Patricia Hooker
Patricia Hooker (17 February 1933 – 2001) was an Australian writer who worked extensively in England. She wrote for TV, radio and the stage.[1]
She wrote The Golden Road, the first play on British television that was both written by a woman and about a lesbian relationship.[2][3]
Biography[edit]
She grew up in the town of Port Lincoln in South Australia and trained as a stenographer.[4][5] She began writing in her spare time and her work began appearing in amateur theatres. She worked as a secretary at the Stevedoring Commission in Sydney and also as a court reporter.[6]
Hooker was working as a shorthand typist in a city office in 1959 when she wrote the story for The Little Woman at home in the evenings. She wrote it as a stage play and it was included in a night of one-act plays at the Genesian Theatre. To help it reach a wider audience, Patricia studied a book on TV technique and decided to revise the script as a TV play. The ABC produced it in 1961 by which time she was at the ABC as a script assistant.[7][8]
She moved to London in 1964 and worked as a court reporter as well as writing for TV and radio.
Select credits[edit]
- A Bird in a Gilded Cage (1957) – TV play
- The Little Woman (1961) – TV play
- Twilight of a Hero (1962) – radio play about King David's love for Absalom
- Poet's Corner (1962) - radio writer[9]
- Concord of Sweet Sounds (1963) – TV play[10] and adapted for radio
- George (1964) - lunch hour play from short story by Anthony West[11]
- A Season in Hell (1964) – TV play – later adapted for radio
- Man of Blood (1964) - play[12]
- The Winged Chariot (1967) - radio play about Socrates
- The Lotus Eaters (1968) – play[13]
- Counterstrike (1969) – TV series
- A Fit and Proper Person (1970) - TV play
- Kate (1971–73) - TV series
- Last Seen Wearing (1972) - radio play
- Harriets Back in Town (1972–73) - TV series
- Harriet's Back in Town (1973) – TV series
- Armchair Theatre - "The Golden Road" (1973) - TV play
- Crown Court (1973) - TV series
- The Beauty of the World (1973) - radio play
- Simon Fenton's Story (1973) - TV play
- "Going to St Ives" (1973) - TV play
- Six Days of Justice (1973–75) – TV series
- The Carnforth Practice (1974) – TV series
- Rooms (1975) – TV series
- Angels (1976) – TV series - episode "Off Duty"[14]
- The Gentle Touch (1980) – "Chance", "Rogue"
- Plays for Pleasure – "The Concubine" (1981) – Tv episode[15]
- Survival (1989) - radio play
- Right Ho Jeeves (1989) - radio play
- Seven Against Reeves (1989) - radio play
References[edit]
- ^ "Worth Reporting". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 28, no. 20. Australia. 19 October 1960. p. 22. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Edinburgh orders an Australian play". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 December 1967. p. 55.
- ^ billysmart (26 September 2013). "'Armchair Theatre: The Golden Road' (1973): Representing lesbianism in the 1970s". Spaces of Television.
- ^ "Port Lincoln Girl, 19 In Miss S.A. Quest". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 15 November 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "KITCHEN EVENING TENDERED MISS PATRICIA HOOKER". Port Lincoln Times. SA. 14 January 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Leisure TV Drama Music Art Books Radio The Arts". The Canberra Times. Vol. 40, no. 11, 370. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 January 1966. p. 15. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "STENOGRAPHER'S PLAY ACCEPTED". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 September 1961. p. 12.
- ^ "Classifieds". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 February 1963. p. 24.
- ^ "Radio Guide". The Age. 13 September 1962. p. 32.
- ^ "Sydney Writer's". The Canberra Times. 18 December 1963. p. 45. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Lunch Hour Play Opens the AMP Theatre". Sydney Morning Herald. 30 January 1964. p. 9.
- ^ "£1,000 award for play". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 May 1964. p. 13.
- ^ "Edinburgh orders an Australian play". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 December 1967. p. 106.
- ^ "The Guardian 29 Sep 1975, page 4". The Guardian. 29 September 1975. p. 4.
- ^ "TV Guide". The Guardian. 28 April 1981. p. 26.