turned down as a suitor for the hand of a colonel's daughter. No: education must give way to defence. The colonel's big chance comes when a Russian gunboat is rumoured to be lurking round the coast; supported by a politician, a newspaper editor, and a building contractor he sets about whipping up public enthusiasm for a standing army.

'The solitary gunboat is magnified into a whole flotilla, and slogans such as "Arm for peace and prosperity" begin to engage the community in industrious preparation which sweeps the financial speculators towards wealth and the colonel towards an eminence far above his position at the head of a Saturday afternoon cadet force.

'There is no savagery in this satire; and what follows is pure farce. The alarm sounds one night and the army march off to do battle, only to find that they have been mistakenly alerted and that during their absence they have been legislated out of existence.'

Source:

'Night of the Ding-Dong', The Times, 3 February 1958, p.12.

form y separately published work icon The Night of the Ding Dong Australia : Australian Broadcasting Commission , 1961 8133584 1961 single work film/TV historical fiction

An adaptation of Ralph Peterson's play in which, in the wake of the Crimean War, Adelaide locals fear invasion from a Russian warship.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

First known date: ca. 1954
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Plays of the 50s [Volume One] Katharine Brisbane (editor), Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2007 Z1372257 2007 anthology drama Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2007
      .
      Extent: 82p.
      Description: Typescript (carbon copy)
      (Manuscript) assertion

      Holdings

      Held at: University of Queensland University of Queensland Library Fryer Library
      Local Id: H1358

Works about this Work

Ten Old Australian Plays Worthy of Another Look Stephen Vagg , 2023 single work essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 6 March 2023;
Solo Performance Robert Ward , 1966 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 1 October vol. 88 no. 4517 1966; (p. 49)

— Review of Night of the Ding-Dong Ralph Peterson , 1954 single work drama
Rush to the Colors Phillip Adams , 1966 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 20 August vol. 88 no. 4511 1966; (p. 52-53)

— Review of Night of the Ding-Dong Ralph Peterson , 1954 single work drama
Happy Marriage Madeleine Haydon , 1966 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 10 September vol. 88 no. 4514 1966; (p. 43)

— Review of Barbara Mona Brand , 1969 single work drama ; Night of the Ding-Dong Ralph Peterson , 1954 single work drama
Happy Marriage Madeleine Haydon , 1966 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 10 September vol. 88 no. 4514 1966; (p. 43)

— Review of Barbara Mona Brand , 1969 single work drama ; Night of the Ding-Dong Ralph Peterson , 1954 single work drama
Rush to the Colors Phillip Adams , 1966 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 20 August vol. 88 no. 4511 1966; (p. 52-53)

— Review of Night of the Ding-Dong Ralph Peterson , 1954 single work drama
Solo Performance Robert Ward , 1966 single work review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 1 October vol. 88 no. 4517 1966; (p. 49)

— Review of Night of the Ding-Dong Ralph Peterson , 1954 single work drama
Ten Old Australian Plays Worthy of Another Look Stephen Vagg , 2023 single work essay
— Appears in: FilmInk , 6 March 2023;
Last amended 3 Dec 2014 12:11:40
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