| The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin | |
| Premiere: | 1976 |
| Place: | Nimrod Theatre |
| Orig Lang: | English |
The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin is a "one-hander" play by Australian playwright, author and singer Steve J. Spears (1951 – 2007). It premiered at the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney, Australia in 1976. The performance has been described as a high point of the career of Australian actor Gordon Chater.[1]
Spears wrote that, as a television actor in his twenties, he was so nervous that he mumbled all his lines. He went to an elocution teacher, "a sweetheart.. but a very eccentric sort of lady", who treated him like her other pupils, all children.[2]
"Eventually... the thought struck me, I'll write a play about a female elocution teacher, and this poor snook about 25, sort of entrapped by this mad old lady... Then I decided to make it a bloke, a transvestite, and Benjamin happened."[2]
A single actor plays "Robert O'Brien", an outwardly respectable elocution tutor based in a suburb of Melbourne.[3] The play begins with O'Brien walking on stage naked, describing the foibles of his students as he dresses. Revelations of his transvestitism and his obsession with a young, beautiful student, one "Benjamin Franklin" follow. He then reveals he is confined in a "mental institution".[3]
Elocution premiered at the Nimrod in 1976, with Gordon Chater playing O'Brien.[4] [5] The play toured within Australia with box office success.[6]
Elocution went on to become an international success,[7] touring three continents and winning international acclaim.[4]
In its Off-Broadway production in 1979, it won three Obie Awards: Chater as actor, Spears as playwright, and Richard Wherrett as director.[8]
A January 2002 revival starred John Wood, who was praised for his performance.[9] It was prepared by, and was to have been directed by, Richard Wherrett, who died on 7 December 2001.