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tutor based in a suburb of
Melbourne. The play begins with O'Brien walking on stage naked, describing the foibles of his students as he dresses. Revelations of his
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and his obsession with a young, beautiful student, one "Benjamin
Franklin" follow. He then reveals he is confined in a "
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teacher, "a sweetheart.. but a very eccentric sort of lady", who treated him like her other pupils, all children.
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about 25, sort of entrapped by this mad old lady... Then I decided to make it a bloke, a transvestite, and
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went on to become an international success, touring three continents and winning international acclaim.
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Spears wrote that, as a television actor in his twenties, he was so nervous that he
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playing O'Brien. The play toured within
Australia with box office success.
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A single actor plays "Robert O'Brien", an outwardly respectable
235:. Sydney: Imprint (Collins Publishers Australia). p. 162.
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340:"Maturing artistic voice gasped as Alvin Purple was pulled"
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174:: Chater as actor, Spears as playwright, and
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464:This article on a play from the 1970s is a
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396:"Three awards in New York for "Franklin""
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317:. Doollee.com, The Playwrights Database
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372:"Playwright loses his cancer struggle"
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208:"Guardian obituaries - Gordon Chater"
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261:"The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin"
259:Oliver, Melinda (4 September 2002).
77:(1951 – 2007). It premiered at the
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428:"Wood shines in gruelling classic"
66:The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin
22:The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin
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170:production in 1979, it won three
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101:all his lines. He went to an
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468:. You can help Knowledge by
370:Morgan, Clare (2007-10-17).
291:"Gordon Chater dies aged 77"
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263:. The Blurb. Archived from
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530:Obie Award-winning plays
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338:(1 January 2007).
136:mental institution
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374:. www.smh.com.au
293:. www.abc.net.au
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213:5 December
193:References
93:Background
27:Written by
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161:Elocution
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128:elocution
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412:22 April
355:26 April
180:director
122:The play
115:Benjamin
432:The Age
166:In its
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58:English
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151:Nimrod
83:Sydney
111:snook
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414:2016
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