| Image Upright: | 1.0 |
| Director: | William Sterling |
| Starring: | Keith Michell Googie Withers |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Runtime: | Part 1 - 35 mins Part 2 - 35 mins |
| Company: | ABC |
| Released: | (Part 1 - Melbourne)[1] |
| Released2: | (Part 2 - Sydney),[2] |
| Released3: | (Part 2 - Melbourne) |
The First 400 Years is a 1964 Australian television play. It was filmed in Adelaide. The stars were performing in the play around Australia for JC Williamsons.[3] [4]
It screened in two parts.[5]
A collection of scenes from the plays of William Shakespeare.
Part One was more comic consisting of:[6]
Part two was more serious consisting of:
The show was based on a play directed by Raymond Westwell for J.C. Williamsons. It premiered in Melbourne on 23 April 1964, the 400th anniversal of Shakespeare's birth.[7]
"What a profligate waste of costumes," wrote Column 8 in Sydney Morning Herald.[8]
It was rehearsed and filmed in one day and the ABC's studios in Adelaide. Sterling said "Fortunately the stage production was almost ideal for TV> I tried to place the cameras in such a way that there was very little adjustment of movement and although the studio was smaller than the stage acting area, the production transposed well."[9]
The Sunday Sydney Morning Herald reviewer said it "lit up the screen... these couple of superb artists in action. My only complaint is that 30 minutes was not long enough."[10]
One viewer called it "dull, flat and unprofitable."[11]