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A Rum Affair
Genre	comedy fantasy play
Running time	30 mins
Country of origin	Australia
Language(s)	English
Written by	Alec Coppel
Original release	1940

A Rum Affair is a 1940 Australian radio play by Alec Coppel.^[1]

Although Coppel was Australian, most of his career took place overseas. A Rum Affair was a rare work of his that debuted in Australia. It premiered in 1940 on the ABC as part of a series of Australian plays.

Leslie Rees called it "a short, irresponsible comedy of fantastic situation... Alec Coppel is willing to take types and settings that have served in other plays; his originality is in his wit and deft sense of situation and holding... of suspense... A Rum Affair is a saucy morsel."^[2]

Another critic called it "the most suave and delicately balance radio script we have seen for years, only a trifle... but a trifle that is like a waffle that melts in the mouth. We don't often say, don’t miss this; but, don’t miss this. "^[3]

The play was produced again in 1942,^[4] 1946^[5] and 1958.^[6]

The 1946 version starred Peter Finch and was directed by Frank Harvey.^[7] A review of this production called it "a pleasant enough trifle, proving a good starring vehicle for Peter Finch. For a while he stayed in the substrata of understatement, but on the entrance of the ghost a mos seductive shade played by Sheila Sewell, things got going so you could hear them. Outstanding was a nice piece of character from erstwhile A.B.C. producer Charles Wheeler. Production, by Frank Harvey, ideal."^[8]

The play possibly was adapted by Coppel as The Story of an Inn, a stage play he announced in the 1940s but which doesn't appear to have been produced.^[9]^[10] It was called a comedy dealing with social regeneration.^[11] The play was postponed reportedly due to its large cast.^[12]^[13] A 1943 article asked Coppel, "We’d like to see it. We’ve heard a lot about it. You’ve often been about to produce it but never got very far. Now’s the time. Give yourself and Sydney a chance. "^[14]

Premise

A travelling young man, Peter, pulls in for a night at a Kentish village that was once on the sea, but is now inland, because the sea has receded. The inn is haunted by a female ghost, Helene. He also encounters a man called Clifford and a yokel.

References

^ "Broadcast Features From A.B.C. Stations". The Riverine Herald. No. 19, 623. Victoria, Australia. 15 November 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 3 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Plays of the Air — Four Australian Plays", ABC Weekly, 2 (45), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 9 November 1940, nla.obj-1309248845, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
^ "Australia on the Air", ABC Weekly, 2 (45), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 9 November 1940, nla.obj-1309247644, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
^ "ABC Programmes — Wednesday, Sept. 23", ABC Weekly, 4 (38), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 19 September 1942, nla.obj-1329253547, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
^ "Radio Plays", ABC Weekly, 8 (34), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 7 September 1946, nla.obj-1400652575, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
^ "A.B.C. radio plays for the week", ABC Weekly, 20 (27), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 2 July 1958, nla.obj-1446247026, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
^ "Radio Roundup". The Sun. No. 11, 431. New South Wales, Australia. 12 September 1946. p. 6 (Late Final Extra). Retrieved 3 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Listening Post", ABC Weekly, 8 (37), Sydney: Australian Broadcasting Commission, 28 September 1946, nla.obj-1401496719, retrieved 3 September 2023 – via Trove
^ "PLAYS FOR AUSTRALIA". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 29, 290. Victoria, Australia. 8 July 1940. p. 8. Retrieved 2 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "AT THE STAGE POOR SYDNEY THEATRES HAD GOOD CHRISTMAS", The Wireless Weekly: The Hundred per Cent Australian Radio Journal, Sydney, January 3, 1942, retrieved 2 February 2024 – via Trove
^ "AFTER SIX YEARS". The Age. No. 26, 642. Victoria, Australia. 5 September 1940. p. 9. Retrieved 2 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Back-Stage". Daily Mirror. Vol. 1, no. 94. New South Wales, Australia. 28 August 1941. p. 20 (Late Final Extra). Retrieved 2 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Whitehall Picks a Thriller". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. II, no. 42. New South Wales, Australia. 31 August 1941. p. 10. Retrieved 2 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Australian Theatre Review and Preview", Pertinent., 2 (8), Sydney: Pertinent Publishing Co, April 1943, nla.obj-3088451584, retrieved 2 February 2024 – via Trove