Fisher's Ghost

Fisher's Ghost is a 1960^[2] Australian operetta. It is based on the legend of Fisher's ghost which had previously inspired the 1924 film from Raymond Longford.^[3]

Fisher’s Ghost
Written by	John Gordon
Date premiered	29 September 1960
Place premiered	Sydney Teachers' College[1]
Genre	operetta

Operetta

The operetta was composed by John Gordon and was originally performed at Sydney Teachers' College on 29 September 1960.^[4] It was revised for television.^[5]

Douglas Stewart wrote a play based on the same story which premiered shortly after the operetta.

Cast of 1960 production

• Ereach Riley
• Alan Light as George Worral
• Ross Whatson
• Pamela Coleman as Mrs Hurley
• Wilhelmina Bermingham as Miss Hurley

1963 TV adaptation

Fisher's Ghost
Written by	John Gordon
Starring	Ereach Riley
Music by	John Gordon
Country of origin	Australia
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Robert Allnut
Original release
Release	22 September 1963 (1963-09-22) (Sydney) 29 Sept 1963 (Melbourne)[6]

The operetta was broadcast on the ABC. It was the first television opera with an Australian historical background.^[5][7]

Cast

• Ereach Riley as Birdlime the pickpocket
• Edmund Bohan as John Hurley
• Marilyn Richardson as John Hurley's sister
• Donald Philps as Fred Fisher

Reception

The Sydney Morning Herald thought the production had "musical merit" but had "serious" dramatic problems and needed to be revised.^[8]

See also

• List of television plays broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1960s)