The Torrents (Australian Plays)

"The Torrents" is a 1969 Australian TV play based on the stage play by Oriel Gray. It was filmed as part of the ABC anthology drama series Australian Plays.^[1] It was the second Gray play adapted by the ABC, after Burst of Summer.^[2] It aired on 10 December 1969 in Sydney and Melbourne.^[3]

"The Torrents"
Australian Plays episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 5
Directed by	Oscar Whitbread
Teleplay by	Oriel Gray
Based on	The Torrents by Oriel Gray
Original air date	10 December 1969 (1969-12-10)
Running time	70 mins
Episode chronology
List of episodes

Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.^[4]

Cast

• Barbara Stephens as J.G. Milford
• Ken Shorter as Kingsley Myers
• Alan Hopgood
• Mark Albiston as Munro
• Harold Hopkins as Ben Torrents
• Lyndel Rowe as J.G. Milford^[1]
• Keith Lee as Rufus Torrents

Production

It was shot in Melbourne and at Maldon, a small town outside Bendigo.^[5] It was designed by Alan Clarke. Railway carriages were hired from the Society of Railway Enthusiasts. The budget could not cover the hiring of an old locomotive so a modern one was used, but this was obscured by a fog machine.^[6]

Reception

One critic called it "a beauty".^[7]