A journalist in Cyprus is captured by EOKA guerillas. British troops track down the guerrillas and the journalist leads them into a rebel ambush. A woman is attracted to a British soldier.
Iain MacCormick was Australian and a number of his plays, originally written for British TV, were adapted for Australian television. The play was performed live on Australian TV in 1959.[5][6]
It was the ABC's 22nd live drama made in Melbourne.[7]
Premise
In Cyprus there has been terrorist activity near Mt Troodos, leading to a large scale operation of British troops and police. Two British journalists arrive in the area: James Stark, is an unscrupulous and influential former MP, and Walters, his hard-drinking offsider. Walters does the work while Start takes the credit. They are not allowed into the fighting zone so make their headquarters in a nearby village. Start decides to deal with the terrorists himself, thereby bringing bloodshed to the village.
The play had been performed on Melbourne radio in 1957 and repeated in 1959.[8][9]
It was rehearsed and filmed at ABC's studios at Ripponlea. There was some location filming on Melbourne streets. It had a cast of fifteen.[10]
A segment of the script was published in The Age as an example of TV scripts. The article said that Australian writers were typically paid between £60-£80 a script.[11]
Alexandra Atanassious was the Greek text adviser.[12]
^Jonathan Stubbs, ‘Always ready to explode into violence!’ Representing the Cyprus Emergency and decolonization in The High Bright Sun (1965) Journal of European Popular Culture Vol 6 Issue 2 2015
