The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin
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| The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Steve J. Spears |
| Date premiered | 1976 |
| Place premiered | Nimrod Theatre |
| Original language | 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]
