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Billed as an Australian farcical comedy, Breakfast with Julia is set in Sydney's King's Cross. The action focuses on a United States lieutenant-commander who does his best to compromise a young married woman while her husband is away on a tropical expedition. When the husband returns he imagines that the mysterious comings and goings in his flat are hallucinations brought on by his recent trip. Complications, and additional humour, are provided by Conchita, a Latin American female intruder.
Notes
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The Melbourne critics were generally positive in their critique of the St Martin's production. The Age review records, for example : 'Sooner or later an Australian playwright was bound to emerge without a social conscience and a local accent. Burton Graham has the highly entertaining and wholly international comedy we have been waiting to see... it is a long time since I have seen one with such a wealth of comic detail' (ctd. Sydney Morning Herald 11 July 1964, p18). Although the Sydney Morning Herald's critic was less enthusiastic of the Phillip Theatre production, the review of that company's premiere nevertheless conceded that 'the author shows skill in moving his human dominoes round the board... Compared with Waltzing Matilda, another locally-written comedy set in Sydney and seen here recently, Breakfast with Julia might seem almost masterly (Sydney Morning Herald 30 July 1964, p6).
Production Details
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1963 : St Martin's Theatre, Melbourne ; 27 November - Dir. Irene Mitchell. Cast: Marie Redshaw, Terry Norris, Julia Blake, Ian Boyce.
1964 : Phillip Theatre (q.v), Sydney ; 29 July - 12 September. Dir. Irene Mitchell ; Prod. Phillip Productions in association with Garnet H. Carroll (by arrangement with St Martin's Theatre Co Ltd). Cast: James Condon, Marie Redshaw, Glenna Brydon, James Mellen.
There have been later productions in other Australian states. It was also given an English provincial tour in the mid-1960s, but this did not fare well . A West German production toured extensively in 1966 (Companion to Theatre in Australia, q.v., p97-98).
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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'Breakfast with Julia' at the Phillip
1964
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 30 July 1964; (p. 6)
— Review of Breakfast with Julia 1963 single work dramaReview of the 1964 Phillip Theatre, Sydney, production, beginning 29 July.
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'Breakfast with Julia' at the Phillip
1964
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 30 July 1964; (p. 6)
— Review of Breakfast with Julia 1963 single work dramaReview of the 1964 Phillip Theatre, Sydney, production, beginning 29 July.
