"FREE WORLD THEATRE"
SERIES of programmes entitled Free World Theatre described by American radio editors as "the boldest dramatic venture ever attempted on the air" is now being broadcast over the ZB network. This is a series of radio dramas based on statements by President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, Cordell Hull, Thomas Mann, H. G. Wells, the Dean of Canterbury, Wendell Willkie, General de Gaulle, Lin Yutang, Mme. Chiang Kai-Shek, ‘and General MacArthur. For example, "U.S.S. Middletown," one of the titles in the series, is a bold melodramatic fantasy, designed to emphasise Cordell Hull’s contention that nothing is important beside the winning 8 ae eee ae a! lea
of the war. The idea is that a group of typical citizens of Middletown, a typical American community, who are full of armchair ideas about how to fight the war and win the peace, suddenly find themselves acting as the crew on board an American battleship. The American Office of War Information placed the direction of this series in the hands of Arch. Oboler, who is regarded as one of radio’s most talented and daring dramatists. Oboler has had experience in this type of work before. His Plays for Americans were. provocative dramatisations designed to stimulate the American people to realise the importance of the war effort, and more recently he completed To the President, a series of dramatised letters aimed at refuting the claim that Americans want to win the war in the headlines. When George Bernard Shaw was asked to contribute to the Free World Theatre series, a typical letter was received from him in which he declared firmly that (a) there was no living writer who could put his (Shaw’s) ideas into play form, and (b) the whole project of the Free World Theatre was so large in scope that it wasn’t possible to get it on the air. But when Oboler received Shaw’s letter the series had al-, ready had two broadcasts! This Sunday, October 3, 1ZB will present "From China to America," and 2ZB "U.S.S. Middletown,"’ two of the titles in the series. On October 10, 1ZB will present ‘‘Fiesta;" 2ZB, "V Day;’’ and 3ZB, "The Last Will and Testament of John Smith." The time is 8.5 p.m.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 223, 1 October 1943, Page 8
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372"FREE WORLD THEATRE" New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 223, 1 October 1943, Page 8
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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