Vaudeville feature on new TV series

Press, 15 November 1977, Page 19

Vaudeville feature on new TV series

South Pacific Television locks to be well on the way towards producing another family drama series as successful as “Hunter’s Gold.” A 13-part series about a troupe of vaudeville entertainers in the Depression has the same script-writer, Roger Simpson and director. Tom Parkinson, as “Hunter’s Gold.” The major drama production is based on the story of the Carters, a

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KEN COATES

family of three vaudeville entertainers touring the Coromandel area in the bleak Depression years. The producer, Roger Le Mesurier, says the story centres on the hopes and ambitions of Kitty, the young girl of the family. The story begins in Auckland, where the family’s performances in a theatre are cut short because the proprietors want to renovate the building for “moving pictures.” The family, consisting also of the father, who acts in the Victorian monologue style, and a son, Reggie, take to the road, and end up in mandel, where most of the story is set. “The series is aimed at the same family viewing audience as ‘Hunter’s Gold,’ but covers a broader canvas in its scope,’’ says Roger Le Mesurier. There will be scenes depicting Auckland in the Denression years, and when the troups hits the road, there will be sequences in the various towns visited. As well as the three members of the Carter family — the mother has died — there will be three other leading character roles, an ageing clown, a young Italian fire-eater and juggler, and a middleaged woman singer. Kitty is the central and motivating figure. The director and the producer of the new series are looking for a girl aged 14 or 15 to fill the part, and have been visiting schools, conducting an auditiontvpe workshop. “The girl we require should firstly be an excellent actress — that is the basic requirement,”

said Roger Le Mesurier. “She should also be able to sing and dance, or have potential for this. And she should be an appealing young girl, with plenty of talent.” He said that from audi= tions so far held, there appeared to be plenty of young girls available with the right sort of qualifications for the main role. “The problem will probably turn out to be choosing the right one from many who appear to be suitable,” he said. Any giris in the age group who have not had the chance of auditioning, and want to do so, should write to “Drama Department, South Pacific Television, P.O. Box 3819, Auckland 1.” Production of the series — which as yet has no name — will begin on February 13, and filming will take 17 weeks, in« eluding eight weeks in the Coromandel area.

There will be a large number of small, specialised minor parts, and many extras required. Viewers can expect to see the new programme towards the end of 1978. Production is due to be completed in June. South Pacific Television has high hopes that the series will sell overseas as successfully as “Hunter’s Gold.”